I Can't Afford to Use Macy's Coupons

I am writing not just on my behalf, but on the behalf of all
cardholders and holiday shoppers.

I agree, I could just go and pay off my purchase immediately, but
there are some people who cant, or who dont, so I made this post to
speak to and for them.

It is my personal belief that Macy's would have more profitability,
and better consumer turnout/loyalty if they allowed for the coupons to
be used with any form of payment.

Or if you could put just a portion of the purchase on the Macy's
card-but you can't it has to be the whole purchase...I know Express
let's me use my discounts by just putting a portion of the purchase on
my Express card.- I always just put a little on there to get the
discount, then I pay it off...its more manageable that way.

I think that the fact of one having to use his/her Macy's card to get
the discount could perhaps be an initial turnoff for the "average"
Macy's cardholder/customer.

you take a year to pay it off. Otherwise, it's a fraction of that.

What I would not do is open a Macy's credit card account just to get
those discounts. However, by your last statement, it seems you have
the card already. So, in that case, use it then go home and pay for
it in full as others have suggested. Then, you get the benefits of
the discount AND you pay no interest at all. Problem solved.

I totally agree with the poster who said you should have used the card
then gone up to the customer service area and paid the bill with cash
or check. That way you accrued no interest charges and would have
reaped the benefit of the coupons.

But either way 29% is very high and not a card I would use even in the
case of an emergency.

Use your Macy's card to make the purchase, then make an immediate
payment. There is NO interest unless you elect to not pay the bill in
full when it arrives.

I'm with Macy's on this one.

House cards are how stores make money. Stores are in business to make
money. If you could use the coupons without using the Macy's card,
then what incentive would you have to use the Macy's card at all? As
someone else posted below, if you were going to use your debit card
anyway, use your Macy's card, use the coupons, and then pay it off
with your debit card. At Macy's you can pay off your balance in the
store. They can look up your account with your Macy's card, see what
your balance is, and you can pay it off in the store at the cash
register with your debit card, provided your debit card uses a PIN.
One benefit to this is that the payment posts immediately to your
account, where if you mail it in or pay online it takes longer to
credit your account.

You should be able to use the coupons without using your Macy's card.
My mother-in-law received the same coupons and used them on our
shopping trip this weekend and used her debit card to pay for the
entire purchase. The coupon did say (on the front) "use your Macy's
card and enjoy 20% off or $20 off" or something similar but in the
fine print on the back, it did not say that the coupon could only be
used on Macy's card purchases.

I disagree. I do not believe in racking up ANY credit card debt in
order to do Christmas shopping. If you have to put it on a credit
card, you should go without.

I just can't support consumer debt.

Harley suggested below what I always do with these "deals". I have
cards for several different department stores where I get certain
offers if I use the card. That is the entire purpose of having the
card, and then I just pay it off as soon as the charge posts.

I also have a MasterCard that offers rewards points, and I try to use
it often and pay it off at the end of each week as well. I use the
points for Sunoco gift cards, Target gift cards, etc. I have also
replaced my vacuum and gone out to eat on my rewards.

Since you planned on using your debit card, why not use the coupon and
the Macy's charge and then pay the charge off in full? It's not only
Macy's that does this, many department stores offer coupons to their
card holders. Kohl's does this as well. The card is one way they can
track their "loyal customers" and thank them.

I agree, paying off the card balances every month should be a
priority. However, what about all those people who cannot do that.

Most would agree, during the holidays, credit cards get racked up as
people succumb to the pressure of getting gifts for others, and spend
more than they can afford to pay off immediately.

My point is this, if Macy's wants to "give back" to their
cardholders,
they should allow them to use the coupons with any form of payment.
They are offering these great discounts, that frankly, are really
helpful this season because of the economy, but they come at a price
for the consumer. They aren't really saying "thank you" for being a
loyal customer and cardholder at all, they are saying, "I'll help you
out this season, but...."

Their goal is to get people to spend on the card, and to keep a
revolving balance, so that they can profit on the interest. There is
nothing wrong with that concept, because it is just business-but
there
is something wrong with phrasing it as this is their way to say
"thank
you," when its really not. I think it is an ethical issue.

They should increase their customer's buying abilities by letting
them
use any form of payment with the coupons, because then, I believe,
everyone would shop more.

I just think that they've taken the wrong path on trying to increase
sales. They have other, perhaps more profitable, and ethical options
available.

I think this issue is worth addressing.

I like to say, dealing with credit card banks is like swimming in
shark-infested waters in a protective cage, with your back to the
missing hatch. A shark can slip in at any time and bite you on the
butt.

You have correctly analyzed your current situation, and determined the
incentive the card offers is no incentive at all. Goodness, the first
person I have ever seen that realized this. Congratulations.

However, what you fail to see is all you have to do is pay your card
off each and every month. If you are spending money you don't have, a
credit card is one of the worst ways to borrow money.

I have always paid my card off in full, every month. I get 3 to 5%
back in cash for all my food, gas and building supply purchases.
That's a lot of cash. If I were keeping a balance though, I would be
losing money hand over fist.

Pay your card off, so you can take advantage of offers like this.
Plus, you'll have all the other cash you would have pout towards
interest. It's a win-win.

you would use your debit card. Can't you do your shopping and either
pay the balance in the store or do it on-line when you get home?