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We play with a few cards e.g. one has 6% on grocery store purchases, another pays 4% on groceries and 3% on gas and everything else, and I mean everything else, gets put on a card that pays 2%.
Have an old Discover card where they have 5% for three months on different types of purchases throughout the year so I'll use that from time to time.
Lowe's will rebate 5% if you purchase using their card both in-store and on-line.
We only pay cash if a cash discount beats the rebate. Always pay the balance off each billing cycle.
We also check ebates when making on-line purchases.
For many institutions, Interchange fees normally pale in comparison to the interest they bring in. AmEx is probably the only one that make more in transaction fees. But they're not strictly credit cards either - a lot of their products are charge cards.
It doesn't quite work as just about every credit card will consider this as a cash-advance. Which will often come with a fee (flat rate or % of your advance) as well as the fact that the interest on that advance takes effect immediately (there is no grace period). And that interest is more often much higher than purchases.
I knew there must be a catch. I suppose this could be a good time, to tell my wife to stop this method of payment then.
I used my debit card all the time for purchases. Then one day in early 2014 I noticed my checking account was down by several thousand dollars. There were a couple of small "test" charges before the big transactions. The bank investigated, and I didn't get my $$ back for a few weeks. The charges were for conference attendance in Europe and Canada -- for mining organizations and other conferences that had nothing to do with the way I make a living.
Turns out my debit card info was stolen in the Target security breach on November 30, 2013, and sold by the Russian hackers. I called one of the organizations to follow up, and they said out of country attendees get a temporary visa to attend the conference. The visas are sold to people trying to get into the countries hosting the conferences. The people purchasing the visas get into the countries, and never show up at the conference.
I immediately stopped using my debit card for anything other than bank ATM withdrawals - and only bank ATMs. Everything else I charge on my credit cards.
Has anyone thought of paying off their credit card bill, by drawing cash on the same credit card, then paying the bill off with that cash?
Just wondering, because that can be done. The banks don't like it though, but have to take the cash.
It won't work though, if you've already drawn too much.
I think the credit cards charge a fee for advancing cash.
In any case, I don't see an advantage to not paying off the bill, if I have the money. And I haven't had to charge anything, ever, that I didn't have the money to pay for it.
I don't like playing games w/debt. It's a dangerous game.
I was listening to Frank Abagnale talk about his life. He has spent the past 40 years working for the FBI. He is an interesting person to listen to. Some years back a movie about him was made based on his book, Catch Me If You Can
In a question and answer segment he was asked about debit cards. He commented that he never uses them. That a debit card does nothing for you and can open you up to fraud. He says he uses credit cards for everything. When the bill comes he pays off the bill.
Frank mentions that with a credit card, if you suspect fraud, you call your credit card company and they will suspend the payments to the fraud. They will cancel your card and send you a new one right away.
With a debit card you might lose your money, wont have use of it until an investigation takes place. It might take weeks to get your money back.
While a credit card used wisely builds your credit, a debit card does nothing for you.
With a credit card you are using someone else's money during the month for free, as long as you pay off the balance when the statement comes. Your money stays in your bank and only comes out when you make that payment.
The idea sounds intriguing. Anyone else using a credit card to pay the bills and then paying it off each month and not using a debit card?
Yes, that is how I do it. The only time we use debit cards is to get actual cash from the bank ATM's (sometimes it is necessary). I basically use one card, charge everything to it and have it automatically paid in full every month. If you are able to do this wisely and not spend more than you have then you can do it. If, however, you find that you cannot pay it in full even one month, step back and do not charge anything more until you pay it off and then have a nice surplus above and beyond your normal savings.
Using a debit card is risky, if you cannot handle credit it is far better to go to your bank and get cash as you need it rather than use your debit card and risk fraud. This happened to a niece at Christmas when someone emptied her bank account just as she had saved enough to shop for her kids. She only got half back before Christmas and had to wait until after Christmas for the rest (luckily she has a generous aunt who emailed her an Amazon gift certificate)
I rarely use debit cards. Anything I buy other than small incidentals is with a credit card, and then I pay off the balance every month. Some people even put their bills on autopay charging to their credit cards. I haven't gone that far because I want to retain control over paying each bill. I don't like autopay for that reason.
I prefer autopay as I do not wish to spend days paying bills. Some are due at the beginning of the month, some end of the month and some in the middle of the month. Getting old, my memory is not so good remembering what day of the week it is never mind what bill is due, plus we travel and may not have access to the bill itself either in the mail or online (not always traveling can you have wifi or even cell coverage) I set it up to either come directly from my checking account or to my credit card and I can forget it. I do have my bank account send me an email every time a transaction occurs so I do know what the bill was and I have the apps to quickly open to see my balances and I have a savings account that I use to transfer money each month to the checking for the bills also done automatically unless we had a big spending month that I need to transfer over more.
I started doing it years back when someone skimmed my ATM card. I don’t use my ATM card. When the bill comes in I write a check. It’s money that I would spend regardless as it’s day to day stuff. I have used my ATM as a credit card before but I dint even like that.
I did go a little wild because I was remodeling my kitchen so my balances were up there but I didn’t carry a balance. Money was already allocated to a account specifically for kitchen remodel.
We get some points and stuff and I’m thinking of switching to a cash back type card.
I use my credit card to buy stuff online or use it for PayPal purchases. But I always pay it off every month. I earn awards, like my iPad Pro I’m using to type this response. Plus, my credit card doubles any warranty of what ever I’m buying and gives me free rental car insurance and a 1 million dollar life insurance policy when I fly. And there is no annual fee or interest if I pay it off every month. It’s kinda like a casino, the card is hoping I’ll only make the minimum payment and start paying interest on the unpaid balance. Na, I have the cash in the bank, I’ll pay.
I have a DC but only use it for cash withdrawals from an ATM when I travel. The rest all goes on a CC which is on auto-pay to pay the full amount every month. I keep an eye on charges so that my bank account always has enough to pay off the CC bill.
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