why do you have credit cards?

[Fico2Go]

My brain has been rewired to think rewa,ds first...as of late.

So anyways my wife had asked for some quarters for parking.  I said no problem I got a $20 bill and can get a small drink at the the gas station for change.  I did just that....and while paying pulled out my new PRG to pay.  CCame out and the wifey asked for her quarters.  Ooops!

My question to everyone this morning has an ulterior motive and starts with why do u use credit cards?

The second part to my question is does it make any sense to have many cards with the recent account cancellations initiated by a few creditors?  Credit cards were once considered an excellent backup for spending during challenging times.  How valuable are they when creditors can cancell u at a moments notice? A good friend of mine last week had his Cabellas Visa card ..powered by Worlds Formost Bank..cancelled after they found out his debt ratio increased.  He never missed a single payment in 5 years of having the acct.  Yes cabella the hunting sporting store

My  contention is it seems many of us on this forum have become a bit passionate about CLIs and Quantity of cards. But how valuable or meaningful can credit card ownership be with random cancellation when u need them most?

Will these CLI efforts ever payoff when u need them?  Do the high cl have value when u dont use them?   And do they have value when u need them and cant use them?

Looking for some great exchanges here.

[w003ptr]

Top 3 reasons for me:

Short term:

1.  I don't like to use cash because I hate coins.

2.  Debit cards don't have reward systems.

Long term:

1.  Establishing a solid history and decent sized file to help with future car/home payments.

[notfancy]

For me, I tended to use them badly. I used them as a back up method so I wouldn't have to use my cash for a while, figuring I'd keep some of my cash longer if I paid them over time rather than using up big chunks of it at once. Of course... I realized the interest was costing me over the long run, but I justified it in my mind that I at least had my cash when I needed it. Dumb idea really.

I have them because I want to make car purchases and a home purchase at some point with out needing a cosigner, being denied, or being approved with crazy interest rates. For me, it's showing credit worthiness so I can make the bigger purchases down the road as I need or want them. The cash back rewards that I am now able to recieve for bills I'd pay, or items I'd purchase anyway are an added, and pleasant bonus. Especially as I am now charging the bill/item and then immediately paying it off.

[CreditScholar]

My reasons for using credit are:

1. Ease of use

2. Ability to track expenses 

3. Purchase protections (when compared to debit, and especially overseas)

4. Points & Miles

5. Large purchasing power. There is no way I'd carry as much cash on me as I sometimes charge in a day.

I've never had any issues with my credit, nor have I ever had any CLDs, AAs, or denials. My credit cards have pretty much always worked for me when I needed them.

[missjae]

I use credit cards because I hate to carry cash unless it's a small amount, using credit cards instead of a debit card prevents me from putting all my money at risk. Citibank recently issued me a new debit card because they had a security breach. I also enjoy the rewards and like to keep a good, solid credit history for home buying and car buying purposes.

I have several cards with several different issuers in hopes that if one card was cancelled, I still have plenty of options. In addition, I have kept some of my oldest accounts open because even though the limits are low, I have several years of history with them. Even when my DTI ratio has increased, these issuers did not CLD me.

[lg8302ch]

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@w003ptr wrote:

Top 3 reasons for me:

Short term:

1.  I don't like to use cash because I hate coins.

2.  Debit cards don't have reward systems.

Long term:

1.  Establishing a solid history and decent sized file to help with future car/home payments.

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+1  exact same reasons for me

[Mrm-na]

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Fico2Go wrote:The second part to my question is does it make any sense to have many cards with the recent account cancellations initiated by a few creditors?  Credit cards were once considered an excellent backup for spending during challenging times.  How valuable are they when creditors can cancell u at a moments notice? A good friend of mine last week had his Cabellas Visa card ..powered by Worlds Formost Bank..cancelled after they found out his debt ratio increased.  He never missed a single payment in 5 years of having the acct.  Yes cabella the hunting sporting store

My  contention is it seems many of us on this forum have become a bit passionate about CLIs and Quantity of cards. But how valuable or meaningful can credit card ownership be with random cancellation when u need them most?

Will these CLI efforts ever payoff when u need them?  Do the high cl have value when u dont use them?   And do they have value when u need them and cant use them?

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I think that supports an argument for diversity in credit cards.  You don't want to be dependent on any one or two creditors.  As long as your situation doesn't get obviously, seriously bad, then hopefully not all of your creditors will flake on you at the same time.

I like coins, but the ones that are commonly found are too worthless to be convenient nowadays.

[Km8888]

I enjoy the savings from rewards/special offers.  The increased buying power is nice too for items you rarely need, such as my most recent large purchases...appliances for  our kitchen.  I had the cash available for the items we bought, but when a card offers 18 months interest free, i am going to take it.  The cash is earning interest for those few more months.  

a more mundane reason for my cards is expense tracking.  With multiple cards, i am able to keep bussiness, personal, kid's education expenses, etc on  their own card.  Makes it a little easier at tax time.

[Platinum]

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@Fico2Go wrote:

My brain has been rewired to think rewa,ds first...as of late.

So anyways my wife had asked for some quarters for parking.  I said no problem I got a $20 bill and can get a small drink at the the gas station for change.  I did just that....and while paying pulled out my new PRG to pay.  CCame out and the wifey asked for her quarters.  Ooops!

My question to everyone this morning has an ulterior motive and starts with why do u use credit cards?

The second part to my question is does it make any sense to have many cards with the recent account cancellations initiated by a few creditors?  Credit cards were once considered an excellent backup for spending during challenging times.  How valuable are they when creditors can cancell u at a moments notice? A good friend of mine last week had his Cabellas Visa card ..powered by Worlds Formost Bank..cancelled after they found out his debt ratio increased.  He never missed a single payment in 5 years of having the acct.  Yes cabella the hunting sporting store

My  contention is it seems many of us on this forum have become a bit passionate about CLIs and Quantity of cards. But how valuable or meaningful can credit card ownership be with random cancellation when u need them most?

Will these CLI efforts ever payoff when u need them?  Do the high cl have value when u dont use them?   And do they have value when u need them and cant use them?

Looking for some great exchanges here.

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You question is your answer. The ownership of the credit card(s) is very valuable because of the very same reason: adverse actions. If there was no creditors who do AA we would probably end up with owning less cards in general. You've got to prepare yourself for AA, that's why you need a lots of cards with high credit lines.

[Fico2Go]

Everyone agrees on plastic convenience.

I definately agree on expense tracking for biz, kids, entertainment, food, etc. What a fantastic idea. I never thought of using this way before. Will do more.

Debit cards dont pay rewards? Try Paypal and connect with your checking. Get 1% back on everything. I am getting 1.5% as amognst the first to sign up in 2001. I have been using paypal for everything including hotel, car rental, etc. Never had issues before. Since 2001 I must have recieved $10,000 in cashback from paypal. Cash u can spend anywhere or withdrawn from ATM. Even better than rewards cashback limited to points, giftcard at specific places, or statement credit.

In terms of buying cars or homes with credit, I was a loan officer for many years. You dont need great credit to get a great rate. In fact no credit can get great FHA loans at fantastic rate. Just dont have bad credit.

Recently a good friend and client of mine was able to get 2.5% mortgage rate adjustible every five years. I was envious for sure. But he had credit scores of 690. So he didnt need great credit either.

I guess after reading some of the postings here I am slowly adjusting my way to acquire and use credit. Perhaps a best path for me is to get the highest cl from every major creditor. Initially I had aimed for only 2-3 high cl cards but in response to the recent guerrilla tactic of sone creditors we as customers must respond with our own guerrilla market based response.

Avoid small or cancel all small CL cards EXCEPT the one with longest history. No need for mid range history to cloud AAoA unless its a high CL.