topic Re: Not PIF but not minimum? in Credit Cards

Not PIF but not minimum?

Anonymous — Sat, 01 Aug 2015 11:05:57 GMT

Argument with my roommate.

Say you have a 5000 limit. Spending 3000 on a large purchase. Is it not okay to not pay in full, say minimum was 50 but you pay say... 150.. Every month? Does this really scare away lenders? I mean if it's PIF all the time wouldn't it just be a charge card? When is it(if) really okay to pay your CCs over time?

Re: Not PIF but not minimum?

Anonymous — Sat, 01 Aug 2015 11:08:48 GMT

No edit button on mobile. Just FYI the 150 on a 3k bal is Just an example I'm using.

Re: Not PIF but not minimum?

OmarGB9 — Sat, 01 Aug 2015 17:25:24 GMT

Shouldn't be any issues as long as you pay on time and more than the minimum. Most people here will tell you to PIF whenever possible, and that is a good idea, however it's not always possible. IMO, it's okay to carry a balance if you have 0% promo financing. Otherwise if you don't have 0% and are paying interest on your purchase when you're capable of paying in full, you're just wasting money.

Re: Not PIF but not minimum?

Anonymous — Sat, 01 Aug 2015 17:27:09 GMT

The only thing that could scare away lenders is if it makes your utilization too high and then that would immediately go away when the balance is paid down so no long term effects. PIF is recommended to avoid interest charges and increase your score for immediate needs but long term as far as lenders are concerned zero problem

Re: Not PIF but not minimum?

vanillabean — Sat, 01 Aug 2015 17:30:25 GMT

Credit card companies have been happy with my five percent.

Re: Not PIF but not minimum?

kdm31091 — Sat, 01 Aug 2015 17:37:34 GMT

I think as long as you are paying more than the minimum as in 2 or 3 times, the lender wont care. Your util will suffer and thus your score but life happens and sometimes its unavoidable. It will recover as soon as you pay it off.

If everyone was able to always PIF except on 0 percent offers, credit cards with rewards likely wouldnt exist. Issuers have to make money somehow for these programs. While nobody should ideally pay interest, it happens sooner or later to plenty of people. Pay more than the minimum and IMO youre fine.

Re: Not PIF but not minimum?

icyhot — Sat, 01 Aug 2015 17:49:48 GMT

I was having a similar argument with my mom. I said "you should use credit cards for what you can afford to pay back in a timely manner" and she said "NO credit cards are for what you can't afford and just make the minimum payments" I wish I knew she had this mindset before making her an AU on my cards :-/

Re: Not PIF but not minimum?

kdm31091 — Sat, 01 Aug 2015 17:53:05 GMT

Your mother sounds very irresponsible. No one should have the mindset of "charge and pay minimums". Cant you remove her as an AU?

Re: Not PIF but not minimum?

icyhot — Sat, 01 Aug 2015 17:57:48 GMT

I just don't give her the cards.

Re: Not PIF but not minimum?

Anonymous — Sat, 01 Aug 2015 18:05:24 GMT

@icyhot wrote:
I just don't give her the cards.

Yes but as an AU< while she can't make actual changes to the account or anything like that, she COULD call up the credit card company and obtain the credit card numbers because she is listed as AU and AU can do that. Not saying she would but if a financial emergency for her arose, you have to consider that possibility. By making her an AU you have given her certain (albeit limited) privileges that you would have full responsibility for.

Re: Not PIF but not minimum?

Anonymous — Sat, 01 Aug 2015 18:08:03 GMT

What is everyone's opinion on how many times the minimum is acceptable? On some cards I have been paying between 12 times and 20 times the minimum or just PIF due to freuqnt use, but on a few cards I'd like to scale back a bit. Is 3x the minimum the right number?

Re: Not PIF but not minimum?

icyhot — Sat, 01 Aug 2015 18:08:14 GMT

I don't even think she knows that's possible to do

Re: Not PIF but not minimum?

Anonymous — Sat, 01 Aug 2015 18:09:06 GMT

@icyhot wrote:
I don't even think she knows that's possible to do

You are taking a chance because you are responsible if she does. And, it's listed all over the internet that AU can do that so she could certainly read it.

Re: Not PIF but not minimum?

icyhot — Sat, 01 Aug 2015 18:10:00 GMT

So CC companies can give you the full number over the phone?

Re: Not PIF but not minimum?

Anonymous — Sat, 01 Aug 2015 18:10:21 GMT

You have to allow for the possibility that if she got into a serious financial emergency, she might take whatever means she can to fix it, not that she doesn't mean well but her financial view is very different from yours and could cause a problem.

Re: Not PIF but not minimum?

Anonymous — Sat, 01 Aug 2015 18:11:18 GMT

@icyhot wrote:
So CC companies can give you the full number over the phone?

If she identifies herself and they can confirm she is an AU< they can give her any information about the account.

Re: Not PIF but not minimum?

gdale6 — Sat, 01 Aug 2015 18:13:06 GMT

Its my understanding an AU cannot do anything online and cannot request cards or make changes to the account by phone. This however one should verify with the lender.

Re: Not PIF but not minimum?

Anonymous — Sat, 01 Aug 2015 18:16:42 GMT

Changes canot be made to the account by AU; however AU can call the credit card company and obtain the account number information which can be used to make charges.

Saw it happen with my elderly neighbor when she was out of town. Her son got into a car accident and was AU. Called the credit card company and got the full information and charged $780 to fix his car.

His mom was upset whens he came back to town and said next time, just ask me instead of calling the credit card company. He paid her back but this is why I know it can be done, without the consent of the account holder.

Re: Not PIF but not minimum?

Anonymous — Sat, 01 Aug 2015 18:16:57 GMT

I think the user here is broke triathelete (or something similar). Not that his was with an AU, but it is about what a despartate family member might do.

Re: Not PIF but not minimum?

icyhot — Sat, 01 Aug 2015 18:17:17 GMT

I don't think a CC company can give a whole account number over the phone, much less the exp date or CVV