The Way To Someone's Heart

Being an ineligible bachelor, I have no real use for Valentine's Day. So I typically forget about it (literally) unless someone reminds me that it's coming up. This year, that someone was my bank. Under a stereotypically sugary picture of a couple canoodling over cups of coffee (or maybe hot cocoa), I was told that I'd get cash back on purchases for the month, and bonus points for spending money in the following (among others):

• Jewelry and watch stores
• Candy and chocolate stores
• Restaurants
• Florists and flower shops
• Bakeries

For most people, I suppose, this sort of messaging is more about getting them to use a particular credit card (namely the one issued by their bank) for purchases that they're already going to make. And I guess there is no harm in that. I did find it interesting that in order to receive the cashback, I'd have to spend more than $1,000 on my card this month, given that the average for Valentine's Day spending is somewhere in the area of $170. Of course, the expectation isn't that I'd spend the full $1,000 buying gifts for a significant other, but the email does sort of suggest that maybe I should.

I don't think that I saw this sort of message last year, so I'm curious about how the decision to solicit credit card spending from customers was reached. Maybe inflation worries have prompted people to pull back on their spending (even though conventional wisdom says that in a "high-inflation" environment, it's better to spend sooner, rather than later). Maybe it's just because other businesses are also looking to attract some of the $25.9 billion or so that people are expected to spend this year.

In any event, the message is wasted on me. But still, I'd like to know how well it works overall.