Who uses credit cards?

[James Pollock]

I use debit cards because i personally not in favor of any debt from person or business.Personally i am not in favor of taking debt.It makes your life limited so always depend on your own resources.Specially when you do borrow in business then it becomes a bit difficult and irritated as well.So i suggest you all to do business in your resources and try maximum to avoid from debt.

[disneysteve]

if we can't pay for something in cash, we don't buy it.

I would love to get to a point where we can use them and pay the balance every month and gain rewards, but I don't see that happening anytime soon.

This is what I don't quite understand. I totally agree with you that if you can't pay for something in cash, you shouldn't buy it. But if you can pay in cash, what's the difference if you actually hand over the paper money or swipe your card and then write a check (or do an electronic transfer) to the credit card company? Either way, you are spending the same money.

I use debit cards because i personally not in favor of any debt

If you only use your credit card for things you already have the cash for and you pay the bill in full every month, there isn't any debt involved. Some people pay their credit card as soon as they get home from making the purchase which is essentially the same as using a debit card.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

I use credit cards always. Paid in full. Boring and easy. Anyway though I was wondering, why not use them for gas for car and auto-bill pay. Stuff you'd budget to pay anyway. Sure you can overspend if you lack self-control on eating out and groceries.

But couple of categories how can you overspend? Cell phone bill, cable, etc?

[disneysteve]

why not use them for gas for car and auto-bill pay. Stuff you'd budget to pay anyway. Sure you can overspend if you lack self-control on eating out and groceries.

But couple of categories how can you overspend? Cell phone bill, cable, etc?

That's exactly what we do. Our one credit card, a Chase Visa, we use almost exclusively for auto-payments. Our home phone, cell phone, cable, alarm fee and a couple of other things get charged to that card each month. It is so much easier to just make one payment rather than 5 or 6 individual payments. Plus we get the rewards in the process. The bills are the same no matter what so why not get the added benefit from using the credit card.

[BuckyBadger]

I use debit cards because i personally not in favor of any debt from person or business.Personally i am not in favor of taking debt.It makes your life limited so always depend on your own resources.Specially when you do borrow in business then it becomes a bit difficult and irritated as well.So i suggest you all to do business in your resources and try maximum to avoid from debt.

The other advantage of credit cards over cash and ESPECIALLY over debit cards is the element of safety and insurance that using credit cards gives you. Consumer protection and limited liability are huge benefits of using credit cards.

Don't charge what you can't already pay for. Enjoy free money from your credit card company. Rinse and repeat.

[kork13]

The other advantage of credit cards over cash and ESPECIALLY over debit cards is the element of safety and insurance that using credit cards gives you. Consumer protection and limited liability are huge benefits of using credit cards.

!!!TANGENT ALERT!!! (sorry...)

Why is that? Why do credit cards fundamentally offer greater protections? My only thought might be that it's a difference between who is providing the funds to cover the card purchase. Visa and Mastercard and other CC companies have extremely large vats of operating funds, so they can better afford to offer more advantageous coverages than smaller, individual banks which issue debit cards directly, and must cover charges directly.

No idea... It just strikes me as strange that two nearly identical methods of swiping a card to buy something has such vastly dissimilar customer protections.

(If this topic needs to go to a separate thread, we can do that easy... I just didn't bother doing it right now. )

[krantcents]

We use credit cards for everything! They are reward cards so I earn frequent flier miles. I pay the entire monthly amount every month.

[Pansori]

I use my credit cards for almost everything. I still purchase gas using my debit card, but that is about it. I only have 2 cards, so net purchases go on one low limit card, regular everyday purchases goes on my CU card that has some cash back rewards attached to it. I do PIF every month because I like seeing the 0 in interest paid YTD. Plus it makes me uncomfortable to carry a balance.

I appreciate Zim's honesty about why he doesn't use cc. I look at hundreds of credit card accounts a day, and a LOT of people need to step away from the cards.

[JoshuaHeckathorn]

!!!TANGENT ALERT!!! (sorry...)

Why is that? Why do credit cards fundamentally offer greater protections? My only thought might be that it's a difference between who is providing the funds to cover the card purchase. Visa and Mastercard and other CC companies have extremely large vats of operating funds, so they can better afford to offer more advantageous coverages than smaller, individual banks which issue debit cards directly, and must cover charges directly.

No idea... It just strikes me as strange that two nearly identical methods of swiping a card to buy something has such vastly dissimilar customer protections.

(If this topic needs to go to a separate thread, we can do that easy... I just didn't bother doing it right now. )

Debit cards provide thieves with direct access to your bank accounts. If compromised, someone could make purchases directly from your account and you might never be able to recover the funds.

On the other hand, credit cards aren't linked directly to your bank accounts and most credit issuers offer a 0 liability policy for unauthorized charges. If your card is ever stolen, the cash in your bank accounts will remain safe and available.

Of course, purchase protection, which protects you from receiving a faulty product or no product at all, is a nice added benefit of credit cards as well.

[SteveBlissLaw]

I am probably in the minority, but I never use credit cards. My parents got in debt so bad that it just scared me away from them for life I guess

[KiwiJo09]

After we finish paying off our debt, we have plans to use just one credit card to buy gas and paying it off at the end of every month.

We still have quite a ways to go though.

[BudgetMath.com]

My wife and I use our Discover cards for almost every day purchases, which provides us with somewhere around $400-$500 a year in cashback. We also use our other cards when they offer zero percent options to finance larger purchases, which allows us to keep the money in the back earning interest.

cooliemae: What percentage cash back are you getting on your Discover cards?

I have a Bank of America Platinum Plus card which only gives us 1% cash back.. So we've been looking to switch to a card with a higher cash back percentage.

[jerrycates]

I think about 90% of the global population has used or are using the credit card. May it be for needful use or wants. I just stay away from it.

[JoshuaHeckathorn]

cooliemae: What percentage cash back are you getting on your Discover cards?

I have a Bank of America Platinum Plus card which only gives us 1% cash back.. So we've been looking to switch to a card with a higher cash back percentage.

There are a lot of better cash back cards out there- I would definitely move on from the BofA card. The Discover More card offers up to 5% cash back, but only for certain categories and they rotate (ie travel, gas, groceries, restaurants). You'll always get at least 1%.

If you're a Costco member, you might want to check out the True Earnings Amex card too. Your Costco membership covers the annual fee and you'll earn 3% back for gas and restaurants, 2% for travel, and 1% for everything else. You don't have to worry about any rotating categories. I use this card myself and love it. I actually use the business version so I get 4% cash back on gas...very nice :-).

[smoothsailingfs]

I stay away from credit cards. I have been there and done that and it casued a lot of problems and cost us a lot of money. If I cant afford it with my income, I save or do without. Never been happier.

Tyson