Whats the main reason people use credit cards?

lukeirwin23

Why do people choose costly credit cards over savings cards?

marks87

That’s based on an assumption that credit cards are “costly”. I went through a spell of buying everything on an interest-free card and putting the cash in a savings account. The result was enough to pay off the card (including the minimum monthly payments), with the interest being a bonus (almost like cash back).

Even without long-term interest-free offers, the vast majority of cards are interest-free by default for up to 60 days or so, provided you pay them off in full. This can be handy for unexpected bills because it effectively lets you spend from the following month’s pay.

Credit cards also offer s.75 protection for purchases of £100+.

tastyhog

It's only costly if you hold a balance, and even then, even on subprime cards its a pretty cheap way of borrowng, you're talking pence in the pound to borrow.

chattychappy

They are not costly.
What is a savings card?

eskbanker

chattychappy wrote: »

They are not costly.

....and indeed they're now cheaper than ever in terms of cost of use (relative to other payment types), given the recent outlawing of payment surcharges, as covered extensively in other threads.

psstoverere

My main reasons now for using a credit card is S.75, using abroad is cheaper than using a debit card and changing money over here, and i get a small amount of cash back on my card, i used a credit card in the past to build my credit score, also paying for expensive things like holidays on a 0% card i find 'im better at paying back rather than trying to save up 1st

Amoux

My main reason to use a credit card, is to build a good credit history, extra credit card protections, and the small cashback I get on purchases. I also make good use of my travel credit card while purchasing abroad to eliminate unnecessary fees.

The whole concept of borrowing money is not of great importance to me. In an ideal world I'd rather not borrow anything to be honest! But if you want a mortgage later on in life, you need to show lenders that you are a safe pair of hands.

I follow strict rules to never use my credit cards recklessly, to never "spread costs" or to ever let my credit card influence my day to day spending. Ultimately, if you don't have they money to buy it now, you can't afford it.

Nick_C

I use mine to earn Avios and make long haul business class affordable.

Plus S75 protection and budgeting.

DigForVictory

I have two credit cards, one for work, one for t'internet & the game plan is to have them both at zero balance as much of the time as possible.

I get purchase protection, a near bombproof audit trail &, in the event of emergencies, I have not one but two lumps of plastic to draw on. An unpleasant idea but one I consider worth airing.

copperclock

I like having all my spending in one 'place', taken out of my bank account in one lump each month, rather than many individual transactions. We currently use a chargecard (Amex gold) for this. That was chosen for the Avios.

We've also just heaped £5,500 on a 0% interest card. This is our first debt since we became debt free two and a half years ago. The money was spent on redecorating our bedroom and a new bed. We would have saved up but we wanted to bring the purchase forward and a credit card allowed us to do this.

GM1880

For me, almost exclusively to build credit rating, S75 on purchases and for car hire deposits abroad.