Cutting commentary on metal credit cards

Metal replacement has been a trend for some time in several industries, notably automative, because of the lightweighting and cost reduction that plastics can bring to applications. One sector, in an admittedly small way, is going against the tide: Credit card companies. In a short rant, Josh Barro, Senior Editor at Business Insider and host of Left, Right & Center, produced by Southern California public radio station KCRW, explained why metal credit cards are a stupid idea.

You may have been invited by a bank to join its select rank of preferred customers and apply for a metal credit card. Granted, they look pretty cool. They are designed, of course, to appeal to your ego and to ostentatiously announce to the world your elite status. Not everyone is impressed, including Barro.

During a segment called “pet peeves from across the political spectrum,” which closes the half-hour roundtable discussion of the week’s political news, Barro called out the metal credit cards. “They are difficult to take out of your wallet,” he said, “and every time I give it to a clerk, I feel like a douche, because they’re like, ‘oooh, it’s so heavy.’” But what really got Barro’s dander up is the unnecessary complication it creates when disposing of an unwanted card.

The credit card company accidentally sent him two cards and he only needed one. Not a problem with a plastic card, but “you can’t cut up a solid metal card,” said Barro. “So, I Googled what to do. It turns out that you have to call Chase and ask them for a postage-paid envelope so that you can send them the card to destroy.” After a slight pause, Barro ended his rant by saying, “credit cards should be made of plastic.”

Hear, hear!

This and past episodes of Left, Right & Center are available on the KCRW website.