Best way to use a CREDIT CARD

Anthorn

glentoran99 wrote: »

you've lost me. Who said you don't have to make minimum payment, we were talking about interest, and why would you pay interest if you have the capital to pay it off, no matter how much you seem to be trying to go off on tangents it doesn't make sense.


the thread is about the best way to use credit cards and the best way if you can is not to pay any interest.

Go back and read my previous post.

You and others are confused over the MSE advice on high interest credit building cards. Even I advise clearing the balance on those cards every month. It's a different matter with so-called Prime credit cards with a lower APR.

It's my card and my money so who are you to say I'm wrong? What is actually being done is the misleading of new credit card customers: It is not necessary to clear the balance every month to maintain a credit card and not even necessary to clear the balance every month to maintain a credit history. It's not even desirable from the point of view of the lender. I prefer to be honest about it.

glentoran99

Anthorn wrote: »

Go back and read my previous post.

You and others are confused over the MSE advice on high interest credit building cards. Even I advise clearing the balance on those cards every month. It's a different matter with so-called Prime credit cards with a lower APR.

It's my card and my money so who are you to say I'm wrong? What is actually being done is the misleading of new credit card customers: It is not necessary to clear the balance every month to maintain a credit card and not even necessary to clear the balance every month to maintain a credit history. It's not even desirable from the point of view of the lender. I prefer to be honest about it.

1. Nobody has said its necessary to clear the balance every month
2. Nobody has said its necessary to clear the card to maintain a credit history


The reason the advice is clear the balance is so you don't pay unnecessary interest, If you cant afford to pay the full balance then you pay interest like any form of credit.


Its your money and of course it up to you how you spend it, but it doesn't make it any less foolish to spend money you don't need to spend.


Unless your savings pay more interest than being charged on your credit card then you are just throwing money away for no reason.


You say we are confusing MSE advice for credit re-building cards, I for one am not, I've seen martin lewis quite clearly advising to pay off in full if you can, so as to get the section 75 protection and pay no interest.


Personally my card gets used in such a way that I get 56 days interest free at least.

Anthorn

glentoran99 wrote: »

1. Nobody has said its necessary to clear the balance every month
2. Nobody has said its necessary to clear the card to maintain a credit history


The reason the advice is clear the balance is so you don't pay unnecessary interest, If you cant afford to pay the full balance then you pay interest like any form of credit.


Its your money and of course it up to you how you spend it, but it doesn't make it any less foolish to spend money you don't need to spend.


Unless your savings pay more interest than being charged on your credit card then you are just throwing money away for no reason.


You say we are confusing MSE advice for credit re-building cards, I for one am not, I've seen martin lewis quite clearly advising to pay off in full if you can, so as to get the section 75 protection and pay no interest.


Personally my card gets used in such a way that I get 56 days interest free at least.

Now you're contradicting yourself and others in this thread. Why don't you stop being silly and admit that you are wrong. I'm out of this thread. No point in continuing to discuss with people who hold fantasy to be true. Cannot be proven. Bye bye.

27col

I've had a card since they first came out. I have probably only paid interest about twice in all those years.
I don't use my card to anything like its present limit. I have had at least 2 offers to increase the limit so far this year. Both of which I have refused.

glentoran99

Anthorn wrote: »

Now you're contradicting yourself and others in this thread. Why don't you stop being silly and admit that you are wrong. I'm out of this thread. No point in continuing to discuss with people who hold fantasy to be true. Cannot be proven. Bye bye.

Wrong about what? What fantasy? that its foolish paying interest?

Helvetica_Van_Buren

Anthorn wrote: »

I don't pay off the full balance every month because to me interest is something to control but not to avoid. If I don't want to pay interest or cannot afford to pay interest I use my debit card for things I can afford to buy. I never use a credit card for everyday spending such as food and fuel.

Quite simply, this is some of the worst advice I've ever seen on this forum - a forum about saving money. I can't be bothered to read all your replies on this thread so I don't know if you ever redeem yourself but I'm guessing not.

dranzer01 - I'm not sure if you're even checking this anymore but for what it's worth:

Spend as much or as little as you wish to on your card. Allow the statement to be generated and then pay off in full by the subsequent due date.

If you have a credit card which pays cashback or some other reward such as Nectar points or Clubcard points then you actually gain for using it - as long as you pay it off in full.

If you plan on buying something which you cannot pay back straight away, either take advantage of a 0% offer on your existing card or, if no such offer exists, buy it on your current card and transfer the balance to a card with a 0% balance transfer offer.

Allowing interest to accrue and budgeting to pay it, or "control" it is simply lunacy - whatever you don't follow that terrible anecdote.

Anthorn

Helvetica_Van_Buren wrote: »

Quite simply, this is some of the worst advice I've ever seen on this forum - a forum about saving money. I can't be bothered to read all your replies on this thread so I don't know if you ever redeem yourself but I'm guessing not.

dranzer01 - I'm not sure if you're even checking this anymore but for what it's worth:

Spend as much or as little as you wish to on your card. Allow the statement to be generated and then pay off in full by the subsequent due date.

If you have a credit card which pays cashback or some other reward such as Nectar points or Clubcard points then you actually gain for using it - as long as you pay it off in full.

If you plan on buying something which you cannot pay back straight away, either take advantage of a 0% offer on your existing card or, if no such offer exists, buy it on your current card and transfer the balance to a card with a 0% balance transfer offer.

Allowing interest to accrue and budgeting to pay it, or "control" it is simply lunacy - whatever you don't follow that terrible anecdote.

Ok I'm a glutton for punishment. Not everyone can get approved for a 0% card. In that case do they still clear the balance every month? What if they can't clear the balance? Do they not pay until they can? Oh yes, it happens.

The Tesco credit card rewards just one point per £4 spent over and above the loyalty card alone. Per £4 spent loyalty card rewards 4 points and credit card rewards 5 points. Credit card points are instead of loyalty card points not in addition to. Is that actually worth the effort?

Budgeting is lunacy? Well ok, if you say so.

glentoran99

Anthorn wrote: »

Ok I'm a glutton for punishment. Not everyone can get approved for a 0% card. In that case do they still clear the balance every month? What if they can't clear the balance? Do they not pay until they can? Oh yes, it happens.

The Tesco credit card rewards just one point per £4 spent over and above the loyalty card alone. Per £4 spent loyalty card rewards 4 points and credit card rewards 5 points. Credit card points are instead of loyalty card points not in addition to. Is that actually worth the effort?

Budgeting is lunacy? Well ok, if you say so.

You really aren't getting this are you? If you cant afford to pay the full balance then obviously you cant pay the full balance and have to get the best interest rate you can


However you seem to be advocating paying interest when you could pay off the full balance.

bigadaj

Anthorn wrote: »

Ok I'm a glutton for punishment. Not everyone can get approved for a 0% card. In that case do they still clear the balance every month? What if they can't clear the balance? Do they not pay until they can? Oh yes, it happens.

The Tesco credit card rewards just one point per £4 spent over and above the loyalty card alone. Per £4 spent loyalty card rewards 4 points and credit card rewards 5 points. Credit card points are instead of loyalty card points not in addition to. Is that actually worth the effort?

Budgeting is lunacy? Well ok, if you say so.

Borrowing money on a standard rate credit card is very poor value, paying 1.5% per month is expensive credit by any measure, particularly when base rates are 0.5% per year.

Paying interest doesn't improve your credit file or open up any magic deals, it's an avoidable charge which could be better spent elsewhere.

SalemD

I use my credit card for convenience, and when I am hungry and skint. I pay interest of course. Like all those debt free wannabees do on this forum. We are all adults and some don't see debt as deadly evil as others.