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Any charge for a cc and we would drop ours in a flash. We never have outstanding debts owing on them and if we have to drop them it won't bother us, we'll just bring the cash instead like in the good ol' days.
I'll wait and see what I hear from my bank. If they start charging immediate interest, I'll just keep a positive balance on my CC. In other words, pay a few hundred every few weeks, and always maintain a positive balance, so there will be no immediatre charge. I alreqady do that to a degree. If I see I owe $300 on a CC, and it's only the middle of the month, I pay them$500 and coast for a few weeks. I always stay not only current, but ahead of my CC bills.
If they start charging an annula fee, I may have to ditch the CC and just use the Check Card. I prefer using the CC over a Check Card, but fees could change my outlook....
What is the advantage of this, if I may ask? The main reason I ask is that I use a credit card and then pay it off in full every month to 1. accumulate reward points, and 2. to use somebody else's money for that short period of time.
If you are overpaying and keeping a positive balance, you are basically giving the credit card your money to earn interest on. If its in their account earning interest, its not in your account earning interest! I see your point about not having to worry about carrying a balance but it seems a bit overcautious. Just sayin'...
As one of those consumers (1/3 of credit card holders) who pay their balance off every month it looks like the free ride of rewards and using someone else's month for a month might be coming to an end.
Doesn't really matter though (at least for me)....I figure if you can pay off your credit card every month, you can just as easily pay with cash on the spot. I'll just stop using credit cards if the deal isn't as good or if I have to pay a fee to have them. No big deal.
Originally Posted by Donn2390
I'll wait and see what I hear from my bank. If they start charging immediate interest, I'll just keep a positive balance on my CC. In other words, pay a few hundred every few weeks, and always maintain a positive balance, so there will be no immediatre charge. I alreqady do that to a degree. If I see I owe $300 on a CC, and it's only the middle of the month, I pay them$500 and coast for a few weeks. I always stay not only current, but ahead of my CC bills.
If they start charging an annula fee, I may have to ditch the CC and just use the Check Card. I prefer using the CC over a Check Card, but fees could change my outlook....
Quote:
Originally Posted by broadbill
What is the advantage of this, if I may ask? The main reason I ask is that I use a credit card and then pay it off in full every month to 1. accumulate reward points, and 2. to use somebody else's money for that short period of time.
If you are overpaying and keeping a positive balance, you are basically giving the credit card your money to earn interest on. If its in their account earning interest, its not in your account earning interest! I see your point about not having to worry about carrying a balance but it seems a bit overcautious. Just sayin'...
If the banks start charging interest from the day you make a purchase, it would be worthwhile to do this, as the interest you earn on that small balance is so much smaller then the interest the credit card company charges you on the purchase.
As I said this credit card user won't be doing that. I can drop them anytime. Like many; I only use them when they work for me.Annual fee and interest when purchase;I'll drop the cards and say enjoyed it while it lasted. They can make their money some wheres else and not get the merchant kickback on my purcahses.
What is the advantage of this, if I may ask? The main reason I ask is that I use a credit card and then pay it off in full every month to 1. accumulate reward points, and 2. to use somebody else's money for that short period of time.
If you are overpaying and keeping a positive balance, you are basically giving the credit card your money to earn interest on. If its in their account earning interest, its not in your account earning interest! I see your point about not having to worry about carrying a balance but it seems a bit overcautious. Just sayin'...
Cptnrn gave a good answer, but I'll take it a step farther... If I go into my online banking and see my CC balance is up to, say $400, and my checking account is at a couple of thousand, I just send em five or so. The amount of interest I forfeit is negligible, the good feeling of not owing anyone is worth a million. I use the CC because it is convenient, much easier than carrying cash.
Often I will look at my out going payments spread out over the month, and change the pay dates to immediately. I prefer paying my bills two weeks early, rather than two weeks late.
Were I living paycheck to paycheck, I would do things differently, but I have more coming in than going out, so why not pay the bills when incurred...? If I save too many pennies here and there, my kid just gets more when I go....
This comment doesn't make sense to me.
People who routinely pay off their credit card balances have been enjoying the equivalent of a free ride, he said, because many have not had to pay an annual fee even as they collect points for air travel and other perks.
I've always gotten the goodies mentioned, whether or not I pay off my card at the end of the month. If the interest is 0%, I often only pay the minimum and then pay off the card when the offer expires. I've never paid an annual fee.
I am with justNancy! In fact I will go further -- that whole NYT article is a perfect example of how "tales get spun".
The guy that is quoted the most, David Robertson, publisher of the Nilson Report, which tracks the credit card business, is nothing more than A GUY that has 'newsletter' that he sells to credit card companies to make a living about what their competitors are doing. He chats up few low level folks at one company to get a 'scoop' and the low level folks at a competitor FEEL LIKE they have "insider knowledge" and decide to offer a similar 'perk', meanwhile the HIGH LEVEL guys at both companies have already run the analysis of what any such change would cost / earn and are getting the TOP LEVEL guys to approve / reject it...
The NYT gets TONS of "clicks" on stories like this, because LOTS of people feel it might effect 'em, and you know what kinds of ADS NYT will link to those stories? Hmm I bet from CREDIT CARD companies!!!
The shear VOLUME of transaction fees more than pays for the bulk of the PROFIT most large CC operations generate, and the card issuers that do not have large volume use the cards as "relationship marketing tool" so that you come to them for loans and stuff that they can make REAL MONEY on.
Nothing about the legislation will change THAT...
If you have good credit history there will lenders EAGER to entice you to them with whatever tools they have available. While it may be true that lenders WANT you to become more endebted, they NEED you to pay that debt on a consistent basis and whover can demonstrate they they DO will ALWAYS be the desirable customer.
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