Credit Where Credit is Due A Tale of Fiscal Philosophies

Credit. As Americans, we consider it our birthright. One credit card is good. Two are better. What about a wallet full? You need to establish your credit early. Get a credit card when you are in college. Making sure that by doing so…you can secure, you guessed it…more credit. After all, it is the only way to ensure that you can live above your means. The average American household carries a credit card balance of $14,750! Considering the median household income in the US is around $46,000, it doesn’t take an accountant to realize that this balance is not likely to be paid off anytime soon.

John and I happen to be very conservative about the use of credit. We never carry a balance from month to month. Instead, we use our credit cards like cash. So our credit rating is off the charts (in a good way). Of course, in the US, that means that everyone wants to give us more credit that we won’t use. Limitless credit.

‘Please’, the banks say, ‘we want you to get into debt…it’s how we make money. And if you have friends who may also want to live beyond their means,, please feel free to get an additional card for them.’

And, I think about one in every 10 of the credit card solicitations that we get every month is actually includes our dog…

So, after getting our first US credit card statements with charges from Australia, and noticing how the ‘foreign currency’ charges rack up, we decided we needed Australian credit cards.

So, since we have a mortgage in the US with Citibank, we started there. We were summarily turned down for a Visa card. TURNED DOWN!!! Something about we’re not sure what, but clearly, they did not want us to live beyond our means.

So, next I called American Express. I’ve been a ‘member’ since 1982, and due to my business travel and the fact that we use our cards for all household expenses, we have close to 2 million awards points (that we have never redeemed). We have a Platinum card in the US. I figured I had some clout.

‘Oh, do you want to switch your current account to an Australian one? I can do that for you.’

‘No thank you, I would like to keep it and open up an additional Australian account.’

‘Oh, I see. (the vibe on the other end of the phone clearly indicated that wanting multiple credit cards is a definite warning sign of a credit criminal) Well, you’ll have to reapply for our card. It will take about 60 days for approval, if you qualify.’

HUH? Apparently membership doesn’t have as many privileges as I thought.

Now this is getting ridiculous.

As we licked our wounds and tried to get over the indignation, we remembered this story:

Years ago, John and I got our first boat with electronics—GPS, radar, the whole enchilada. Suddenly, we felt a bit invincible against the elements. Then one day, John recommended that we go for a sail. I looked out the window. The fog was so thick that we couldn’t see across the bay. It was then that I sat John down and explained to him that perhaps we weren’t on the same page on this one…that there were two schools of thought. In my mind, the electronics were not there to allow you to get INTO trouble, but rather they were there to get you OUT of trouble, should you happen upon it.

So, let’s just say we got over our shock by realizing that the philosophy about credit in Australia is that it’s about not letting you get into trouble. Use your credit cards to live within your means.

But we still needed a credit card!

So we pulled out all the stops and used our connections to get a friend of a friend who works at a bank to help us. But alas, I was out of town, so only John could get one, as they do not issue cards here sight unseen.

And now, every time we get our mail shipment from the US, we wistfully open the ‘you have been pre-approved for a new (insert card name here)’ letters and dream of reckless spending…

Global Car Brands and Rocket Science

So, how many times have I said that building a global automotive brand isn’t rocket science? How different can people’s attitudes about cars really be?

And, given my experience with cars, everyone always feels compelled to discuss their automotive purchases with me. But my first such conversation with an Australian colleague caught me off guard.

It all started familiarly enough. ‘Yes, I know I should consider a Nissan, they are our client, but the brand is not so cool. My wife just can’t see herself driving one….’

Yes, I had been to this party before. I was just waiting for the next sentence to be about a Honda, a VW, an Audi, a BMW, a Porsche…. And then it came...

‘So, we’re going to buy a Peugeot instead’

A WHAT??? That funky French brand that left the market in the US and no one noticed they were gone? THAT is cooler than a Nissan? I might as well have been talking to a three-headed alien at the Space Bar in Star Trek.

The next week, a friend who has all the means in the world to drive anything, picked us up in his…you guessed it Peugeot. Now I’m sensing a French conspiracy. How could this be happening?

Up until then, I hadn't really taken notice of the cars in on the narrow streets of my neighborhood, as not unlike the narrow streets in my neighborhood in Long Beach, most of the cars had luxury badges. Mercedes, BMW’s, and maybe a few more Aston Martins than at home (blame that on the Brits), but nothing unusual??

Ah but look more closely. The badges are not attached to big honkin’ SUV’s. They’re not even attached to stately sedans. Instead they are attached to little econo-hatchbacks! Little econo-hatchbacks, with little engines that sell for over $50,000! (US or AUS, it’s the same these days) HUH?

OK, you could say the same for the SUV's and sedans, but they're, well, BIG. And all Americans know the value of BIG....cars, houses, not to mention closets, which I previously have.

But I guess at the end of the day, it means that these brands are stronger than the products, which is what branding is all about. And I guess global brands can deliver the same promise in different packages for different sensibilities.

But I’m still going to have to find a rocket scientist to explain the PEUGEOT phenomena to me.