With respect to JPMorgan, I personally don’t give them a dime – they send me money. I don’t pay an annual fee and I never pay interest to them. I use my credit card as if it were a debit card, paying off the balance every single month. For the privilege and convenience of lending me money for 30 days each month, they pay me hundreds of dollars every year.

Fascinating — really !! I am in a death spiral dance trying to get the lowest possible fares on my 12 international trips in 12 months for Heifer, and basically end up traveling on three different airlines to minimize my air miles on all… dohhhh! But I agree about Cap One Venture Card -it’s great (although the rewards requirements are higher: 35,000 vs. 25,000 for domestic travel) –but the real bonus is that they don’t charge the 3% markup on international purchases that Chase does. And let’s face it — NOBODY should be giving JP Morgan Chase another dime given their slimeball derivatives screw-up (again) and their relentless insistence that no banking crapshoot should be regulated… Happy Friday – can’t wait to hear more about Marfa!!