08.12.26 One Bad Apple Deal / CDs: Opportunity And Method

Summary

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The Clark Howard Podcast – Episode Summary

Episode Title: 08.12.26 One Bad Apple Deal / CDs: Opportunity And Method
Date: August 12, 2026
Host: Clark Howard (with Krista)

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Overview

In this episode, Clark Howard tackles two main financial themes: evaluating Apple's new "forever lease" device programs and seizing opportunities to maximize savings with certificates of deposit (CDs) amid rising interest rates and inflation concerns. The episode also includes Clark's trademark listener Q&A, covering topics like car warranties, credit card practices, first-time travel abroad, insurance, rental car disputes, and the mechanics of payment systems.

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Key Topics & Discussion Points

1. Apple’s New Leasing Model: The “Forever Lease” Feature for Devices

[01:05-06:16]

• Clark discusses the trend of Apple shifting customers toward perpetual leasing programs for their devices rather than outright ownership.
• Apple faces pressure to maintain profit margins in light of rising manufacturing costs driven by AI and chip demand.
• Higher device prices are challenging even brand-loyal consumers at higher income levels.
• Apple’s solution: Customers pay a monthly lease fee, always having access to the latest device—a plan targeted towards "gadget addicts" but risky for average consumers.

Notable quote:

"Apple has come up with a plan where you are in what I call forever leases. You’re always paying a monthly bill for your phone, for your Mac, for whatever Apple device, and then when a new model comes out, you change it out for the new model."
—Clark Howard [03:27]

• Clark compares device leases to auto leases, cautioning against financing as a workaround for unaffordable prices.
• Warns that such leasing is a "long-term trap" for those trying to stretch their dollars.

Notable quote:

"It's a long term trap if it's all about trying to stretch the dollar, because the dollar ends up being ripped by the ongoing cost month after month, year after year."
—Clark Howard [05:18]

• Krista points out that phone carrier "free phone" deals requiring long-term expensive plans are even worse. Clark agrees.

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2. Listener Questions & Clark’s Financial Advice

Lifetime Car Service Plans & Dealership Risks

[06:24-08:41]

• Listener asks if a lifetime powertrain "service plan" from a dealer is worthwhile.
• Clark highlights the risk: If the dealership sells, new owners are not required to honor such plans.
• Ultimately, it's a gamble and depends on how much risk you're willing to tolerate.

Notable quote:

"What you’re counting on with this guarantee is that the dealership continues to exist under the same ownership it has. That guarantee flew away because the buyers of a dealership… only do what’s called a certain assets purchase, and they don’t take on obligations like this guarantee.”
—Clark Howard [07:19]

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Credit Card Renewals and Bank Tactics

[08:41-09:25]

• Chase asks a listener about usage of other credit cards as a condition for renewal.
• Clark explains that banks are fighting for “wallet share” and use renewals as sales opportunities.

Notable quote:

"What Chase was trying to do is… using the renewal of these cards as a battering ram to try to get you to move market share from other cards you have to them. So, it was basically a sales call."
—Clark Howard [09:13]

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Advice for Nervous First-Time International Travelers

[10:30-16:20]

• Listener is nervous about international travel logistics and asks about joining a travel group.
• Clark recommends “Europe with training wheels”—specifically, starting with London/England due to the shared language and user-friendliness, then branching out.
• Advises using ATMs on arrival instead of U.S. currency exchanges; modern tap-to-pay systems reduce need for cash.
• Encourages using local travel agents for tour group recommendations if desired.
• Krista shares stories about guided staff tours, with Clark humorously expressing short tour attention spans.

Notable quote:

"London and England, very, very user friendly for foreigners… Our son was just in England and he told me he never once had to use a single pound or a single card. Everything he did while he was there was tap to pay."
—Clark Howard [12:01]

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3. Maximizing Savings: CDs & Avoiding Mega Banks

[20:13-25:00]

• With persistent inflation and rising interest rates, savers now have a real opportunity to earn more with CDs.
• Clark advocates buying CDs through brokerages (Vanguard, Fidelity, Schwab) or direct from online banks for higher yields, avoiding traditional "big banks" that pay negligible rates.
• Points out the risk of automatic CD rollovers, which often result in sharply reduced rates.

Notable quote:

"One place you don’t go for your savings, for your CDs, anything like that: a giant monster mega bank… they today are paying 1/100th of 1%. Seriously, they’re paying you essentially zero when you’re lending them money."
—Clark Howard [22:30]

• Warning:
  Avoid automatic rollovers on CDs. "It's a bait and switch. It's ugly, it's dirty."
  —Clark Howard [24:05]

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4. Additional Listener Questions

[25:00-29:37]

• Insurance and Travel:
  Advice on being truthful about travel plans when applying for term life/disability insurance ("Just give them an honest answer... You should be fine." [25:33])
• Rental Car Disputes:
  Emphasizes the importance of documenting car condition, especially the roof, to avoid false damage claims.

  "The only thing that protected your wallet from a full-on raid from Budget Rent a Car was that you had done before and after video and pictures."
  —Clark Howard [27:39]

• Credit Card Fees and Payment Reform:
  Clark rails against the major card networks' (Visa, MC, Amex) stranglehold, noting that other countries have efficient, low-fee payment systems. Expresses hope for similar reform in the US but blames big bank lobbyists for blocking it.

  “We would be much better off if we used systems that are spreading around the world… where any [citizen] is able to send money to any other, or pay any business, at almost zero cost."
  —Clark Howard [30:09]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "It's a long term trap if it's all about trying to stretch the dollar, because the dollar ends up being ripped by the ongoing cost month after month, year after year." —Clark Howard [05:18]
• "What you’re counting on with this guarantee is that the dealership continues to exist under the same ownership it has." —Clark Howard [07:19]
• "It was basically a sales call on the part of Chase." —Clark Howard [09:13]
• "London and England, very, very user friendly for foreigners… Our son was just in England and he told me he never once had to use a single pound or a single card. Everything he did… was tap to pay." —Clark Howard [12:01]
• "One place you don’t go for your savings, for your CDs, anything like that: a giant monster mega bank… they today are paying 1/100th of 1%." —Clark Howard [22:30]
• "Avoid auto rollover CDs. It's a bait and switch. It's ugly, it's dirty." —Clark Howard [24:05]
• "The only thing that protected your wallet... was that you had done before and after video and pictures." —Clark Howard [27:39]
• “This is a perfect symbol of the political corruption in the United States that big moneyed interests are able to conspire… to set up conditions harmful to the American people.” —Clark Howard [31:16]

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Important Timestamps

• 01:05: Main theme introduction (Apple leasing / CD rates)
• 03:27: Apple “forever lease” risk explained
• 08:41: Listener Q: Dealership service plans
• 09:25: Listener Q: Credit card renewal & bank strategies
• 11:26: Travel advice for international rookies
• 12:01: Modern payments in London
• 20:13: Inflation, rising rates, and the CD opportunity
• 22:30: Why to avoid "giant monster mega banks"
• 24:05: The auto-rollover CD trap
• 25:33: Insurance questions for travelers
• 27:39: The importance of rental car documentation
• 29:37: Payment card cartels and hope for change

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Episode Tone and Takeaways

Clark’s friendly, practical, and sometimes irreverent tone comes through, especially when calling out consumer ripoffs or the inertia of U.S. banking. Krista adds warmth and humor to the conversation.

Main Takeaways:

• Be wary of device “forever leases”—they cost more in the long run unless you’re always upgrading.
• Lease-style “deals” (be it cars or phones) often lock you into higher costs.
• Opportunistic savers can now earn more with CDs, but must avoid renewals at low post-teaser rates.
• Shop for savings (especially CDs) online or via brokerages, not legacy banks.
• For travel, start simple; technology makes abroad spending easier and travel groups or agents can help beginners.
• Meticulously document rental cars to avoid false damage claims.
• Push for payment reform—other countries have shown it can be done.

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For all referenced calculators, travel guides, and more detailed advice, visit clark.com or clarkdeals.com.

Transcript

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[Clark Howard]

I'm so excited to be with you here on the Clark Howard Show. You know, our mission is to serve you with advice and information that empowers you to make better financial decisions in your life. And pretty much everybody carries a cell phone. And actually now a large number of Americans carry two cell phones with them. And unlike in the rest of the world, in this country Apple dominates the market. 58% of Americans carry Apple devices instead of some form of Android. And you may have heard in a big splash, Apple is pushing leases on all its stuff. People want to know inquiring minds, is that a good idea? Is it a deal for you? I'm going to let you know. And later, interest rates are rising because of the failure of the Federal Reserve to show that it's serious about inflation. And so immediately interest rates that investors demand on big money have been going up, up and away. So how do you and I, as smaller savers, benefit? I'm going to give you some strategies for that and particularly I want to talk about smart things. You need to know if you want to buy CDs, because a lot of us get the CD thing, well, sadly, really wrong. So let's talk Apple. Apple is having a problem and it's that in order to maintain the profit margins that Apple likes, Apple's having to boost the costs a lot of their devices. And this is something that's been heavily reported. It's another AI effect because the AI organizations are soaking up so much inventory and chips and different things that it's costing manufacturers of consumer goods and goods for work, like laptops could be consumer or work function devices that these items are going up in price significantly. So Apple's like, what are we going to do? Our loyalists are facing price points that are hitting price resistance. And Apple tends to have a average higher income customer than Android devices. And so the cost is pushing up enough that wealthier people are like, wait a minute, I'm not going to spend blah blah blah on a new Mac or a new iPhone or whatever. So Apple has come up with a plan where you are in what I call forever leases. You know, you're always paying a monthly bill for your phone, for your Mac, for whatever Apple device and then when a new model comes out, you change it out for the new model. So there are people, I have a couple of buddies who every time Apple comes out with a new device, they're there in line day one. They won't even wait for it to come in the mail or UPS or FedEx or whatever. They're there in person getting the new device. This is for them. If you have to have the newest, latest, greatest all the time, then the Apple upgrade thing as they call it, the forever lease as I call it works. If you just gotta have, oh, there's a new Apple that I don't know what it does, but it's new and I have to have it, then this is for you. But a lot of people are going to be sucked in who were like, man, that new apple device is $1799. I don't have 1799. And so they said, well, you could just lease it for X dollars a month. That's the same deal as with the car stuff. I talk about where the lease is pushed when you realize, hey, I can't afford that price to buy it. But that lease seems so reasonable. That's the same idea here, but it's a long term trap if it's all about trying to stretch the dollar because the dollar ends up being ripped by the ongoing cost month after month, year after year. So be honest with yourself before you get in to one of these Apple lease plans. Krista, you know it's worse than the Apple lease plan.

[Krista]

What?

[Clark Howard]

Signing up with your cell phone carrier for a three year payment plan that keeps you trapped in a way overpriced monthly cell phone plan so you can get your free phone.

[Krista]

I know, Oof. I know. Most people do that though, don't you think?

[Clark Howard]

Yeah, but I think there's been price resistance on that too.

[Krista]

All right, well, let's go to questions that were sent in for you. This one's from Adam in Ohio. Adam says, thanks to your advice, I'm on track to retire at least 10 years early. I recently splurged and bought a gently used 2022 F150. The dealership I purchased it through offers a lifetime powertrain guar warranty. It's not considered a warranty, but a service plan. It requires me to do all service at the dealership family. I usually do my own service. So this is a big cost increase, but it could be a savings if there's a problem with the engine or transmission. The vehicle has too many miles to qualify for a Ford extended warranty. Is it worth paying the extra for the service?

[Clark Howard]

So, Adam, the big gamble you face is the. The ownership of car dealerships is going through a lot of turmoil now. A lot of dealerships changing hands, a lot of independent dealership groups going bust and having to sell out for whatever they can get. So this is as a result of automakers producing fewer models and being happy selling fewer Overall number of new vehicles per year works well for the automakers, doesn't work so well for dealerships. So what you're counting on with this guarantee is that the dealership continues to exist under the same ownership it has. So you're paying up front higher service fees for going to the service bays of the dealership group and then later if they no longer own it. That guarantee flew away because the buyers of a dealership or dealership chain only do what's called a certain assets purchase, and they don't take on obligations like this guarantee. So this is really a bit of a roll of a dice on your part, is do you have something worth you paying extra overtime for service so that if something really goes wrong that's really expensive with that F150, that it's going to be covered.

[Krista]

Okay. Rose in North Carolina says thank you for the excellent work you and your staff always do on our behalf. I have a question about credit card renewals. I have two credit cards from Chase as well as some cards from other providers. A couple of years ago, Chase sent me a letter asking me to call them before they would approve the renewal of my cards. I confirmed the letter was legit by calling the customer service number on the back of my card. Good job. When I spoke to the representative, what she asked was what I was using my other credit cards for. She wanted to know specifically what I was using my other non Chase credit cards to pay for My question is, is this an acceptable practice? I've had cards for years and I have never been asked to do this. My credit history is excellent.

[Clark Howard]

So what Chase is doing is the most obvious example of the big banks are all spying on each other. Years ago there was a commercial about back of the wallet cards, front of the wallet cards. And the idea was that people carry cards potentially from multiple issuers and they're all trying to steal market share from each other. So what Chase was trying to do is they were using the renewal these cards as a battering ram to try to get you to move market share from other cards you have to them. So it was basically a sales call on the part of Chase. So I don't know what change you made in your patterns. I mean, Rose, did you start using those two renewed cards more and using, let's say, cards from Capital One or Citibank or your credit union or someone else less? That's really the behavior mod that Chase is trying to get to.

[Krista]

Ah. M in California says I've never traveled abroad before, but lately I found myself with a real desire to do so. I'm 57 years old and just received my new passport and I'm genuinely excited about the idea of filling it with stamps and memories. That said, I'm also terribly nervous. I don't understand exchange rates. I'm unsure how to communicate in countries where I don't speak the language. And honestly, I know very little about the logistics of international travel. Do you have any advice on how to get started? I've been thinking about joining a travel group for my first few trips. Might be a good idea since many of the logistics would already be taken care of. What are your thoughts on these? Do you have any recommendations or advice on how to find a reputable one? I'd really appreciate any guidance you can offer. It feels a little intimidating, but also something I'm very excited to experience. I knew you'd be the man for this.

[Clark Howard]

Yeah, I'm so excited, Em, about you going out on foreign adventures. All right, so I call it Europe with training wheels. I find that the best first trip for a newbie is to go to London and maybe travel around England. Because even though the accent sometimes is hard to understand, common language separated by. No, wait, we're both English speakers separated by a common language. There's some. There's some cute phrase about that because the accent sometimes will be a little hard to understand, particularly in Scotland. All right, so if you go to London as a first trip, it really gives you the Ability to, to get your feet wet. Traveling internationally and not freaking out about the language barrier. Trying to get a sense of what it's like to be in a different place. London and England, Very, very user friendly for foreigners. Extremely. You have to get a electronic travel authority before you go to the United Kingdom. You just do that online. Make sure you're at the government website. As for money, you want to use your ATM card to get pounds, you probably will need them very little, particularly if you use TAP to pay. Our son was just in England and he told me he never once had to use a single pound or a single card. Everything he did while he was there was tapped to pay.

[Krista]

But make sure that your cards, that you called them and let them know where you're traveling.

[Clark Howard]

Right. Depending on the card, you may need to give an advance travel notice. And I don't think you need a group. I think you'll be okay. Do not get any money in the United States. Wait till you get to England. If you follow my suggestion, go there first. Gosh. When you're there, you could spontaneously decide to take one of the bargain trips on the Channel Tunnel train, run over to Paris for a day. Believe it or not, people do it. And the Eurostar has gotten such a reputation for outrageous fares that they're now offering these cheap last minute fares to try to counterbalance the image they've developed for ripping people off. I think you'll be fine. There are lots of traditional travel books that will walk you through how to do that first trip to England and from there you'll have the confidence to do more and more and have a better sense of where to go. The other advantage we have as Americans is English is the most common second language of people under age 40 in the developed world. And so finding people who speak decent to passable to great English, really easy. We can be lazy as Americans as a result. So go have fun and give me feedback. If I gave you a good suggestion,

[Krista]

definitely want to try like a tour company, would you talk to a travel agent, like a local travel agent?

[Clark Howard]

That is great advice.

[Krista]

Okay.

[Clark Howard]

Yeah. Because the travel agents are going to know which tour groups their customers have had good experiences with and which they've not. I'm just not a tour group kind of person.

[Krista]

I know you're not. I've done both and I can see why you might want that, especially if you want to go to other countries and.

[Clark Howard]

All right, so let me, let me share a Krista and Clark story. When we go on our staff trips, Krista will Arrange these day events for us to all do together as a bonding thing, as a staff. And we'll go on something where the guide walking tour, whatever a bike tour and the guide's going on and on and this was built in 1478 and blah blah blah and blah blah blah. And Krista is soaking in every minute of it and I'm staring off into space because I just don't have the ability to have attention span together.

[Krista]

What was your favorite one that I planned? Was it the one where we all did a cooking class in the person's home and you didn't really have to

[Clark Howard]

learn anything and it was beautiful setting.

[Krista]

Yeah.

[Clark Howard]

And the food was good. No, but I'd say my favorite was when we went on the bike tour Bangkok.

[Krista]

Oh, that was dangerous. That was dangerous.

[Clark Howard]

So what it was, it was really, it was really fun because I'd been to Bangkok many times before but I'd never seen it that way. Running around.

[Krista]

I was really worried like I had arranged it and that somebody was going to get really hurt once I we were on it and saw we were on like sometimes like a seven lane highway, like road on bikes without working helmets for most people.

[Clark Howard]

Yeah, the helmet thing's not a big deal there. So where are we going on staff trip next year?

[Krista]

Wherever the deal is.

[Clark Howard]

That's right. That's always the key.

[Krista]

What was the price to Bangkok? Do you remember?

[Clark Howard]

It was seven something.

[Krista]

Oh, wow, that's high for us.

[Clark Howard]

Well, it was Bangkok's.

[Krista]

It's far. But I remember we went to Japan. It was 475 round trip.

[Clark Howard]

No, 400. 471 and 10 cents.

[Krista]

Oh, see, he's a computer all right.

[Clark Howard]

I mean when we went to Prague it was 550. You didn't go on that?

[Krista]

No, I just had a baby and when I saw the pictures I was kind of glad. No, when you went to Prague because it was like negative temperatures and you couldn't see any of your faces because you were all bundled up.

[Clark Howard]

Oh, that was cold. Oh man. But you know, it was great. The grind plus was empty. Oh well, hey, usually it's packed with people everywhere.

[Krista]

Sure, you zig when other people zag.

[Clark Howard]

Anyway, I've been to Prague several times. That was the only time I went in cold weather. I will not be back in cold weather. But I do remember that there were no crowds anywhere.

[Krista]

Well, that's the benefit.

[Clark Howard]

Yeah. Okay, enough about that. Let's talk about something important for you. That's stretching every dollar, your wallet at a time that inflation signals are not happy. We're going to talk about that.

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[Krista]

Or white chocolate mocha?

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[Clark Howard]

Federal Reserve has lost its credibility with the investment community and what that's led to, that combined with the federal budget deficit, the inflation problems we have short term has led to higher interest rates that the big money crowd is gravitating to. What about an everyday person? You have money that you're trying to at least keep up with this stubborn inflation. You want to save it. You want to know a dollar in is going to be a dollar out plus whatever interest you earn. And one of the ways to do the best with your money when you're just an absolute saver is a cd. A lot of people love what's referred to as high yield savings accounts. The yield's not really high right now, but it's not terrible and stepped up some. Now we're back to being able to earn somewhere around 4%. But hopefully we'll get inflation under control before too long and interest rates will start to go back down. So that's the problem with a money market account, money market mutual fund, high yield savings account is the rates change daily. So the loss of confidence in the Federal Reserve and its desire to control inflation under its new chairman has led to an opportunity with higher rates on CDs, so money you don't need for a year, 2, 3, 4, 5, this is a time you may be able to score a better deal than you have in a good while on what you can earn on a cd. Where do you buy a cd? One of the easiest places is if you do business with one of my three favorite children, Vanguard Fidelity or Schwab, because you can buy what's known as a broker place CD where you have full federal insurance. And because they deal with the wholesale side of banks and credit unions, potentially got a higher rate because of the size of the amount of money that the three giant favorite children of mine can bring to the table. You may, through an existing relationship with any one of those three, be able to get a great deal on your CD money. That's number one. Number two, go to an online bank and place a CD with them and you can see the rate so easily online, what the best deals are on one to five year terms. And place that money one place you don't go for your savings, for your CDs, anything like that. A giant monster mega bank. Okay, so follow this. Inflation is ugly. Okay? And you go in the giant monster mega banks, they're charging you 25% more or less on your credit card. What are they paying on savings accounts? Are you ready for the insult to your and my intelligence? They today are paying 1/100th of 1%. Seriously, they're paying you essentially zero when you're lending them money. And that's what you do. When you put money on deposit in a bank and a savings account or cd, you're lending them money that they then turn around and lend back out. But it's not a fair game with the giant monster megas. And truthfully with most physical banks, they have so much overhead with those, they're not going to pay what you're going to get from an online bank. So you can shop those. There's one thing I want to tell you though about CDs and we have a CD interest calculator under our calculators on clark.com is to be very wary of auto rollover CDs. I need to tell you this dirty pool that the banks play, it's so dirty. Okay, so you get a great deal, let's say on a one year CD and let's say they're paying you 4.7% or whatever. And then time slips up on you and you don't realize it's been a whole nother year. It's a year from now, you get a notice from the bank, you're automatically renewed for another year. But the renewal, instead of you earning 4 point something percent, they're going to pay you 0.25% for the next year. It's a bait and switch. It's ugly, it's dirty. So you want to make sure you don't buy a CD that requires rollover, automatic rollover, when that year 2, 3, 4, 5 is up. You want to be a free agent. You don't want to be a captive for another one to five years.

[Krista]

Krista Ty in Georgia says I'm shopping for term life and long term disability insurance. They both have questions about my financial, health and behavioral history. When I'm shopping, they ask if I plan to travel abroad within the next two years. Similar to you, I love to see the world. I do it once every other year. These are mostly safe destinations like Europe, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Argentina. If I sign up for term life or long term disability, am I supposed to refrain from traveling until the two year limit expires?

[Clark Howard]

So if you have nothing booked at the time you buy the policies, you can say, well, I have no travel booked now. Don't lie. Because if a deal comes along and you hear me say, hey, there's this incredible deal too. Fill in the blank. You might say, hey, I want to go. And you book it. You're not naming places that are exotic travel destinations Necessarily so they may ask, I mean, you may say, well, yeah, probably I'll go to Europe at some point or something like that. You could answer it that way. The underwriters aren't going to blow their minds over that. Just give them an honest answer. And it can be a limited thing saying, well, I don't have anything planned or be just straight out, yeah, I love to go to Europe. I'll probably go to Europe sometime in the next two years and you should be fine. And I'm so glad you're buying level term insurance and long term disability insurance. Disability insurance is the most underbought insurance that people should buy because the chances you're going to die by age 65 are 1/3 the chance that you will become disabled by age 65. So that's why disability insurance almost never purchased is such a good idea to have.

[Krista]

Missy in Connecticut says we recently had a dispute with Budget Rental Car regarding hail damage to a car we rented. There was no hail when we had the car. Budget set the claim to their claim company to attempt to collect damages. I had pictures and video of the car before and after that showed no damage, but that did not seem to matter. Finally, after filing complaints with several Better Business Bureaus, were Budget and their insurers based, the company dropped the claim. We are now going on a trip and Budget has the cheapest price for a rental. Do you think the rental car company would prevent us from renting because of our prior issue? And P.S. make sure you take pictures and video of the roof of the car just in case there is hail.

[Clark Howard]

Okay, so I got to tell you that Missy, I am so excited that you shared a case where the only thing that protected your wallet from a full on raid from Budget Rent a car was that you had done before and after video and pictures. I have video from the vehicle I rented last week and I've got the full video going around the vehicle, the whole thing, before and after. Because this is such a problem that we keep hearing from people like we're hearing from Missy. I keep the videos three months. I figure by then if I haven't heard from anybody, we're going to be fine. And so this is something that you have just taught other people. As far as whether you rent from Budget again, that is your choice. What's the expression? Burn once, shame on you. Burn twice, shame on me. So you'll have to make your own call.

[Krista]

I mean, at this point though, we're getting. I mean. Well, first I want to say I wouldn't have thought to, to video the roof. Now I'm going to do that. But also like we're, we're starting all these companies, we're hearing things about the rental car companies. So I kind of know what's going on.

[Clark Howard]

Well, rental car companies are owned by three conglomerates, except there's a smaller European family owned one called 6th that's spreading around the US but all the brands you see are owned by three groups.

[Krista]

JP in Georgia says Clark often praises cash back cards but at the same time rails against the credit card cartels for the high fees they charge merchants. I am sympathetic to the merchants. What is the cheapest way for me to pay them? Apparently reward cards charge merchants more than non reward cards or debit cards. Nobody likes checks, but they wouldn't cost a merchant anything. Neither does, dare I say it. But big bad Zell, do you see any competition coming to the cartels?

[Clark Howard]

I hope so. Gosh, you're taking me to an inside baseball thing. But you may or may not have heard if you were a big traveler and you subscribed to all these reward newsletters, they are being pushed by the credit card companies that pay them commissions for referral fees. When somebody says, hey, you should get this card from whoever, they're being pressured to put out these false things. Narratives about Congress breaking up the Visa, MasterCard Cartel. And the banks are clearly worried because they got a gravy train and so they're telling you you should write your congressman or senator and tell them to leave your reward cards alone. Well, first of all, those of us who play the reward card game, we're doing so to our benefit but to the detriment of everybody else who's getting just eaten alive by these massive cartel like charges from the big banks and the credit card cartels. So we would be much better off if we use systems that are spreading around the world like the one from Brazil that other countries are copying all over the globe where they are. Any Brazilian is able to send money to any other Brazilian or pay any business or whatever at almost zero cost. And the Federal Reserve here was working several years ago on putting together a similar money payment system that's extremely secure. And the banks went whining to the Congress and the regulators and we just don't want this because look at all the money we're making. It's a terrible, terrible abuse. Business owners, restaurants, retailers, even the big bad airlines getting clobbered, all these fees, you name it, on and on and on, this has got to stop. And it, and it's just this is a perfect symbol of the political corruption in the United States that big moneyed interests are able to conspire through the help of the campaign contributions they give to members of the House and the Senate to set up conditions harmful to the American people. And I've been reading a lot about how much allure there is right now among American voters for arguments from populists of all different kinds of things. And it's because the frustration people feel in the United States about how modern political life works against the interests of the country and the American people instead of for it. And that's all I got to say about that. Because now we're going to generate the place you go for Clark stinks is clark.comclarkston but the reality is JP what you're looking for already exists in the world. We just don't have it here. And you know whose fault that is? It's the big banks. It's Visa, MasterCard, American Express. They are at fault for why we don't have an efficient, secure, low cost payment system within our 50 states. It makes me frustrated, obviously, and I wish I could fix it. I can't. But maybe collectively we can. With that sober thought, finishing out today's podcast Speaking of Clark Stinks, our next podcast, my favorite of the week, when you get to hear Clark Stinks or see it. And I love having an opportunity to learn from you, to share with you, for you to share your wisdom with your fellow listener, viewer. And we'll be doing that on Friday. Right now you know, when you're done listening to this podcast or watching it, you can go do stuff for your wallet by checking us [e-mail] I love the content that we post all week [e-mail]. the whole idea is knowledge equaling power, giving you more control in your life so you can save more, spend less and avoid getting ripped off again. I'll see you Friday.

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[Krista]

Hello.

[Clark Howard]

Look what T.J. maxx dragged in.

[Commercial Announcer]

The Devil Wears Prada 2 is now streaming on Disney plus and Hulu.

[Clark Howard]

We are digital. We are downloadable. We are streamable.

[Commercial Announcer]

The fashion event of the year is certified fresh.

[Clark Howard]

Pull yourself together.

[Krista]

We have work to do.

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Critics say it's smart and witty and the perfect sequel.

[Clark Howard]

That's all.

[Commercial Announcer]

Get Runway ready for The Devil Wears Prada 2 on Disney plus and Hulu. Rated PG 13.