Which credit cards for BIG PURCHASES

I understand that money is a necessary thing, but credit cards just seem to gum up the works.

In my opinion, there are far more important things to worry about, even if the credit card companies do offer 'free incentives' or what have you. We all know that nothing is ever free, everything costs something whether it be money, time, or work.

I'd rather spend my time doing other things than juggling interest rates, additional fees, fine prints and all that other junk.

I have found lag time in the time credit card companies post an electronic payment - sometimes up to 10 days! So you think you sent an electronic payment 4 days early to provide a safety cushion and they don't get around to crediting your account until 6 days after it's due...

The other thing I am finding is that they keep changing the rules for upping interest - could they possibly change that "grace" period and start charging interest from day one? Anything is up for grabs.

I got some 2.9% and 3.9% for the life of the balance transfer cards and transferred my truck balance over to get the low rate. After two years they are sending me all kinds of "rule change" notices - trying to get me to break something so they can up the interest rate. After seeing all of this it just was not worth the saving of a little bit of interest - should have left well enough alone. They haven't tripped me yet and soon the balances will be so small it won't matter much, but they sure are trying!!!

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You're missing the point of the discussion, Snuggle. The only risk in using a credit card is a person's inability or desire not to understand the terms of the CC contract.

Regarding farmmaid's question, a person cannot get into debt if they have cash on hand to cover the purchase. The idea is that a person has the cash to pay for the appliance, but puts it on the credit card to extract the benefit of the card purchase. They then write a check to the CC, often signed and mailed the very day they used the CC. The extra "work" they do yields a benefit of money back on purchases they would be making anyway. I personally have no problems doing work I get paid for.

Lots of people make their mortgage payments through their credit card--or perhaps a car payment. If one doesn't have the money to cover the payments, one's going to have credit problems either way, but lots of people blame it on "those crooks and those tricky little credit cards," instead of taking responsibility for their own financial state. And I'm not aware of any little insignificant purchases that turn into big trouble without some fault on the part of the purchaser.

There are a lot of advantages for using a credit card and paying it in full each month- tracking expenses is one- everything is on one page. Plus anything charged is covered by a warranty, if you get it home it doesn't work and you're having a problem with a return simply contact the card company and dispute the charges. The key is paying in full every month. Credit cards used correctly are an asset.

Stacy in NY

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[QUOTE=fin29]You're missing the point of the discussion, Snuggle. The only risk in using a credit card is a person's inability or desire not to understand the terms of the CC contract. QUOTE]


You're right I probably am... sorry, the bankruptcy is still fresh on our minds so I get kinda passionate about it. I hate seeing people make the same dumb mistakes we made, and credit cards were one of the biggest...the biggest was getting a second mortgage in attempt to pay them off.

It all depends on what you are used to and what you are comfortable with. If you know that credit cards get you into trouble, then you are doing the right thing by avoiding them.

I have the opposite problem; if I have a $20 in my wallet, then I tend to buy little things (coffee, newspaper, etc.) that I would never charge on a credit card. Or, in the mornings if I know I have a few bucks in my wallet, then I might skip taking my lunch to work, and choose to buy it instead.

I think the secret to using CCs successfully is to use them as if they were cash. The problem is, of course, that they aren't cash. If you had $100 in your wallet and the item cost $105, the clerk ain't gonna let you have it. But if you've got a credit card...

And you're off! I have a friend who has done this to her family TWICE (give me a blooming break already!). Run up credit card debt to the point where they declared bankrupcy once and had to beg relatives the second time so they wouldn't lose the house.

If you sat her down and said "you're not stupid.. you're an RN for heaven sakes, what happened?" she'd tell you it wasn't buying "big stuff" it was whipping out the card when the item cost $5 more than what she had in her wallet. Then instead of going home and putting that cash in an envelope (and adding $5 to it) the cash would get frittered away... and at the end of the month she'd be short on the charge bill.

And again the next month..

You're right, they were mistakes, everyone makes them, and someone will probably learn from yours right here on this very thread. Hopefully they'll learn more about how to avoid them, though. You should have started coming here sooner!

A lot of good advice above, my $.02:

If you can handle credit cards the rewards can be good, provided that you have a card with no annual fee, with a grace period, that is reliable and does not play games and it is paid off in full. (I have not had any problems with discover, buy YMMV)

If you decide to go that route, then the best card will be the one that has a reward you will use. E.g. why get free miles if you do not fly, why get Cabela's credits if the closest one is hundreds of miles away...

But if you are looking at getting a new card, then your starting credit limit may not be sufficient and opening a new card may lower your credit score, which could impact other things.

Or try talking to the store manager to see if they will give you 1-2% off the purchase price if you write a check, vs using that credit card. Most stores pay the credit card folks at least 1.5 percent, and smaller stores with less transactions pay even more.

If you find a store with X months free financing, try to get them to discount the products if you pay cash. Because it does cost them $$ for the free financing.

I seem to recall that www.bankrate.com has credit card comparisons. If you want to see what is out there.

Did you know that you can knock off a whole bunch of interest on your mortgage if you pay one principal payment extra each month along with your regular payment? We did this for about 5 years when we could afford it and we gained so much equity in our home that when we sold it, we bought our 20 acres outright. This method is called something like amortizization (I'm not spelling that right I know).
Check into it if you want to pay down your mortgage quickly and save on the interest.
Cindy from Oregon

Thank you to all who have replied. I probably should have explained our situation more. We have sold our home and business and will be building our retirement home next year. We have bought the land and have a house to stay in until our home is done (rent free-caretaking). Some of the $ from the sale will be invested and some will be in an account that we can get to for withdrawls. So the money is there to pay the credit card accounts in full each month. I am a VERY organized person and am not worried about the responsibility for keeping records and paying off each month. I was mostly interested in the benefits cards had to offer for bonuses. Hubby is a hunter so we already have the Cabela's card. I wondered about cards with % of money back, air miles or etc...Joan THANK YOU AGAIN

Hi,

Here are some current deals to help you with your spending:

general credit card resources:

http://www.cardweb.com/cardlocator/
http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/mess...=credit%20card
http://www.creditcardgoodies.com/
http://www.cardratings.com


my personal favorite are


Amex Blue

AT&T Universal Cash Rewards (not points) MasterCard
1-800-613-0863
Apply by 12/15/04

0% on balance transfers until 11/1/05, no balance transfer fee with this offer
Full 5% Cash Back on purchases until 2/1/05; Full 5% Cash Back on purchases made at supermarkets, drugstores and gas stations -- Full 1% Cash Back on all other purchases thereafter.
Full 5% Cash Back on eligible AT&T consumer products and/or services
Special benefits for ALL cardmembers:
- 2 FREE directory assistance inquiries per month
- Up to 30 free phone minutes per month
- Wireless phone loss an theft insurance reimbursement for replacement coverage

With this straddling a calendar year, you should be able to max out the $300 this year and still get another couple of statement periods next year at the full 5%.



GM 5% back card



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v452/gmo415/citi.jpg

Call 1-800-362-5339 to apply.

$500 rebate max per 12 months (NOT calendar year).

5% promo rebate till 7/2005, so $10k in charges nets you $500 rebate off a car purchase OR car repairs. 1% rebate after that date.

Also, 0% on BT's with no fee till Oct 05.



MBNA also has a 2% back Fidelity 529 card with no tiers.

take a look at http://www.fatwallet.com/c/52/


lots of good resources there.


Cheers !

Well, we use them responsibly and our home card is an Amazon card, which we use for gift certificates for kids, etc. We have a work one for Hampton Inn points. That one is getting us 4 nights free over the Thanksgiving holidays visiting family. Definitely worth it!

Just spent 2 nights free using another chain's point system for frequent stays.

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