Why Can't LVA Name the Credit Card in Its Email Marketing?

I received an email from Las Vegas Advisor about a credit-card deal. Everything looked good, until I had to click three times just to find out what credit card it was. What's the big secret in revealing the name of the credit card that the Las Vegas Advisor is advertising?

Good question. Thanks for submitting it. It gives us a chance to explain.

The short answer is that the banks have fairly stringent compliance rules. The main concern of financial institutions is that if they don't hand out the links personally, they don't know who has access to them. For instance, if Capital One gives direct links to us, they know that the only place those links will go is lasvegasadvisor.com.

But it's difficult to get direct links from the banks themselves, since they want hundreds of conversions per month. Anything less just isn't worth their trouble. So they use third-party entities. That way, the only thing that the bank has to keep track of is how many conversions come from its single customer -- in our case, a company called Credit-Land. Credit-Land distributes the links to organizations like ours, to offer to our members and customers; then it aggregates all the conversions for the bank/credit card.

The banks and third-party aggregators generally enforce a blanket rule of not letting any third-party sites, like LasVegasAdvisor.com, use their card or bank name. It's a crude mechanism, but it's their chosen solution.

Actually, some banks are more stringent than others, and in this case, we're working with two of the stricter institutions. In other cases, we can use the name of the credit cards; it just depends on the rules of the particular aggregator we're affiliated with.

Either way, regulations in this business are understandable. If they didn't care about compliance, there would be nothing to stop them from giving links to a site involved in an industry with which the bank doesn't want to be associated. The last thing a credit card company wants is for you to do a search for the card and end up, for example, on a porn site that's heavily promoting it. Unlikely? Sure. But a blanket ban on using the name of the card in the post takes that possibility from unlikely to zero.

The upshot? In our subject line and email, we're not allowed to use the names of the credit card or bank. When you click through to the landing page, you'll see our logo on the upper right -- and Credit-Land's on the upper left. Only the page on Credit-Land.com can provide the names and the links to the cards.

If you'd like to discuss issues like these further, you can go to The Travel Game forums. We can't mention the names of the card or bank in content that we publish, but participants in the forums certainly can.

One more thing. Even though these restrictions exist and we have to abide by them, the cards we choose to promote in this new endeavor will always have elements that are particularly suited for Las Vegas visitors and gamblers, so it's probably worth your taking a look.

No part of this answer may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without the written permission of the publisher.

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Comments

Jackie Sep-16-2019

Credit cards can bankrupt you

Credit cards can be useful but can also ruin you.  If you get one set your limit to $1,000 which will cover most emergency uses or sets a monthly limit that can be paid in full each month.  Anything else you may want just get a bank loan for cheaper interest rates and it improves your credit rating as too many credit cards adversely effect your credit rating and the interest rates are higher than the bank loan.

Terence Sep-16-2019

LVA Weekly

I tried to sign up for LVAW, but nothing happened.  I logged in, went to the envelope in the upper right hand corner (near the icons for Facebook and Twitter) clicked on it, and nothing.  What did I do wrong?

Kevin Lewis Sep-16-2019

Bonus tip

Don't travel to Vegas with ANY credit cards. None. Carry a single debit card and use that for hotel and dining purchases. Take X amount of cash and that's your gambling budget. Period.

Giving yourself an extra credit card when going to Vegas is like giving a bottle of whiskey and the car keys to a teenage boy. Whatever the benefits of the card may be, it's just too much temptation to overspend, in a place where blowing your budget is almost a religion.

Tanya @LVA Sep-16-2019

LVA Weekly

Terence we are currently trying to figure out why this works for some people and not for others. I will give you an update when I have more information. In the meantime send an email to [email protected] and let us know which list you would like to join. QOD, Deals, Weekly blog updates, and/or ShopLVA specials.

shadow520 Sep-16-2019

@kevin lewis

While I understand why you give the advice you're giving, I disagree with it. Debit cards do not offer the protections that credit cards do. Certainly don't bring a stack of credit cards to Vegas, but don't use your debit card for hotel, rental car, or other purchases. You have no protection from having your bank account drained. At least with credit cards, you're not out the money for fraudulent activity or bogus hotel charges and can more easily dispute them.

The key to cards and Vegas is not getting cash with them. At all. Stay away from the ATM and the cash advance kiosks. Bring the cash you can gamble with and don't go back for more. Ever.

O2bnVegas Sep-16-2019

no debit card

shadow520's is right.  No debit card.  I think hotels don't accept debit cards for check-in purposes.  No refund to a debit card like you can with a credit card.

Roy Furukawa Sep-16-2019

Disagree with @kevin

If you can’t even control the urge to use a cc on a cash advance, you probably shouldn’t be visiting any casino. If you have your paycheck in your checking account, that means you have access from your linked debit card anyway, so it ends up a debacle either way.

Brent Sep-16-2019

It's all about discipline

I pay for everything I can with a credit card, and then I pay off all my balances every month. As a result, my wife and I get thousands of dollars in free travel every year. Our last trip to LV our plane tickets and base room rate for a 1 bedroom terrace suite at the Cosmopolitan were paid for 100% with points.

I understand that some people have credit card control issues (I used to have that problem myself). But if you have the discipline, credit cards are a great way to earn substantial perks.

Kevin Lewis Sep-16-2019

Debit card protections

I haven't used credit cards for fifteen years. I can use my debit cards for everything--including hotel rooms and deposits. I have the same protections credit card users have against fraud. And I keep most of my money in savings, so only a small sum would be at risk. There's a limit on my ATM withdrawals.

And I don't pay some bank 18% interest on unpaid balances! I pay as I go, and I'm never in hock.

Eric Forman Sep-16-2019

Some credit cards are great

I have two credit cards, one for Costco that gives me 4% back on gas and 3% on everything at Costco, and another through my credit union that gives me 3% on everything (but I can't use it at Costco). I charged over $40,000 last year and got some nice rebate checks. And I didn't spend a penny on interest because I pay my cards off in full less than two weeks after rining up charges. The cards aren't the problem, it's a lack of self-control. If you can't control your spending then fine, give yourself a tiny limit so you can handle an emergency, but as long as they're paying me to use the cards, I'll take it.

Jeff Sep-16-2019

Debit cards v. credit cards

Yes, debit cards technically have the same protections against fraud, identity theft etc. as a credit card, however if someone makes charges against your credit card, it's the credit card company that has advanced the funds. You still have all your money and never have to pay the charges. In a dispute, you have the upper hand. With a debit card, *you* are out the amount of the stolen funds and must argue to get your money back which may or may not be easy to do. 

A credit card analyst once wrote that when many people get their first credit card, they spend more money, sometimes a lot more, than they would have if they'd paid cash because it didn't feel like they were spending real money. But after getting a few monthly bills from the credit card company, they realized emotionally what they knew intellectually and reduced their spending to what it had been prior to getting their first credit card.

Cyclone99 Sep-17-2019

Using debit cards at hotels

The other problem with using a debit card for your hotel stay are the holds. Hotels can put a large hold on your card when you check in to cover the potential bill for your stay; which can be significantly larger than your actual bill ends up being. You won't have access to that money in your checking account until the hold is removed, which can be days after you check out.

Like others have commented, I use credit cards to pay for everything I can and reap the rewards, paying off the balances in full every month. I would never consider getting a credit card cash advance in Vegas just for the fact of having to pay a finance charge.

Michael Friedman Sep-17-2019

Credit vs Debit

We actually have an upcoming post on the debit card vs. credit card debate. The short answer is, it's almost always advantageous to use a credit card. But, as multiple readers have pointed out, they can be a killer if you can't control your spending. Most rewards cards have interest rates in the 20%+ range, which will obviously overwhelm any rewards you get.

The card that we talk about with 4% back on dining and entertainment is unbelievable in Las Vegas. Just please, pay off your balance in full every month.

Question of the Day - 16 September 2019

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