Credit Cards....got 'em?

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TurboSmoke

TurboSmoke

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A mans financial position is his own affair so i wont ask about that....but do you own any credit cards?

almost every day i get junk through the door saying that i am 'pre-approved' for a visa or mastercard or whatever...

i already own two credit cards, one with a zero balance and a £5,000 limit and the other with a £2,000 ish balance and a £4,000 limit...

when i phoned up to cancel an old one and end my account the operator gave me the hard sell on why i should keep it...

what do you think...are they convienient or are they too much of a temptation when you want to buy things you cannot really afford..?
 
Well, look at your economic history. If you usually can fight the temptation to buy stuff you know you really can't afford the it's no big deal and convenient with them.

Personally I find credits too tempting to use, it tends to get out of hand so I stay away from them as much as possible.
 
I've got 'em. If you get through without getting one - fantastic.

If not - keep the limit low. As low as possible, as in something you can pay off in two paypackets.
 
No, I don't have any. I try to stay away from them. But, I do have a debit card.
 
About six months ago I got a Monument credit card from Barclays. I had a limit of £500 so I went out and bought a new TFT monitor and a DVD RW for extra storage. Biggest mistake I ever made really because the minimum payment only covers the interest charges so you never seem to pay any off. I've been paying it off for the past six months and only this week managed to pay off the whole debt.

Best thing to do is get a bank overdraft as the interest is less
 
I have one and use it as a debit card. Use it for a purchase and at the same time avoid having to carry around cash.

Then, before the bank closes off that months accounts, I pay it off. So i have borrowed their money for free essentially (excl annual card fees :irked: )
 
Well, after the same bout with carrying a balance that everyone has when they get their first credit card, I haven't carried a balance in many years. We move a lot of money across our credit card because we use it for nearly all purchases, online or not, to avoid writing checks. However, we always pay it off every month. We've recently gotten a "points" card with no fee and a very low fixed interest rate that earns 1-2% back towards airline tickets and other merchandise.

So the rule to follow is not to use it as a loan to yourself, but like Mike says, as a debit card.
 
I have a credit card that I'm not using and paying off, and a "charge card" that is paid automatically by standing order each month. I use that to defer payment.

I have a fairly large agreed overdraft limit, which I use to absorbe any cashflow shocks, but we tend to stay in credit on it.
 
I'd like just 1 card - if only to cover for the occassional large online order or for places that won't accept my debit card. I don't like letting my account drop too low anyways so a credit card wouldn't make a huge difference on how I spend my money.
 
I went overboard on the first credit card, and was right at the limit virtually every month. An "emergency" came up, and I decided to withdraw cash on the crdit card. Big mistake, because the cash advance never has any grace period, and you pay interest right up to the minute,long befire you get the bill, and it's compounded daily! Sell your blood plasma and a kidney before thinking of taking out a cash advance on your credit card!

A complete stranger told me at that time, "Well, what would you do if you suddenly had to pay the entire amount right now? You'd be in trouble." So when the renewal notice came, I declined the offer for another card with the same balance, and just paid it all off. It took me just short of a year to pay it off.

I used a debit card for a few years, and applied for another card, and asked for the lowest posssible credit limit ($500) it would offer me. I pay the entire amount in full about 11 out of 12 months a year, and nothing I couldn't handle the following month.

And read those offers carefully, the good news is on the front in bold letters, but the various ways they trick you is on the back, usually in fairly plain English....things like "Zero days grace period", additional rate after 6 months, changes for balance transfers, late fees, minimums....

I get some pretty decent offers in the mail right now, but I stick to my one credit card with a decent limit for everyday purchaces, and one debit card for my personal use beyond day-to-day expenses (like that new cordless drill I bought).
 
I haven't but my parents do it like this..
2 credit cards, joint account.
one is a store credit card, they get points for spending on it etc And then they pay off teh debt end of month usually.
the second is just a plain emergency one,
 
The obvious thing about having a credit card is that if you are mugged, you can cancel the card ASAP. You can't cancel cold cash.
 
Got 2, use them constantly.

I use discover where it is accepted and mastercard everywhere else. Discover has cash back so it's my card of choice.

I haven't (nor do I intend to) run a balance on either card. I keep requesting higher limits so that I can be sure I don't miss out on cash back just because I couldn't charge more on the card.

For "emergencies" I use my savings account.
 
I have a few, but they are primarily for emergencies, travel and online shopping.

It all comes down to Yoda's words of wisdom.

"Control, you must learn control!"
 
I have a debit card that I use for everyday expenses over $20.00 (I always cary atleast 20 bucks in cash) and keep about $600-$1,000 in that account for any emergency expenses I might have. If that isn't enough I put it on my credit card then pay it off on the 1st statement. I can also use my debit card as a credit card and the money wont be taken out untill the next day which gives me enough time to get online and do a transfer from my savings into my checking account. I usually do that, nothing has come up to where I've had to use my credit card yet, I just debit it or do a direct withdrawl from savings. So the only thing I use my visa for is to buy gas becasue I get 5% back on gas.
 
I got into a lot of trouble with credit in my younger days. I had an AMEX and a Visa with a $5000 limit. Fifteen years later my credit is fully recovered and I have one Visa card which I use and pay off.

To the younger GTPers who may not have one yet... be very careful. Do not accept credit cards with high interrest rates. You'll never pay them off. It's a vicious cycle and credit card companies love you sending them money every month while your principle balance stays the same or even grows. Pay it late once while you are near your credit limit and you will get a late fee and that will bump you up over your limit and then you'll get an over limit fee. Even if you mail the minimum payment you are still in even more debt than before. I think there are some very unscrupulous tactics used by banks to get you into debt and paying them each month, like actively marketing high limit cards to students with no income. But ultimately it is up to the individual to see through that.

If you mess up with credit early you will only screw yourself. You'll have a very hard time buying a car. Some jobs check your credit score as a condition of hiring you. You will have a very hard time getting a mortgage. And you won't be getting any more cards.

Credit is a great thing if used conservatively. Used unwisely it can ruin you.
 
I have a "Subaru" Mastercard. I use it like cash. If I wouldn't have enough cash in my account to pay it off that very second, I wouldn't buy it.
 
Originally posted by milefile
To the younger GTPers who may not have one yet... be very careful. Do not accept credit cards with high interrest rates. You'll never pay them off. It's a vicious cycle and credit card companies love you sending them money every month while your principle balance stays the same or even grows. Pay it late once while you are near your credit limit and you will get a late fee and that will bump you up over your limit and then you'll get an over limit fee. Even if you mail the minimum payment you are still in even more debt than before. I think there are some very unscrupulous tactics used by banks to get you into debt and paying them each month, like actively marketing high limit cards to students with no income. But ultimately it is up to the individual to see through that.
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sound advice..

certainly here in the UK where credit scoring is the favoured means by which companies weigh up the risk if giving you credit...you miss one payment and its very hard to recover from that in your history....

you can request a copy of you credit history from equifax and see if any damage has been done...

you'll find it hard to buy a car like milefile says or getting a mortgage or anything on credit from catalogue shopping to store cards no matter how much you earn of have in the bank.

my credit history is good, i have had lots of loans and hire purchase agreements but never missed a payment and that builds a strong history of good credit...
 
Originally posted by hanker
All I need is a Debit card (Interac) I hear these aren;t as common in the states......is this true?
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Yeah, people get laughed at for using debit cards.
 
I'm too young to have one, but my sister has a VISA platnum card that she once spent like $18,000$ in one month after which my parents killed her(verbaly) and cut her credit card in half.....so i think i'll hold of on one for a while...
 
I have one I don't pay the bill for myself.

It's for emergencies.

Like when I need a different colour iPod.
 
I have 3 myself :O but thats only because they all have small friggin limits, tho I am happy to report that as of this week they ALL have 0 balances on them. Cuz im fixin to try and buy a new car here soon so I want my credit report to look as good as possible. If i end up gettin a car i'll probably cut it down to 2 cards
 
I have two. A Visa with a $500 limit - which I use for gas, food, etc. And I have an AMEX Blue Cash card with a $25,000 limit - only use it for when I purchase stuff for my car(s).

Always pay them off within a week of using them.
 

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