Do I need to have a credit card?

ATC111

I've recently been billed for the €30 credit card stamp duty ( Irish government rule)  which has prompted me to question whether having a credit card is necessary again.I make one or two purchases a month, which are paid off immediately.

To date, my rationale for having a credit card is for two reasons:

To maintain a credit record if I ever need to borrow money again (unlikely) 

For a preauthorisation when hiring a car 

I would cancel the credit card if the above reasons were unfounded.

I have EUR and GBP Visa Debit cards and a virtual Revolut card.

Can anyone advise on this?

[Deleted User]

It's not essential, but it's a very good idea for cars, section 75, credit history, emergencies and so on.

If you do decide to keep it, make sure you wait for the statement before paying off your purchases.

ATC111

Deleted_User said:

It's not essential, but it's a very good idea for cars, section 75, credit history, emergencies and so on.

If you do decide to keep it, make sure you wait for the statement before paying off your purchases.

When you say cars, do you mean car hire?

Why do you say to wait until the statement is issued before paying the balance?

[Deleted User]

Yes - car hire.

You want the card to look as if it's used and cleared in full each month.  Clearing each transaction as you go can result in a zero balance being reported each month, depending on timing. 

There's no need to panic when using a credit card - just spend, get the statement, pay it off.

ATC111

Deleted_User said:

You want the card to look as if it's used and cleared in full each month.  Clearing each transaction as you go can result in a zero balance being reported each month, depending on timing. 

There's no need to panic when using a credit card - just spend, get the statement, pay it off.

That's good to know. I just don't like the idea of owing money but have no problem waiting for the online statement to be issued before paying it off

cymruchris

I'd echo the above - most certainly useful to keep one in your wallet for emergencies, car hire, and larger purchasers to get s75 protection. Paying off in full after a statement (as I'm sure you know) will mean you won't pay a penny interest. 

Sandtree

The OP says they are charged an annual fee by the Irish Government for having a credit card... that would strongly suggest that they are in the Republic of Ireland and not England so the Consumer Credit Act Section 75 is fairly pointless.

I've never understood people's comments on car hire... I have used credit, charge and debit cards for car hire and never once as anyone batted an eyelid. The car hire company will generally preauthorise the excess which can be £1,000 (or local currency) or more but it will erode your available funds if thats a credit card or a debit card.

Malkytheheed

Paying the goverment £30 a year to be allowed a credit card seems bonkers to me.
Anyway..... Aren't there any Irish rewards cards you could get that would help offset the charge making them "free" to have for a year?

coachman12

I never knew that about the Irish Govt's credit card charge. I wonder , as most things are designed to be uniform in the EU, whether others in EU or Eurozone make the same charge.
Other than that, I just want to say that I agree with everything that has been said already on this thread and I would urge everyone to have at least one credit card ( given the caveats mentioned in previous posts). 

molerat

coachman12 said:

I never knew that about the Irish Govt's credit card charge. I wonder , as most things are designed to be uniform in the EU, whether others in EU or Eurozone make the same charge.
Other than that, I just want to say that I agree with everything that has been said already on this thread and I would urge everyone to have at least one credit card ( given the caveats mentioned in previous posts). 

They also have a cashpoint use tax !

Sandtree

coachman12 said:

I never knew that about the Irish Govt's credit card charge. I wonder , as most things are designed to be uniform in the EU, whether others in EU or Eurozone make the same charge.

Things are not supposed to be uniform at all; certain things are, others there are minimum standards but individual states can go further than the minimum and many things there is no parity at all. Taxation in particular varies a lot other than certain principles such as what goods can be sales tax exempt (ie VAT in the UK)  but even then individual states rates range from 16% to 27%