Quote:
Originally Posted by tirsales
[SNIP]
Regarding DixieGals post: Well, that is one reason why I never understood the sense in credit cards. This is not meant to be judging - I simply dont understand the reasoning behind a credit based system. (Credits are fine - you sometimes simply need them (e.g. buying a house, but surely not for buying a car). But surely not to pay the monthly living?) The European system differs greatly - you have a bank deposit (where you deposit your money and get a (small) revenue for it). With your bankcard (EC-Card, Mastercard, DirectDebit Card, whatever) you can withdraw money from this deposit - but normally no more (not much more) then you have deposited. So you can only spend what you have, not take a loan for your normal living ... (in fact I do have a VISA card - which directly debits my bank deposit, I dont have (nor need) any credit ...)
|
I have a VISA debit-card too. But mostly I use my credit cards instead. The reason is twofold. First, the legal protections for credit card users are much more robust than for debit cards. There's no fundamental reason why it should be so; it's the current state of the law. I have much greater protection against fraud, theft, bad products, etc. when I use my credit card than with the debit card! Second, while the debit card allows easy access to my bank accounts, it doesn't provide side benefits (like cash-back on all purchases). A typical credit card gives at least 1% back -- and I'm happy to take the money!
In either case, it's only sensible to pay off the entire bill at the end of the month. Credit card interest rates are amazingly high; don't get caught behind that particular 8-ball unless you can't possibly avoid it! Taking a "loan" from your credit card company is nearly always a bad choice.
Xenophon