How many credit cards do you have?

StephenM_2

Barneysmom wrote: »

I have none.
I think once you get one you are making a conscious decision to live in debt?

Can you tell me please, is there a good reason to change my mind?

It depends how you use them. If you pay them off in full every month you aren't in debt by more than one month's expenditure. In my case, my savings and investments exceed my credit limits so I'm never really in debt at all overall. I use them as a convenient method of payment, a cash flow organiser, for the reward cash, and for the extra consumer protection they offer.

guesswho2000

I've currently got 5;
NatWest Yourpoints World MC, £5750 limit, used for all UK spending;
Barclaycard Visa, £4810 limit, oldest card I still hold and useful for LOB balance transfer offers when required;
Natwest Classic, £1900 limit, don't have any reason to still have this tbh;
Halifax Clarity, £2200 limit, fee free overseas spending and cash withdrawals;
Capital One MC, £2000 limit, no reason to still have this (awaiting the outcome of the Aspire World cash back application, then this'll be closed)

Gromitt

FD Gold CC: Unused. Took out ages ago when I thought having my CC balance on the same screen as my normal banking would help.
Tesco CC: Unused, but I got 1000 points for taking it out.
Aqua CC: Current card for 3% cashback.
AA CC: Previous used card. Just requested a £50 refund from my AA membership with this as I had 2500 points on it (only worth £12.50 in cashback, so may as well spend it on stuff I've already bought).
Nationwide CC: Unused, requested closure.

izools

Barneysmom wrote: »

I have none.
I think once you get one you are making a conscious decision to live in debt?

Can you tell me please, is there a good reason to change my mind?

As StephenM says, credit cards don't always mean debt.

My Nationwide Select card for example pays me 0.5% cashback on all my usual expenditure that I run through it.

It also provides fee-free overseas use so can be cheaper than using the bureau de change before traveling and most definitely cheaper than using a debit card whilst abroad (fees).

I found when changing DKK back to GBP when I returned I got a very poor rate - I would have been better off not taking any cash with me and using my credit card for all purchases.

Finally by using a credit card for any purchases I make over £100 I am covered by Section 75 of the consumer credit act, protecting me in a way a debit card wouldn't if anything went catastrophically wrong with a purchase / retailer.

I have yet to pay any interest at all on this card and don't intend to use it in a way I'd be charged interest any time soon

Macca83_2

Barneysmom wrote: »

I have none.
I think once you get one you are making a conscious decision to live in debt?

Can you tell me please, is there a good reason to change my mind?

I have mine for the reasons i made in my earlier post. I just find that i feel happier using a credit card to make internet purchases because Im not putting my debit card details at risk. Also anything i buy between £100 to £30000 is protected from the company going bust, or the delivery not arriving, or the goods not being as described. Obviously i would have to contact the company first to rectify the problem, but if i received no joy, then my credit card provider would be the next port of call.

Gromitt

Barneysmom wrote: »

I think once you get one you are making a conscious decision to live in debt?

Not really. I use my card as a convenient way of paying for things, and gives me cash back I don't get with a debit card. I'm also getting a little extra as its currently interest free, so the money I would have spent on paying the card off is currently in a 3.2% interest account. This'll make me approximately an extra £80 gross over the year, then I'll withdraw it and pay off the card before the end of the interest free period. I've just used the points to get £50 off my AA memembership, so thats £50 + £64 = £114 for spending ~£2500 that I was going to spend anyway, so thats like just under 5% cashback.

Now I intend to use Aqua to get £100 cashback this year, plus maybe apply for the 5% cashback Aspire just before I move house to get 5% on the stuff I intend to buy after moving in.

I suppose you do need to be financially strict, as otherwise you can easily land in debt.

RobertoMoir

Barneysmom wrote: »

I have none.
I think once you get one you are making a conscious decision to live in debt?

Can you tell me please, is there a good reason to change my mind?

Well you're not "living in debt" simply by having a credit card in your pocket, only when you use it. It gives you the option of buying things and (yes, living in debt, I suppose) choose to take a few months to pay them off.

I think that credit can be a useful tool if used properly. It's up to us as individuals to decide what "properly" means. And if "not having one at all" is your definition of "properly" then that's fine.

simax

I've got 11. Accrued them over time but only use 2 of them:

Creation Cashback: Use this for supermarket and fuel as I get 1.5% Cashback on this and use a "Triple Whammy" method on this. (1. Use Cashback card to pay 2. Use Tesco club card to earn 1% back in vouchers and 3. Move the money I spent on the CC from my current account to a savings pot until the bill comes in - then its paid in full)

Nationwide Select: For overseas use and paying certain bills. Paid in full.

None of my cards carry a balance. My Creation card beats any savings rate when combined with the club card and savings pot together

Barneysmom

Thank you all for your replies!

I guess I've been a stick in the mud with old fashioned attitudes.
So really it's just another way od arranging finances to you own convenience rather than my view of 'living in debt'.
I don't think I've gone without by not having one but maybe by rethinking I could use one to my advantage :cool:

zerog

jon142 wrote: »

Lloyds Amex Avios - £500 @ 15.9% - it's a !!!!!! card will close it very soon not used it since I opened it. waste of time with £500 can hardly buy anything I want to on it.

Are you in the habit of buying more things worth more than £500? You know you can load this card with a positive balance to get a bigger limit as long as you spend it very soon afterwards.

Lloyds made a very silly mistake with this card - for applications from January to April or something like that, they were offering 20 avios per £ of foreign spend for the first 3 months, 25 for the premier, and many people got hundreds of thousands or even a million avios and then cancelled.