The Truth About Affinity Cards |
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by: Janna Weiss
America is seeing a surge in charitable endeavors. More people are opening their wallets to donate to good causes year-round. The kind-hearted are even electing to take volunteer vacations, where they spend weeks building homes for disaster victims or rebuilding habitats for endangered animals. Even when times are tough, giving to others makes us feel better about ourselves.
Affinity credit cards play on our desire to help others. These credit cards are branded with the credit card company’s logo, as well as the logo of a charity. When card holders make purchases using their affinity cards, the card company donates a percentage to the partner charity. There are affinity cards that support all kinds of good causes. That’s the good news.
The bad news is that the donations generated by these cards don’t amount to much. Card holders would be better off donating cold, hard cash to help the needy. Some of the leading affinity cards donate about fifty cents for every one hundred dollars of charges. If you charged two hundred dollars a month in hopes of supporting animal rights, your affinity card contributions would add up to twelve dollars a year. Every little bit counts, but any given charity would be better served by larger up-front donations.
Since we’re more likely to part with our money passively than actively, these affinity cards do ensure that we give something. And when thousands of people give a little, the benefits can add up to a lot. Target, for example, has generated over 19 million dollars for Take Charge for Education. The cards are also great conversation-starters. People like to show that they care, and they like to talk about the organizations they support. As word spreads, more card holders come on board, and more donations are generated.
Before you get an affinity card, you should be aware that they usually come with higher rates and fewer perks than other credit cards. Also, since your donations are made as part of a contractual obligation, they are not tax-deductible. Still, it feels good to add your drops to the financial bucket to help those in need, which is why affinity cards are still hugely popular despite their less-than-stellar terms and conditions. Some of the most popular affinity card causes include child welfare, animal welfare, crime, public education, and environmental causes.
If you’re the type to give big, you’re probably better off making a donation to the charities of your choice and keeping your regular credit cards. But if you’d like to donate some spare change just by using your credit card for everyday purchases, an affinity card could be the right choice for you.
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