Sure, you may not actually donate in practice. But you could (with just a small amount of extra effort) set up your bank account to automatically transfer a certain amount of money each month to SIAI. If the rewards program for the credit card gives less monetary value than the best rewards program you have access to, then you are basically paying the credit card company because you are too lazy to set up an automatic transfer for your bank account.
In my mind, this would amount to paying the credit card company a monthly fee in order to help you overcome akrasia once. It would be different if they were helping you overcome akrasia every single month, or if you actually are such a chronic akrasia sufferer that you can’t even fill out a form at your local bank. My estimate is that for most people this is not the case.
Potentially yes, but would it happen in practice?
Sure, you may not actually donate in practice. But you could (with just a small amount of extra effort) set up your bank account to automatically transfer a certain amount of money each month to SIAI. If the rewards program for the credit card gives less monetary value than the best rewards program you have access to, then you are basically paying the credit card company because you are too lazy to set up an automatic transfer for your bank account.
In my mind, this would amount to paying the credit card company a monthly fee in order to help you overcome akrasia once. It would be different if they were helping you overcome akrasia every single month, or if you actually are such a chronic akrasia sufferer that you can’t even fill out a form at your local bank. My estimate is that for most people this is not the case.