¿Cuál debería ser el futuro de las tarjetas de crédito con recompensas de puntos?
| Autor | Jason Kim |
| Cargo | University of Houston Law Center, Estados Unidos de América |
| Páginas | 64-104 |
64 IURIS TANTUM No. 36 https://doi.org/10.36105/iut.2022n36.04 2022
¿Cuál debería ser el futuro de las tarjetas de crédito
con recompensas de puntos?
What is in the Cards for Credit Card Rewards?
Jason kiM
University of Houston Law Center, Estados Unidos de América
jaskim18@gmail.com
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1321-7781
Recibido: 01/07/2022
Aceptado: 04/11/2022
https://doi.org/10.36105/iut.2022n36.04
RESUMEN
El uso de tarjetas de crédito ha experimentado un auge significativo
impulsado por la disposición de los consumidores a endeudarse y la
expansión de recompensas generosas. Este documento analiza la acu-
sación persistente de que las recompensas de las tarjetas de crédito
producen un “subsidio cruzado regresivo”, lo que hace que las tran-
sacciones sean más baratas para los ricos y más caras para los pobres.
Se menciona que la evidencia de este subsidio cruzado es inusitada
y, en última instancia, no concluyente. Este documento aboga por
una política de no intervención legislativa ya que regulaciones más
estrictas dañarían el mercado de tarjetas de crédito y darían lugar a
políticas bancarias contrarias al consumo. Por último, se enfatiza la
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IURIS TANTUM No. 36 https://doi.org/10.36105/iut.2022n36.04 2022
importancia de la educación financiera en lugar de las regulaciones
gubernamentales.
Palabras clave: tarjetas, crédito, recompensas, puntos, legislación.
ABSTRACT
Credit card use has seen a significant boom in use driven by con-
sumer willingness to take on debt and the expansion of generous
rewards. This paper reviews a persistent allegation that credit card
rewards produce a “regressive cross-subsidy,” making transactions
cheaper for the wealthy and more expensive for the poor. I explain
that evidence of this cross-subsidy is rare and ultimately inconclu-
sive. This paper advocates for a policy of legislative non-interven-
tion as stricter regulations would harm the credit card market and
result in anti-consumer banking policies. Last, this paper empha-
sizes the importance of financial literacy in lieu of governmental
regulations.
Keywords: credit, card, rewards, points, legislation.
Introduction
Credit cards are revolving credit products used at merchant payment
terminals and repeatedly paid down as long as the account remains
open.1 Modern credit card products have come far from the first card-
board Diners Club cards;2 the Federal Reserve Board and Bureau of
Economic Analysis reported that from 1959 to 1999, consumer credit
has grown at approximately the same pace as disposable income.3 The
report revealed that since the inception of credit cards in the 1950s,
credit card market share increased in direct proportion to the decreas-
ing market share of installment credit products.4 The largest U.S. con-
sumer credit product in 2021 in terms of user count was the credit card
1 See “Credit Cards: Use and Consumer Attitudes”, 1970-2000, Federal Reserve Bulletin, 623-634.
https://www.federalreserve.gov/pubs/bulletin/2000/0900lead.pdf
2 Frankel, Robin, “When Were Credit Cards Invented: The History of Credit Cards”, Forbes, July
2021. https://www.forbes.com/advisor/credit-cards/history-of-credit-cards/
3 Federal Reserve Bulletin, supra 1, 624.
4 Idem.
66 IURIS TANTUM No. 36 https://doi.org/10.36105/iut.2022n36.04 2022
market.5 According to Experian data, an estimated 79 percent or 200
million American adults have at least one credit card or charge card,6
and the average American owns 3.84 credit cards.7
Multiple factors contributed to the exponential growth of revolving
credit. First, widespread credit card merchant acceptance in the 1960s
offered customers a viable alternative to cash and personal checks.8 Is-
suers incentivized consumers to open new accounts by introducing the
rewards program and the sign-up bonus.9 The 1974 Fair Credit Billing
Act offered comprehensive consumer protections, making credit cards
the preferred way to pay.10
In capitalist societies, the use of credit creates economic prog-
ress.11 The rise of industry would not have been possible without the
willingness of companies and individuals to take on debt.12 Credit helps
a beginning farmer to purchase a tractor. Credit allows a wealthy inves-
tor to quickly seize investment opportunities without the need for li-
quidity. Credit also helps a low-income consumer smooth out cash flow
if their car breaks down. The credit card product is just another conve-
nient type of loan that consumers can leverage. The rewards programs
5 “The Consumer Credit Card Market”, Consumer Fin. Prot. Bureau, no. 5, 2021. https://files.
consumerfinance.gov/f/documents/cfpb_consumer-credit-card-market-report_2021.pdf.
6 gonzalez, Jamie, HolMes, Tamara, “Credit Card Ownership Statistics”
https://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/ownership-statistics/#sources Foster, Kevin et
al., “The 2020 Survey of Consumer Payment Choice: Summary Results”, Fed. Reserve Bank of
Atlanta: Research Data Reports, no. 21-1, April 2021. https://www.atlantafed.org/-/media/docu-
ments/banking/consumer-payments/survey-of-consumer-payment-choice/2020/2020-survey-of-
consumer-payment-choice.pdf).
7 Idem.
8 See “The Evolution of Credit Cards”, FIS Global, July 2019. https://www.fisglobal.com/en/in-
sights/merchant-solutions-worldpay/article/the-evolution-of-credit-cards; See “The Complete
History of Credit Cards, From Antiquity to Today”, The Points Guy, 2021. https://thepointsguy.
com/guide/history-of-credit-cards/
9 See trina, Paul, “The Welcome Bonus is the Top Reason Why People Shop for New Credit
Cards: here are 3 not to miss”, CNBC, 2022. https://www.cnbc.com/select/reasons-why-people-
sign-up-for-credit-card/ (Cf. “The Reports of the Death of Airline Miles Rewards Cards Have
Been Greatly Exaggerated”, JD Power, 2021. https://www.jdpower.com/business/resources/dea-
th-airline-miles-rewards-cards-greatly-exaggerated
10 Fair Credit Billing Act of 1974, 15 U.S.C. § 1666 et seq., Pub. L. 93-495, Tit. III, 88 Stat. 1511,
1975. See Brasler, Kevin, “Why Your Credit Card is a Consumer-Protection Superweapon”,
Seattle Time, February 2018. https://www.seattletimes.com/life/lifestyle/why-your-credit-card-
is-a-consumer-protection-superweapon/
11 See Braswell, Greg, CHernow, Elizabeth, “Consumer Credit Law & Practice in the U.S.”, U.S.
Fed. Trade Commission. https://www.ftc.gov/sites/default/files/attachments/training-materials/
law_practice.pdf
12 noCera, Joseph, “The Day the Credit Card Was Born”, Wash. Post, November1994. https://www.
washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/magazine/1994/11/04/the-day-the-credit-card-was-born/
d42da27b-0437-4a67-b753-bf9b440ad6dc/
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