Are CCs worth the hassle?

[PrincessPerky]

......
So he charged it and I was like Woah $4500 we owe? Well if it had been a debit card he would have overdrafted our account for sure.....

I said I don't use a CC, I never said I didn't have in my wallet....several in fact. If that happened to us, the CC would have gotten a work out. might have to blow some dust off it though

[LivingAlmostLarge]

ActYourWage, no he did not know ahead of time. He is not a salesman, he is not in business. He is a scientist and they all decided who was going and decided to book together. They all have to pay. He and a couple of others choose the same hotel that goes with the conference. This is how a lot of things work in science.

No he knew what conference but he didn't think someone would say let's all book together and get on the same flight, etc.

It doesn't always work like that. He is not a big-wig, he is a entry level scientist. He doesn't travel, except once a year to a required continuing education conference. He picks the conference but he tries to go with others to a bigger size conference. This particular event is not only a conference but also a week long course in his field.

I do this as well, one big conference a year. And together as a lab we try to travel together it's more fun. We also stay together. BUT industry is more luxury. My DH gets his own room, me I have to share as a student.

So nope, it is not planned in advance. Yes he could call me, but what am I going to say? Don't pay that much, pick a cheaper conference? And how do you plan when you don't know if you are going to Europe, San Fran, DC, Canada, Mexico, Hawaii for a conference? A few years from now we're going to hawaii for sure, but it's once every 5 years.

This is how it's done unfortunately. Airline tickets are expensive right now.

[atomicrc11]

Using a Debit card for everything can be dangerous. I only use it to take out money at the ATM or in emergencies. Bad things can happen such as:

I went to lunch once, the woman typed in 111.50 instead of 11.05. This caused an immediate overdraft in my account. They said they refunded the money immediately, but they actually took 3 days to do it, which cost me the overdraft fee.

I've never had it happen, but using a debit card for a hotel can drain your account. The hotel will put a hold on your card for the whole stay. If the say will total $1000, they will put a $1000 hold on your checking account, and none of that money will show as available becuase that $1000 will show pending until after you check out. Then they charge you the $1000 and it looks like $2000 was taken out of your account until the hold goes away. That is a recipe for overdrafts.

Using your PIN for purchases offers no protection, so if they take the wrong amount, you have to deal with the merchant, your bank won't do a thing.

Even if you use it as a Mastercard or Visa, it still takes the money out of your account. So if there are fraudulent charges, you won't be liable for them, but could be held liable for the overdraft.

This is why I take out cash for fun money during the week and put the rest on credit cards. for protection, credit cards are far superior and cannot be replaced by debit cards. Also, some banks put a limit on how much can be charged per day. So if the limit is $1000, you cannot buy anything more than that even if the money is in the account.

[ActYourWage]

"I went to lunch once, the woman typed in 111.50 instead of 11.05."

That is definitely true. It happened to me once. I filled up with gas one time and there was this teenage that double charged me. I started getting phone calls all the time from a collection agency and they were VERY rude and it wasn't even my doing. I finally had the owner of the gas station fix the issue.

That being said, debit cards can be misused, I like to use cash. Where I am located, I have the privilege to not have to worry about using CCs, but I can see where one would come in handy for traveling.

[ActYourWage]

Thanks for the replies. I have learned much from this discussion.

To answer my own question, "Are CCs worth the hassle?" I say no, however, "Are debit cards worth the hassle?" I would have to honestly say no.

Starting out understanding personal finance, I would steer clear of both CCs and DCs until one has the sufficent knowledge on how to use them.

Both CCs and DCs could be useful tools if used correctly.

[maat55]

A few rewards a year is not worth it.

If everything goes right, paying my normal expenses with my CC will give me 50 to 60 towards my mortgage. That's 600+ per year not including saved interest. Not a bad perk.

I also get 6 months 0% interest to get my system perfected.

[ActYourWage]

If everything goes right, paying my normal expenses with my CC will give me 50 to 60 towards my mortgage. That's 600+ per year not including saved interest. Not a bad perk.

I also get 6 months 0% interest to get my system perfected.

As a fellow DR fan, the lure of the dark side is drawing you to them, may the force be with you. Just playing with you.

[disneysteve]

A few rewards a year is not worth it.

We earned about $900 in rewards last year, and there was no hassle involved at all. Using the card provides a huge convenience that cash and debit cards can't provide, IMO.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

I earned over $3k. Damn tuition. Might as well get a discount. And actyourwage, please tell me how else to get 5% back on a boatload of tuition payments? There is no negotiating, it's directly on the website. Paying cash they will not give you a discount!

And if I don't pay my DH doesn't go. So I guess it's something we HAVE to spend, kinda like rent or utilities or medical insurance.

And maybe we overspend 12-18%? Nah, can't be because the school sets the tuition amount and determines that if we take two classes @ 4 credits each it's $1100/credit. Darn.

Darn CC for giving me a reward.

[ActYourWage]

I earned over $3k. Damn tuition. Might as well get a discount. And actyourwage, please tell me how else to get 5% back on a boatload of tuition payments? There is no negotiating, it's directly on the website. Paying cash they will not give you a discount!

And if I don't pay my DH doesn't go. So I guess it's something we HAVE to spend, kinda like rent or utilities or medical insurance.

And maybe we overspend 12-18%? Nah, can't be because the school sets the tuition amount and determines that if we take two classes @ 4 credits each it's $1100/credit. Darn.

Darn CC for giving me a reward.

Pay cash in full each semester.

[disneysteve]

I earned over $3k. Damn tuition. Might as well get a discount. And actyourwage, please tell me how else to get 5% back on a boatload of tuition payments? There is no negotiating, it's directly on the website. Paying cash they will not give you a discount!

Pay cash in full each semester.

How would paying cash be better than paying by credit card and getting a 5% discount? You'd pay an extra 5% that way. That doesn't make any sense.

[disneysteve]

And maybe we overspend 12-18%?

I think a lot of anti-CC folks hang on those studies that say people spend 18% more when they use a CC. That assumes that you are using your card for a lot of discretionary spending and variable purchases. Most of our charges are non-discretionary or fixed-cost items: gas, home and cell phones, cable, internet, Netflix, EZ Pass tolls, newspaper and magazine subscriptions, auto maintenance and registration, professional licenses, auto insurance, alarm fee, groceries and more. Those are all things that we would be spending the exact same amount on no matter how we paid the bills. The extra 18% probably is folks who are out at the mall every weekend looking to spend money on things they don't need and can't afford. We aren't like that at all.

[maat55]

I'm going to put the same thought and discipline into using the CC as I would a business. If I can't run this business, I will shut it down.

[Scanner]

Let me speak as a business owner why you have to have a credit card and can't use a debit card.

Sometimes you just don't have the money in the account.

The insurance companies could be sitting on their money, letting it accumulate interest, and I am waiting to be paid. Meanwhile, employees need to be paid and suppliers need their money.

So. . .that's where my business line of credit and my credit card come into play.

The credit card floats the debt for 30 days and then if I just can't make the full payment then, it gets transferred to my LOC.

Debit card is just not viable, not to mention the fraud risk it carries.

[Scanner]

PS: You can't just shut down a business when it's doing bad. You would be in violation of your lease agreement and the landlord would haul your bottom into court.