Very Green Q: What is the point of credit cards?

StephenM_2

Credit cards help me minimise the amount of money I have to keep in my current account and maximise the amount of money I have earning interest in savings accounts. This is because money spent on my debit card is taken from my account immediately so if I didn't have a credit card I'd have to keep a higher balance to guard against emergencies or higher than expected spending. Using my credit card, however, gives me plenty of time to transfer the money to my current account before it gets taken.

callum9999

CLAPTON wrote: »

better to never go into debt (except for mortgage)


however CC do have some benefits

-section 75 protection that means the CC company is jointly responsible for the product/service with the supplier (e.g. if the company goes bankrupt before supplying your product but after you have paid, the CC will reimburse you)

-does indeed improve your credit rating assuming you use the card properly as it shows a consistent record of handling credit properly... useful if applying for a mortgage

-hiring a car often requires a CC especially abroad

-similarly hotels often insist in a CC

-if your job requires you to (say) travel and pay your own way and only re-emburses you later, then CC is useful way of budgetting

-some benefits like caskback (i.e. money discount on the bill) or points (e.g. tescos, airmiles etc) can be useful


so if well used (i.e. pay in full each month) then yes they can be good to have

Says who? My life has been made much better due to the availability of manageable levels of credit for me.

Avoid it if you want, but don't assume your paranoia is applicable to everyone else.

CLAPTON

callum9999 wrote: »

Says who? My life has been made much better due to the availability of manageable levels of credit for me.

Avoid it if you want, but don't assume your paranoia is applicable to everyone else.

A little intemperate but of course there will always be exceptions to generalisation that are relevant in specific situations.

I would guess there are more governments and more individuals that regret their levels of debt (excluding mortgages) than there are celebrating (yourself excepted of course)

Grade_A_Reject

exel1966 wrote: »

Am I too cynical ?

Mostly :rotfl: