credit cards in supermarkets

pennyshahin_2

Please Help I've Just Got My First Credit Card, So A Bit Unsure About Using It , Is It O.k To Use It When Buying Shopping In A Supermarket (put It In Slot Put In Pin Number) Or Will I Get Charged Like I Would If I Withdrew Money From The Wall (silly Question I Know But Please Advise Thanks)

Milarky

(Yes, quite a silly question!) Spending on purchases is free provided the statement amount is paid every month in full by the due date. The best way to ensure this is to have a direct debit set up to collect the full amount from your bank. This is how (some) people have used credit cards since they started - as a budgeting aid. If considering the generous credit limit available, and how to spend it and then paying it off by instalments only then you are not using the card as nature intended - merely as the credit card company intended. This condition is known as chronic lending and should be avoided at all costs.

LittleVoice

pennyshahin wrote: »

Please Help I've Just Got My First Credit Card, So A Bit Unsure About Using It , Is It O.k To Use It When Buying Shopping In A Supermarket (put It In Slot Put In Pin Number) Or Will I Get Charged Like I Would If I Withdrew Money From The Wall (silly Question I Know But Please Advise Thanks)

Not really a silly question.

And you won't be asked if you want cash back - unlike if you use a debit card.

Only thing to be wary of is that a number of card issuers now include in their T&C that you will be charged as for a cash withdrawal if you buy gift vouchers. (However, I do not know how they would know that you had actually purchased, say, a £10 gift voucher in Tescos along with all your other shopping!)

jamalfatty

pennyshahin wrote: »

Please Help I've Just Got My First Credit Card, So A Bit Unsure About Using It , Is It O.k To Use It When Buying Shopping In A Supermarket (put It In Slot Put In Pin Number) Or Will I Get Charged Like I Would If I Withdrew Money From The Wall (silly Question I Know But Please Advise Thanks)

More Importantly, How Much Longer Must It Take To Type When You Capitalise Every First Letter Of Every Word?

egamar

jamalfatty wrote: »

More Importantly, How Much Longer Must It Take To Type When You Capitalise Every First Letter Of Every Word?

Shift-F3 in M$Word!

Ooops: No it isn't. I'm sure it USED to be!

CopperPlate_2

Am I the only person to think - "good grief!" - when I read a question like the one posted by the OP? I appreciate that some people will be a bit unclear about certain aspects of credit cards and their mystic ways, but surely to goodness you should have half an idea of how to use the thing before you get one?! What possible hope is there for using it properly and understanding the practical pitfalls of mounting debts if you haven't got a clue as to how it physically works? Is it me?

egamar

I agree with Copperplate, and my initial reaction was similar. But here's a question. You go and buy a pencil. You use it to write a note. Do you need to know how graphite works (colloquially, it is it made up from sheets of carbon atoms which 'slide' off leaving a 'smudge' on the paper)? No you don't.

Somewhere between the two extremes is where most of us live, but with all population distributions there will be folks at either end!

Much more important however is the question that struck me:

"Why Are You Using Your Credit Card To Withdraw Money From The Hole In The Wall?"
That's what Debit cards are for!

GeorgeUK

I'll throw tuppence into this one.

It looks like penny has read through the material that came with the card, noticed that it mentions charges for cash withdrawals from "the hole in the wall" and wonders if all machines requiring you to enter your pin work that way.

Not a stupid question. Stupid would be using the card without being sure of the answer.

As the others have said, it is only for cash withdrawals, some gift vouchers and also some online deposits (like funds into a bingo account). If you are purchasing anything, there shouldn't be a charge.

And yes, always make sure you pay back the full amount owed each month to avoid paying interest charges. Don't go on a wild spending spree because the shops will take your plastic

rsykes2000

jamalfatty wrote: »

More Importantly, How Much Longer Must It Take To Type When You Capitalise Every First Letter Of Every Word?

It's the forum software. The OP wrote in ALL CAPS which is deemed to be extremely bl0ody irritating so the vBulletin software autoconverts it to just the first character of each word to be in caps.

egamar

Which Is Just As Bl**dy Irritating If You Want My Opinion!

CopperPlate_2

GeorgeUK wrote: »

I'll throw tuppence into this one.

It looks like penny has read through the material that came with the card, noticed that it mentions charges for cash withdrawals from "the hole in the wall" and wonders if all machines requiring you to enter your pin work that way.

Not a stupid question. Stupid would be using the card without being sure of the answer.

As the others have said, it is only for cash withdrawals, some gift vouchers and also some online deposits (like funds into a bingo account). If you are purchasing anything, there shouldn't be a charge.

And yes, always make sure you pay back the full amount owed each month to avoid paying interest charges. Don't go on a wild spending spree because the shops will take your plastic

Yes, agree completely, however, what I'd add to is that some retailers (very small outfits usually) stipulate that you must spend a certain amount in their shop before you can pay by debit or credit card - claiming the transaction fees charged by the provider are high and this will offset it - usually a minimum purchase of, say £10, and a 50p fee added for any spend less than that.

And the caveat with paying off your bill each month is to actually make sure you can afford to pay it off in full each month - no point in robbing Peter to pay Paul, i.e. paying off a huge credit card bill and plunging your current account into overdraft each month :rolleyes: But then that's commonsense 'innit?