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How is a credit card marketed as "sustainable credit card" different from a conventional credit card?

  • Do those providers, for instance, invest less in oil and coal projects?
  • Or are they in any way more local or socially just regarding their overall business practices?
orschiro
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  • One sustainable bank's view on the matter of sustainable banking in general. For a credit card it's a bit odd. For regular loans a sustainable bank can decide not to issue credit for a land mine factory, with a credit card you can spend money on anything. – gerrit Dec 12 '16 at 12:15
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    I don't think this question is answerable, at least not without more information. It could simply be greenwashing, it could be carbon-offsetting purchases, it could be the bank closely monitoring your finances to make sure they remain sustainable. It depends on the company that's offering it. – THelper Dec 12 '16 at 15:12
  • It could be the company is run in a more sustainable way. ie using renewable energy for their offices and servers, and not sending out paper statements. – vclaw Dec 13 '16 at 03:48
  • As THelper said (but in different words): you read that quote somewhere. Please give us context. I would not be surprised if the card company using the phrase has a 'definition' somewhere (vague as it may be). –  Jan 02 '17 at 15:26
  • I'm voting to close. I think the question could be worded better, and include more information. – LShaver Jan 03 '17 at 16:40
  • I updated my question to give some ideas of what I am looking for. – orschiro Jan 04 '17 at 17:39
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    I'm not sure your edit helped. My point is a that a sustainable credit card offered by bank A could be totally different from another sustainable credit card offered by bank B. There is no legal definition of 'sustainable', so any bank can do whatever they like. – THelper Jan 05 '17 at 08:42
  • I see your point. Thus, there is no general answer we can give to this question. Maybe it is indeed best to close this question. – orschiro Jan 05 '17 at 10:11
  • I'm still thinking about a good way to rephrase your question. An option could be to mention one or two specific sustainable credit cards and ask how exactly they are sustainable or more green. But any answer will depend on the information that is supplied by the banks and such a rewrite will make the existing answer invalid. – THelper Jan 05 '17 at 13:04

1 Answers1

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Two things factor in to the sustainability of a credit card:

  1. What you do with the credit you have
  2. What the bank does with the money it makes

Obviously, the first point is totally within your power -- max out the card on carbon offsets!

So, that leaves the second point. According to Green America, there are a number of credit card companies which invest the proceeds of their business (the fees they collect from card-holders and vendors who accept credit cards) in socially and environmentally conscious ways.

These investments are often defined by what they are not:

  • Fossil fuel mining, refining, and burning projects and companies
  • Predatory lending

Other credit cards (including a few from big banks), called affinity cards, allow you to donate your points to charity, instead of spending them on TVs and plane tickets. However, if you are in the US and typically itemize your tax deductions, you may want to confirm whether or not this type of donation offers any tax benefit.

LShaver
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