Logical reasoning PrepTest 105 · Section 2 · Question 11

Flawed

Strengthen with Necessary Premise Questions

Credit card customers can use points to get discounted merchandise shipped to them, so customers who buy stuff using this program spend less than if they shopped at a retail store.

The conclusion here is comparative - people who buy via the credit card program spend less than they would if they buy the merch in retail stores. So we need to check to see if we can find information that allows that comparison to be made. What do we learn about the costs of this merch via the credit card and at retail locations? Well, really, only one thing - the credit card program offers these items at a price lower than the manufacturers’ suggested retail price. That compares the cost of the merch via the rewards program to the suggested retail price. However, that falls short of showing that it’ll be cheaper to get it through the rewards program than at a retail store. First off, the retail store might itself offer a discount! If their discount matches that of the credit card rewards program, then it wouldn’t be cheaper to get it via that program. There also isn’t a discussion of other costs - for example, shipping and handling. The credit card company’s program allows purchase by mail, so the costs associated with that might eat up any discount and make it cheaper to just pick it up at the store. So we should be looking for answers that address the costs of retail and the rewards program. It could discuss retailers selling at lower than suggested retail price, or extra costs associated with the rewards program, or even discounts that retailers offer.