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A much easier easier way is to purchase a Visa gift card with cash then use it. That is what I do for a certain purchase I don't want a paper trail on. Nothing nefarious but I prefer to remain in the shadows.
There is also a company that for a small fee can run your card for you and then purchase the items for you. It's done more for people who don't want large corps building a database on them. Laugh but this is what makes America great - a right to privacy.
Bumping this old thread out of curiosity - there were soany people who posted on this thread that they only use cash. Why on earth would you do that? I don't get it:
1. A card cannot be stolen. If someone takes it or you lose it you just call and cancel. The credit card company will cancel charges. Stolen cash is just gone.
2. Purchase protection. Extended warranties and price protection on everything you buy
3. Free insurance typically on your travel and rental cars.
4. Points and cash back on everything you spend. With cash you get nothing.
I just don't understand a single benefit of using cash over credit unless you just don't have the willpower to not overspend?
All those wont matter if you don't have any financial discipline and rack up high charges on the card and have no way to pay them. You pay the minimum monthly amounts and accumulate high interest balances.
For those people cash works well. You can't spend what you don't have.
i have a few cards i keep in use due to playing the points game. at any given time i have over $100+ in credit but utilize less 10% of that every month. i have never asked for a certain credit limit but the cards i get usually get 25-35k limits. i certainly dont have the income to support 100k in credit so besides paying my balances each month i dont know the basis. i know it helps my credit score though to have a good ratio of available credit. i have found that applying for a new card ever 5-6 months has not impacted my score at all, if anything its helped.
I saw a recommendation on another forum that near term retirees, while working, should increase their credit limits (and get a HELOC). No explanation was given but I can see how future inflation could erode current limits and you never know what medical expenses could be ahead. A co-worker's mother had to pay $4K for a cancer drug (one refill) because she was in the doughnut hole. Or maybe you are traveling out of the country and have some emergency. In preparation for retirement, I recently got my second credit card (both have $17K limits) but will be applying for a third before I retire in 8 months. Also will ask about increasing the limit on my Credit Union VISA which I have had for many years. it is recommended that you get new cards and/or increase limits gradually so as not to abruptly impact your credit score.
I use anywhere from $100-500 usually as I play the points/rewards game. Plus I like the protection it offers over swiping an ATM card.
I'll swipe my card for a coffee, get my double points, and then at the end of the week, pay the balance off. The points automatically load onto Amazon where I apply them towards purchases I need to make anyway.
Last edited by BostonMike7; 01-17-2017 at 02:58 PM..
I'll swipe my card for a coffee, get my double points, and then at the end of the week, pay the balance off. The points automatically load onto Amazon where I apply them towards purchases I need to make anyway.
Amazon Signature Visa card now gives 5 points on Amazon purchases too, instead of 3.
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