Credit Cards Or No Credit Cards that is the Question??

wacker293

Is it wise to have no credit/credit cards at all...?

nomoneytoday

Depends on the individual and their amount of savings?

p00hsticks

wacker293 wrote: »

Is it wise to have no credit/credit cards at all...?

In my opinion, only if you are a spendaholic and/or uncontrollably in debt.

If you are financially literate then having a credit card allows you to take advantage of the extra consumer protection that Section 75 of the consumer credit act offers when making large purchases, and lets you to do things such as book certain hotel rooms and rent hire cars (which I think you'd find difficult to do without a credit card).

You can also save money by using a cashback card or taking advantages of 0% purchase periods.

Mikek_3

wacker293 wrote: »

Is it wise to have no credit/credit cards at all...?

I think so ,have not had one for six years ,no problems paying for anything on Internet or elsewhere

Mike

NickX

wacker293 wrote: »

Is it wise to have no credit/credit cards at all...?

Not in my opinion.

I use Credit Cards whenever possible for the following reasons :

(a) Protection under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act
(b) Cashback when using the appropriate card
(c) Benefit from making purchases interest free (either from a 0% promotion or timing purchases appropriately)
(d) Potential promotional Balance Transfer offers on existing cards
(e) Building up a good Credit Rating
(f) Very useful for making hotel\car hire bookings, and purchasing online

To be honest I think it is wise to use Credit Cards as much as possible.

One proviso though : You only use the Credit Cards to make purchases you would make anyway and are not simply purchasing "because you have a Credit Card".

Being blunt if you feel that it is wise to not use Credit Cards then you are probably not wise enough to manage your finances anyway - not meaning to offend anyone.

lisyloo

Have you tried to hire a car Mike?
I think you would have difficulty and they'd wantqabout £500 cash deposit (in case anythign was damaged).

Mikek_3

lisyloo wrote: »

Have you tried to hire a car Mike?
I think you would have difficulty and they'd wantqabout £500 cash deposit (in case anythign was damaged).

If they want a deposit I pay it

NickX

Mikek wrote: »

If they want a deposit I pay it

Mikek, no offence intended, but as you obviously are of the belief that Credit Cards are not a good thing for people's finances then why have you spent the last few days posting on these boards?

I am not in anyway suggesting that you do not have a right to post here, ofcourse you do, but I am wondering why you would come on here if you do not believe credit cards are useful money saving tool.

Although Credit Cards have caused many to get into terrible debt, there are also many of us who have manipulated them in such a way to actually make us money and prove a money saving tool. Hopefully you can understand that from some of the responses that you have seen.

Best Wishes :beer:

Mikek_3

NickX wrote: »

Mikek, no offence intended, but as you obviously are of the belief that Credit Cards are not a good thing for people's finances then why have you spent the last few days posting on these boards?

I am not in anyway suggesting that you do not have a right to post here, ofcourse you do, but I am wondering why you would come on here if you do not believe credit cards are useful money saving tool.

Although Credit Cards have caused many to get into terrible debt, there are also many of us who have manipulated them in such a way to actually make us money and prove a money saving tool. Hopefully you can understand that from some of the responses that you have seen.

Best Wishes :beer:

No offence taken,because there are people with different views ,for ,against,and inbetween.As you can tell I am against.

If a question is asked I would think all views are asked for.

I might have came accross to strong in my views , I am sorry for that,taken advise and think I have toned it down.

Mike

lisyloo

I think most people would find it useful to use a card for things like car hire especailly in foreign countries where foreign currency comes into play.
I think Mike is the exception being willing/happy to put down large deposits when they are most likely to be not needed.

Also in this climate you have protection if a comapny goes bust.

I've had many hundreds of poun ds of cashback over the last few years and never paid a penny in interest, so if you are savvy then they can work great.

They also help me pay for business expense which I then reclaim from my employer.

Lots of people don't have hundreds or thousands of pounds to bank roll their employer or a hire car company.

Of cours if youa ren't disciplined they can be disastrous and wreck lives, but that comes down to the handling of it, not the card itself.
Bit like a kitchen knife I guess. Can be used skillfully in the right hands but a deadly weapon in other hands.

I think Mike has every right to express his views and experiences even though they are different from mine.

wacker293

(a) Protection under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act


Very good point!