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Do you use a credit card? Why or why not? (discuss.tchncs.de)

submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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I know this might just reflect financial culture differences across countries, but let's give it a try

Edit: as a clarification, I meant credit card compared to debit, not to cash

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[–] vita_man 39 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (3 children)

I live in the US. I use a credit card for all my purchases because not only does it shift liability from my money to the bank's money, it also pays me a % in the form of cash back and I pay it off in full every month to avoid any interest charges. It's extremely important that my credit card balance is never higher than my checking and savings combined to ensure I really can pay it off in full.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 year ago

This is exactly my use case. Get free rewards but treat it like a debit card. Don't spend more than you couldn't pay back by the end of the month and you get free perks like cash back or airline points for travel.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I use a credit card for all my purchases because not only does it shift liability from my money to the bank's money

Yes! My bank gives me 30 days to identify and contact them about fraudulent charges on the credit card, but only 3 for the debit card. Therefore I don't use my debit card unless I absolutely have to.

A few years ago my local gas station was victim of a skimmer - thank goodness I had the 30 days, because it took them two weeks to realize what happened and contact everyone! I don't check my bank every day for fraud so I would've had to eat those losses if it was a debit card.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Interesting, thanks