Credit card or Not!

[OutdoorFT]

Ill add my 2 cents.

I have a debit and credit card. My credit card rarely gets used, but I do use it ( and pay it off before interest). Im closing in on $200 cash back from using it. As long as you have money to buy it right then and there, its okay to use. Now if you have no money to pay it off, you shouldnt have one. Only bad things can happen.

FWIW, I dont use cash too often. My debit card makes it too easy to pay without visiting the bank once a week.

 

[poncho62]

I have 2 credit cards......I use one for Amazon purchases and my Paypal for eBay stuff. Pay off right away. I also put some minor items on them just to keep them active. It helps your credit score and if you need to book a flight, book a room etc...You need a card for that.
Also, my cards are not points cards that charge a yearly fee.....I guess if I wanted to go that route for the points, it may pay off....but I would rather not have a yearly fee.

 

[Dandelion_Puff]

I have quite a few credit cards. I keep track and have made almost $800 in cash back (or Amazon gift cards, which are as good as cash to me) in the last 8 months. I have paid exactly $0 in interest and fees in that time, since I only carry balances on cards which are in their 0% APR period and never accept a card with fees. But I also used to work in finance and so am highly aware of exactly how the game is played and how to win at it. Yes, the whole credit system is designed to take money from you, but if you have a deep understanding of it you can turn that around so that you actually profit off the system. A side-effect of the way I manage money/credit cards is that I have a great credit rating which has all kinds of little perks from discounts on my car insurance to the security of knowing I can open a new credit line in any emergency and getting massive fee-free overdraft protection from my bank.

No, I do not spend more money just because I always use credit cards. That's 100% a choice. I'm also seriously rolling my eyes at credit card users holding up lines. You've clearly never seen me fumble around trying to find and count out cash, lol.

What I never do, and strongly suggest no one else ever does, is use debit cards for regular purchases (online or in person). While you'll get your money back eventually when (and it is generally WHEN not IF) fraud occurs, it could take a very long time, and during that time you'll have an empty bank account instead of just a credit card which can't be used while they straighten it out. If you can't have a regular credit card for whatever reason, use a Visa prepaid card which you periodically recharge from your bank account. I use my debit card for getting cash out of ATMs and absolutely nothing else.

 

[akrvbob]

A debit card for 99% of my purchases has worked perfectly for me for a very, very long time. I have no intention of changing.

 

[Every Road Leads Home]

^Same with me.  I can't see how they are any less or more secure than any other plastic card.  Mines a Master Card/Debit card all the same built in protections as any other Mastercard.

And I can book a hotel/motel, rental car, and airlines with it so it does everything I'll ever need it to do.

 

[DuneElliot]

^Same with me.  I can't see how they are any less or more secure than any other plastic card.  Mines a Master Card/Debit card all the same built in protections as any other Mastercard.

And I can book a hotel/motel, rental car, and airlines with it so it does everything I'll ever need it to do.

No more or less secure but if your card is compromised and gets used money comes directly out of your bank account...and if you have bills to pay, or are needing that money in general, that can really hurt. Sometimes it takes a few days to a few weeks to get that money reimbursed. If my credit card is compromised it doesn't affect my bank balance, and many credit cards offer more protection on purchases and against fraud than debit cards.

 

[John61CT]

Easy enough to setup a pair of accounts, one saving one checking, debit draws from a low-balance checking account, you top it up from your phone with free online instant transfers.

But buyer protection has saved me on many large purchases over the years, credit cards do that even better than eBay.

 

[wagoneer]

Credit cards are very handy in an EMERGENCY. I DO NOT LEAVE FOR EXTENDED TIME without a clean clear credit card. Just very cautious about where and when I use it.

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

A debit card for 99% of my purchases has worked perfectly for me for a very, very long time. I have no intention of changing.

Lot's of people get away with using less-than-optimum methods, some for a very, very long time.  Nevertheless, they remain less-than-optimum.  Glad it's worked out for you.

Myself, once I know that A is better than B, there's no way I can keep using B, I've got to switch over to A.

For another example, I keep a special pen with my checkbook, one whose ink makes check washing impossible. Realistically, I realize that the odds of someone getting their hands on one of my checks and washing it fall somewhere between "a cold day in Hell"  and "Hell's frozen over".  Nevertheless, I will no longer use an ordinary pen to write checks.

As my net name suggests, I accept that people are out to get me, I take steps to minimize that possibility, and I get on with enjoying life.

 

[Trebor English]

I often use a credit card with a low limit.  If thieves get into it they are stealing the bank's money not mine.  The bank sent me a new card with a chip in it.  That makes it harder for the thieves as they have to adapt and use new methods now.  The banks are looking after their money.  I have a debit card that I only use in ATM machines.  The bank hasn't sent me a new card with a chip in it.  Why should they bother?  It's not their money.

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

I hate those chips.  You used to have to hand your card to the cashier, and they were supposed to check the signature.  On my cards, instead of signing them, I always wrote "ASK FOR ID", which some of them actually did.  Now they tell you to put your card in the reader and nobody ever looks at it.

 

[Canine]

Credit cards vs debit cards vs cash... that's like which is better, Ford, GM or Dodge. All personal preference as long as you are an educated consumer. If I "lost" my wallet I'd probably lose $20 in cash and 2 credit cards and one ATM card. There would certainly be fraudulent charges which I would either have a $0 or $50 responsibility for, I dont remember but I think its $0.

If I forswear credit and lose my wallet with $100 cash (a weeks gas and groceries), I'm out a solid $100 (for example). It's a hard decision. On a trip I use credit cards for gas (solely due to the large amount it can be), in town I try to use cash (cause I rarely burn more than a tank a week). "$30 on pump 4" is the usual...

 

[Every Road Leads Home]

No more or less secure but if your card is compromised and gets used money comes directly out of your bank account...and if you have bills to pay, or are needing that money in general, that can really hurt. Sometimes it takes a few days to a few weeks to get that money reimbursed. If my credit card is compromised it doesn't affect my bank balance, and many credit cards offer more protection on purchases and against fraud than debit cards.

That's a valid point.  I should have put a disclaimer in there.  I have two checking accounts (two debit cards) and a savings acct.  I only transfer money to the checking account as needed so if the card did get compromised then I'd have a limited amount of money in there anyways.  Then I could transfer money to the 2nd debit card account while awaiting the first accounts replacement card.  I also have two credit cards for emergencies.  And if all else fails, I usually keep around $500 in cash in my vehicle and always have $100 bill in my wallet.  The reason for the cash wasn't for emergency, I once stopped at a yard sale and they were selling a large rolling toolbox full of snap on tools for $300 bucks.  By the time I got back from the ATM it was gone.  So now I keep cash on me should I ever run into a too good to be true deal.  That was 15 years ago.  Haven't run into a deal like that again, but if I do i'll be ready!

I've actually had fraudulent charges on both credit cards and debit card.  But they replaced the money in all the cases and it was virtually hassle free, thus it's further relaxed my already lax attitude towards them being compromised.

 

[Every Road Leads Home]

Lot's of people get away with using less-than-optimum methods, some for a very, very long time.  Nevertheless, they remain less-than-optimum.  Glad it's worked out for you.

Myself, once I know that A is better than B, there's no way I can keep using B, I've got to switch over to A.

For another example, I keep a special pen with my checkbook, one whose ink makes check washing impossible. Realistically, I realize that the odds of someone getting their hands on one of my checks and washing it fall somewhere between "a cold day in Hell"  and "Hell's frozen over".  Nevertheless, I will no longer use an ordinary pen to write checks.

As my net name suggests, I accept that people are out to get me, I take steps to minimize that possibility, and I get on with enjoying life.

Ha, that's gotta be the most paranoid thing I think i've ever heard.  It would just be easier for them to make a blank check if they already have your account number.  You could do it on a home computer.  I actually had 10k taking from my account via a forged check with my account number.  That too was easily rectified and the money replaced.  I think the bank returned the money in less than 48 hours.

 

[DuneElliot]

I hate those chips.  You used to have to hand your card to the cashier, and they were supposed to check the signature.  On my cards, instead of signing them, I always wrote "ASK FOR ID", which some of them actually did.  Now they tell you to put your card in the reader and nobody ever looks at it.

The chip system works much better in Europe where they use PINs instead of signatures...that is how it was designed and it makes the card and the transaction much more secure. The chips are in general are designed to be more hacker proof because they use a algorithm sent over the network that changes with each use...but again, only more secure with a PIN really.

 

[akrvbob]

Myself, once I know that A is better than B, there's no way I can keep using B, I've got to switch over to A.

It might be optimal in limiting risk in one way, but it opens up another level of risk for many Americans that is drastically more likely to be a real and tragic problem.

[font=Roboto, arial, sans-serif]The Average American carries $16,748 in credit card debt and the total for the country is $779 billion. For those people the real world fact is that credit cards were one of the very worst things that ever happened to them. I'm one of those people.[/font]

[font=Roboto, arial, sans-serif]So yes, credit cards are optimal in one way, sadly, it is a very small risk that you are fighting off just as you are opening yourself up to a much larger risk. [/font]

[font=Roboto, arial, sans-serif]Apparently, the much greater risk does not apply to you, I'm very glad for you!  But it's tragic how many American lives are destroyed by the drastically bigger risk of abusing the card. [/font]

[font=Roboto, arial, sans-serif]So I thank the blanket statement that "Credit cards carry less risk."  is dangerously simplistic and naive in the real world.[/font]

[font=Roboto, arial, sans-serif]One of the world's great philosophers once said something very profound, "A man has got to know his limitations." Credit cards are beyond my limitations. [/font]

[font=Roboto, arial, sans-serif]So yes, I will gladly take the tiny risk of possible increased trouble with Debit Cards as opposed to the giant risk that I will abuse credit cards.[/font]

[font=Roboto, arial, sans-serif]And yes, I am a weak-willed simpleton who can't control his base desires.[/font]

 

[grandpacamper]

[font=Roboto, arial, sans-serif]And yes, I am a weak-willed simpleton who can't control his base desires.[/font]

I had to admit the same problem when I retired, I'm always amazed that the only people I'm meeting or talking to pay their credit card bills monthly, never carry a balance & have made fortunes by using them daily.  Who & where are the ones that keep running up our credit card debt, falling into bankruptcy because of their spending, buying more worthless 'stuff' just trying to be like the masses?  I never meet any of those.

 

[bullfrog]

A lot of people have problems staying out of debt, gambling, credit cards and house loans. Large banks, corporations and any one with money that allow people to make loans knowing they have not way of ever paying it back and then using the system to make money off the general public through bail outs, insurance and tax deductions are the really smart and powerful theives.

 

[TrainChaser]

"The Average American carries $16,748 in credit card debt ..."

YIKES! I must be smarter than I thought......

Grandpa: "Who & where are the ones that keep running up our credit card debt, falling into bankruptcy because of their spending, buying more worthless 'stuff' just trying to be like the masses? I never meet any of those."

Come to WA and I'll introduce you. "I'll just put it on my credit card" is a common refrain. They act like it's free money that they never have to pay back.

 

[bullfrog]

For a lot of people it is free money. Most of them are bank presidents or businessmen with several bankrupt "friends".