is it worth having a credit card?

GTR_King

I have never had a credit card before

LennyPenny

I've just got myself one at 33 and that is my first card!

My job is about to involve USA travel and the hotels there like you to present a credit card on arrival, I've struggled to get them to accept my debit card at times (although most are OK- for some they make a big song and dance about it!). That's my reason for getting one

robfosters

With me, it is all about emergencies.

Case in point, 2 weeks ago, my cat had a nasty fall off the fence and broke two of her teeth. Poor thing was in agony. I got her to the vets and the bill was £340. As she was a new patient, I had to settle up first and then claim off the pet insurance. If I hadn't had my credit card, I just wouldn't have been able to do it. So for situations like that, they are invaluable.

GTR_King

ok thanks for info..

I see your right there.

I do have enough money in my Accounts/savings for me to feel like I don't need a credit card at all

chesky

Then don't bother. You've been told the advantages and disadvantages; just make up your own mind.

The_Groat_Counter

GTR_King wrote: »

is it worth having a credit card??

I have never had one (I am 25) & never been in debit and always have enough money to buy things etc...

never had a loan etc

Do not get one if you think you might be tempted to over-spend - it's very easy to get in trouble with a credit card, which has led to a great many people getting in serious financial difficulties.

Also, this article from the Guardian newspaper might be of interest (from 2003, but the logic remains the same):

"A little fatherly advice from the head of Barclays: don't use credit cards"
www.theguardian.com/politics/2003/oct/17/uk.creditcards

grumbler

The_Groat_Counter wrote: »

...
Also, this article from the Guardian newspaper might be of interest (from 2003, but the logic remains the same):

"A little fatherly advice from the head of Barclays: don't use credit cards"
www.theguardian.com/politics/2003/oct/17/uk.creditcards

Journalists - what can you expect from them?
What the head of Barclays actually said was:

Matt Barrett... admitted he did not use his or anyone else's plastic to borrow money

Mr Barrett conceded that credit cards were an expensive way of borrowing and they were not recommended for what he called chronic borrowing

...he had given his children some advice: "Don't get too much debt on a credit card.

I guess nobody in this thread suggested using a CC for borrowing.

[Deleted User]

I'd much rather take a wager on a person PROVEN to have previously paid back what they owe.

All credit scoring is about risk - essentially it's all a gamble by the banks, no matter how much a customer earns. People are made redundant, family problems & emergencies do happen, and good people can turn 'bad' (and their 'perfect' credit record then gets trashed).

Banks want to make money - they dish out these 0% deals etc because some people WILL use them irresponsibly and end up paying loads of charges and interest. If you look at a company like Vanquis (who offer 99.9% APR to their worst scoring customers), for every customer that carries a balance of even say £200, that goes towards the costs of servicing those accounts where customers pay back in full, and also servicing those accounts where there have been debt write offs due to bankruptcy/IVA/F&F

Cards offer up to 56 days interest free in the hope that you start to carry a balance and therefore give the bank even more money than they make in merchant fees. Many people don't carry balances, but many do.

It's a fact of life people do stupid things and mess up (myself included). As Lisa says, the same is true for cars, kitchen knives etc. Just because some idiots speed down the M1 at 120mph+ in the rain, it doesn't mean cars are bad or that consumer cars should be speed limited.

Credit cards are not bad - people's use of them can be. As others have stated, they also provide many benefits. Take my credit card back in 2011 - I put my car insurance on it at 0%. That was a totally responsible use of a credit card and didn't cost me a penny. The stupid decisions in the years afterwards did, but that doesn't mean cards are bad.

Despite the posts questioning mortgage scoring with a lack of credit history - I'd be amazed if somebody could get a mortgage without a SUBSTANTIAL (and so for most people, unobtainable) deposit with no credit history (as is the OP's situation).

Why put yourself in the position of needing a 25%+ deposit, when you can build a good credit profile with the likes of Capital One & your own bank etc.

As an ex-bankrupt if all that's on my file is bankruptcy I will not get a mortgage, there can be no questioning that. When it's removed after 6 years, if my file is empty, I still won't get one without a substantial deposit.

As I'm using the system to my benefit (obtaining sub-prime cards and re-building slowly) in 3 years time (so whilst Bankruptcy still shows on my file, although for mortgages it never truly goes away) I will be able to get a mortgage at a fairly decent rate. That means credit cards are essentially like gold dust to me - as soon as I can get some (more than 1, if I can get it) I will be.

If someone can't trust themselves to have a credit card and behave with it, it's very unlikely they'd ever get themselves into a position to get a mortgage anyway - as they're never going to save the £20k+ to mitigate their lack of history if they can't open a £250 limit card and spend sensibly!

And I'm not being funny but somebody on 10% of what the head of Barclaycard earns wouldn't need a credit card for BORROWING (the expensive way). Neither will his children! All of them should use cards for bagging 0% deals and bonuses though - you'd be crazy not to.

The rule he was hammered for back then (cheapest debts paid first, so expensive ones are locked in) has been changed too so it's highest first across the board. It was a ridiculous and totally irresponsible promotion, but ultimately it's up to consumers to see through bank & advertising speak - read the T&Cs and understand exactly what they were signing up to.

takman

I have credit cards for 4 reasons:

1. To use while abroad to get a good exchange rate.

2. To get 0% on purchases (stoozing)

3. Section 75 purchase protection

4. The majority of my money would take at least 3 days to realease from high interest investments so Credit Cards allow me to make big purchases without having to wait.

So if any of these reasons would benefit you then a credit card is a good idea.

AndyPix

GTR_King wrote: »

ok thanks for info..

I see your right there.

I do have enough money in my Accounts/savings for me to feel like I don't need a credit card at all

Why are you here ?