<p>Clearly, calling CC on a merchant is a last resort, but better for credit card company to deal with a merchant that won’t work with you than YOU trying to get the merchant to replace the defective or counterfeit merchandise. I admit this has rarely happened and the CC always requests that you contact the merchant before they will get involved.</p>
<p>I have not had to get the CC involved often, but am glad it is an option when merchant is balky. I have no experience with debit cards, so can’t speak to any protections that are provided when using debit cards. If they are treated like checks or cash, I don’t imagine you get much protection once the transaction has been completed, unlike some protections extended by CCards.</p>
<p>The bank which issued the debit card which was involved in that unfortunate fraudulent transaction explained that debit card charges are treated like checks. They can only stop payment before it is cashed by the merchant. </p>
<p>Once it’s cashed, it’s a matter between the card holder and the merchant. </p>
<p>Even if some banks offer to make good on the losses, the 2-3 day wait factor is less convenient that a credit card which can stop payment at any point of the transaction and better yet, go to bat on your behalf to wrangle with the merchant while the holder can go about his/her daily life without the aggravation of having to deal with phone/email tag or the uncooperative “not my problem” type responses from merchants.</p>
<p>Yes, despite great rankings and due diligence, sometimes we do end up with questionable merchants who don’t want to respond when we have inquiries about charges. I am happy to have CC company take over when my efforts to work things out fail.</p>
<p>Haven’t read through the thread. My opinion: need a credit card-no. But it can be convenient. My kids have gone out into the world with a debit card, check book, and a low limit ($1k) credit card. Covers all contingencies.</p>
<p>From my own perspective we have used the credit card company to challenge charges twice in 30 years. It really helped to get something done with vendors who were less than obliging.</p>
<p>Paying rent and having debit cards doesn’t build credit history. I work for a credit card company and have experience with this. Everyone needs some credit history. You need it when you are buying a car or a house. As long as you use the credit card responsibly and pay it off every month there is no cost with most cards. Using a credit card for large purchases gives you extra protection and insurance that a debit card won’t give you. A lot of cards give you collision coverage for car rentals, trip protection, and emergency assistance. Also, you can dispute a charge with a debit card.</p>
<p>I think it is very helpful to have a credit card so if your flight has a weather delay and you are stuck somewhere, you can easily stay in a hotel. On the other hand, I guess hotels all take debit cards. </p>
<p>I prefer to use credit cards, paid off each month, because of the protection provided in case of fraud, an error that the merchant won’t fix quickly, or any dispute.</p>
<p>I have had a credit card since I was 16 (22 now). I have five credit cards and a total credit limit just over 5 digits. I’ve never been late on a payment and I have a squeaky clean record. My credit score is low-mid 700s. Just a data point. Ymmv but don’t expect it to just shoot up.</p>
<p>At least for jobs, the lack of a credit history wasn’t a hindrance IME. </p>
<p>Interesting in retrospect because I was put through an extensive background check when I was hired to work in the IT/IS department of a medium-sized financial services firm in the Greater Boston area a year after graduation after working for some startups. Granted, getting credit cards was much easier than I hear it is for current undergrads/recent college grads and I graduated into a stronger job market than now. </p>
<p>As for getting a good credit history, just use your card in a consistently responsible manner(pay full monthly balance on time consistently) and you should be fine.</p>
<p>After having heard from a younger, recent college-grad co-worker, that her dad had her get a credit card when she began college, purchase something minimal each month, pay it off, and by the time she graduated she had years of steady credit history, we have since done the same w/our daughter and our son, both currently in college. Our daughter is a Senior and our son a Junior. They each now have excellent credit histories, in the low to mid-700’s and would be higher except they haven’t made any MAJOR purchases yet at this point in their lives. Our son had to purchase a car to use for transportation for his engineering co-op job and his excellent credit history certainly helped him. So glad we did this for them both when they began college - gave them each an easy way to build several years of good credit history, plus the convenience of having the card for purchases and the security of it over cash.</p>
<p>^ you can start even earlier than college by adding your kids as authorized users to your credit cards(assuming you have good credit). You don’t have to give the kids the cards, or all the cards…just adding them as AU starts their credit building. This will also make it much easier for your kids to get their first cards.</p>
<p>I’ve read conflicting things about how helpful it is for kids to be authorized users on our accounts. That said, we did add each kid to our CCs when they started college and both had no trouble getting credit cards they wanted when they applied. D was able to get one, even tho she doesn’t yet have a job! S has all sorts of CCs, including a free AmEx gold card. He may pay to keep it after his first 2 years free.</p>
<p>My post 227 does not make any sense now that the post that it was responding to has been deleted. The poster was asking whether or not his/her credit score would be 800 in a few years now that he/she has recently obtained a credit card :rolleyes:</p>
<p>As far as the authorized user, I think it really does help. We’ve had our kids as authorized users for years, and the cards do show up on their credit reports. Weirdly, they also are showing as having a HELOC for a number of years. Okay…I don’t know why some random things show up, and others don’t.</p>
<p>I have a question:
What are the repercussions on my credit score of paying off the whole amount each month vs. paying off the minimum or more? Does that ? make sense?</p>
<p>Just one opinion, writer1992, but I would always pay off the entire amount if I could, regardless of what it would do to my score. I hate to pay interest, and most credit cards don’t offer good deals on interest, though I admit we keep as large balances as possible on 0% and 1.9% interest introductory rate cards, and pay them off entirely as soon as the interest rate jumps. I think it would help your credit score to pay them off entirely, allowing a greater amount of money available, anyways.</p>
<p>It is a truly bad habit to get into, to plan on not paying off the balance monthly. I can’t imagine that it would help your score.</p>
<p>I have never carried a balance on my credit card EVER, always paying it off in full before I needed to pay ANY interest or penalty or finance charge. That said, my credit score is near the tippy top possible, so I can’t imagine it did my score any harm of the decades of never carrying a balance. H also has a credit score over 800 and has similar habits. Our S has a very high credit score, is only 25 and has never carried a balance, paid any interest or penalties either.</p>
<p>I can’t think of any good reason to carry a balance, except if you have an introductory rate of 0 (or close to it), which I did when I was getting together enough money to pay for my van with cash and was just a bit short and didn’t want to tap my savings. It worked perfectly, with us saving up so before the 0% introductory interest rate ended we paid off the entire balance of the van.</p>
<p>Never want to spend more than we can pay off because I like sleep soundly at night and really hate paying interest except we managed to do it for our mortgage.</p>
<p>I agree, there are very few good reasons to carry a balance, though I must admit, we put about 120K on credit cards and auto loans to buy foreclosure condos a year or so ago. The interest rates range between 0-1.9%. The only reason I was willing to do that was because it was cheaper than using our HELOC, and far cheaper than getting a new loan for any of the properties. Fortunately they have greatly increased in value, with a positive cash flow, so it isn’t as dumb as it seems. </p>
<p>The problem is, the low interest rates end a year or so later, and you MUST pay them off before the rate jumps. They suck you in, with these low introductory rates, and they hope you can’t pay them off when it ends. Of course, people like us, HImom, and geeps, who like a deal, say…suckers, paying you off before you hit us up for the big bucks! If you don’t do that, you are just burdened with debt and high interest rates.</p>
<p>Wow, busdriver, glad you made money on your foreclosure condos. In HI, the maintenance fees on the condos around here are staggering and really eat into cash flow and any potential profits. It makes me VERY reluctant to consider condos at all.</p>
<p>Credit and credit card companies are extremely good at what they do and seductively try to get people to spend more than they can comfortably afford by making spending so effortless and detached from cash (especially with “FREE” benefits from using their cards). They have done studies which show that people spend less when they spend cash and are reluctant to break large bills to spend. The “benefits” are only “free” if you were going to purchase the same item(s) if you didn’t have a credit card, for the same price.</p>
<p>An update on this one from the OP. My son has been living and working in NYC for 7 months. I made him carry our credit card in his wallet, and he has never used it once. No problems using the ATM card, and no need for a credit card. He has no debt, isn’t running up any bills, and I guess he really didn’t need a credit card to get by.</p>
<p>Now I, on the other hand…need about ten credit cards to get by.</p>