anybody heard of a 0 credit score

[fasternyou929]

Originally Posted by The Chi

I already stated it, but again, having been in the position of having debt and credit cards I couldnt pay, not all at my own choice or by my own actions, so for me, its more of a "if I cant pay cash for it, I dont need it" type mindset when it comes to credit cards. Houses and vehicles are different obviously, and I am not afraid I wouldnt be able to "behave", I just dont feel it necessary to make purchases if I cant readily get my hands on the funds via on of my cash accounts.

I guess I just don't get it. You're swiping plastic either way, so what's the difference if it comes directly out of your checking account or you pay it off at the end of the month. Unless you don't trust your spending habits if you know it's "borrowed" money?

[shmike]

Originally Posted by The Chi

I already stated it, but again, having been in the position of having debt and credit cards I couldnt pay, not all at my own choice or by my own actions, so for me, its more of a "if I cant pay cash for it, I dont need it" type mindset when it comes to credit cards. Houses and vehicles are different obviously, and I am not afraid I wouldnt be able to "behave", I just dont feel it necessary to make purchases if I cant readily get my hands on the funds via on of my cash accounts.



Ahhh...like i said goober, if the benefits are worth it, like saving $2k on a wedding and honeymoon, I would go for it. But, keeping in mind that the whole time I would be keeping equal amounts of cash in a seperate account to pay it all off at any one time.

No offense but you are back-tracking.

Myself, faster, rider and Homeslice have all stated that CC's can be beneficial if used properly (i.e. having the funds to pay in full when the statement is due).

That wasn't good enough, until I saved a bunch of money by calling AmEx.

I accumulated over 160,000 points in the last few years by charging everything from race tires to cell phone bills. Every month, I paid the bill in full.

When we took our honeymoon, those points you poo-pooed paid for our airfare and three nights at a luxury spa.

Unfortunately, no CC I know of offers huge saving off the bat. It is a benefit of using the card wisely.

[the chi]

Originally Posted by fasternyou929

I guess I just don't get it. You're swiping plastic either way, so what's the difference if it comes directly out of your checking account or you pay it off at the end of the month. Unless you don't trust your spending habits if you know it's "borrowed" money?

Try and think of it like this:

If I am going to spend the money anyway, whether its at the end of the bill period or immediately on the purchase, why do I "need" to use "borrowed" aka credit to buy it?

[shmike]

Originally Posted by The Chi

Try and think of it like this:

If I am going to spend the money anyway, whether its at the end of the bill period or immediately on the purchase, why do I "need" to use "borrowed" aka credit to buy it?

See post above yours.

You don't "need" to.

But if you choose to, there can be benefits.

[the chi]

Originally Posted by shmike

No offense but you are back-tracking.

Myself, faster, rider and Homeslice have all stated that CC's can be beneficial if used properly (i.e. having the funds to pay in full when the statement is due).

That wasn't good enough, until I saved a bunch of money by calling AmEx.

I accumulated over 160,000 points in the last few years by charging everything from race tires to cell phone bills. Every month, I paid the bill in full.

When we took our honeymoon, those points you poo-pooed paid for our airfare and three nights at a luxury spa.

Unfortunately, no CC I know of offers huge saving off the bat. It is a benefit of using the card wisely.

No, I am not back tracking. I never "poopooed" your points, I simply stated that I can get similar benefits using my check card. And if I prefer not to use a credit card, and get those similar benefits instead through my bank account, that whats what I chose to do.

And exactly like I responded, I reiterate, if its WORTH the savings, its something I would consider.

Other than this wedding and the honeymoon after, in which the benefits would be awesome, there has not been any need in my life for me to get miles, or things of that nature. If i travel, its not far, and by bike or car. I fly maybe once a year, if then, so you tell me, what good would a card that gives me miles I would never use do me? (if i prefer to basically pay cash?)

[Rider]

Originally Posted by The Chi

Try and think of it like this:

If I am going to spend the money anyway, whether its at the end of the bill period or immediately on the purchase, why do I "need" to use "borrowed" aka credit to buy it?

Sometimes it's an advantage to borrow "free" money until the end of the month because some checking accounts pay interest on your monthly balance. The longer you can keep your own money the better off you are as long as you aren't paying interest on the "borrowed" money.

[the chi]

Originally Posted by Rider

Sometimes it's an advantage to borrow "free" money until the end of the month because some checking accounts pay interest on your monthly balance. The longer you can keep your own money the better off you are as long as you aren't paying interest on the "borrowed" money.

Now THAT is a logical argument for credit usage that I could apply to.

[shmike]

Originally Posted by The Chi

I fly maybe once a year, if then, so you tell me, what good would a card that gives me miles I would never use do me? (if i prefer to basically pay cash?)

It doesn't have to be miles.

fasternyou gets cash back, over $1000 this year alone.

[Homeslice]

Originally Posted by shmike

Yes.

Sometimes the fees are less for debit cards but if it has a VISA/MC logo they are paying fees.

A portion of those fees go to the bank, which is why banks push debit cards so much.

And then the rest of the fee goes to Visa/MC?

I've never understood why large banks like BOA don't have enough clout to produce a debit card without a Visa/MC logo. Can't they set up their own electronic transactional system and tell Visa/MC to take a hike?

[HurricaneHeather]

I use one CC for every purchase earn 3% on the top 5 categories, and 1% on everything else. Once I reach $200 worth of rewards, they give me a $50 bonus and I cash out. BAM, free money. Seems rather simple to me.