USAA (of course you have to qualify for membership) has a credit card that gives 5% cash back on gas. If gas is more than $2 a gallon, the rewards are greater than 10 cents a gallon.
OT: Debit vs Credit Cards-Which do You Use?
- Thread starter permacock70
- Start date
If the pump has the icon for Apple Pay/Wireless (see Image below) that will take care of the skimmer issue
BTW, For me using Apple Pay (where accepted) is the easiest method. No reaching in my back pocket for my wallet, slipping in the card, waiting for approval. Just hold the phone to the reader and done. It's also safer.
I mean, if you're looking to borrow some money, then definitely a credit card suits your needs better. Debit cards only deduct money from your bank account, whereas credit cards will allow you to borrow some money from the bank. Regarding consumer protections against fraud, I'd say that credit cards are better. But also, the fees might differ for the two types of cards. Anyways, I am looking for some good credit card generator websites since I need them for software testing. Do you guys know any good ones? Please don't share unreliable websites.
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I use credit.
1. Safety. If it gets stolen or compromised, the cc issuer is Johnny-on-the-spot to secure it and prevent loss. The loss would be theirs, not mine, so they are incentivized.
2. We have Disney Rewards. That will likely get the wife and me a cruise late 2021 or early 2022. We will prolly change once we spent the rewards since the kids are out of the house.
3. Records. We pay for most everything with the cc, so I have a ready made accounting system on line. I know exactly how much we spend on gas, food, medical, restaurants, etc.
We don't use it to spend money we don't have. We pay the balance monthly, so no interest, no cost.
1. Safety. If it gets stolen or compromised, the cc issuer is Johnny-on-the-spot to secure it and prevent loss. The loss would be theirs, not mine, so they are incentivized.
2. We have Disney Rewards. That will likely get the wife and me a cruise late 2021 or early 2022. We will prolly change once we spent the rewards since the kids are out of the house.
3. Records. We pay for most everything with the cc, so I have a ready made accounting system on line. I know exactly how much we spend on gas, food, medical, restaurants, etc.
We don't use it to spend money we don't have. We pay the balance monthly, so no interest, no cost.
Pentagon Federal Credit Union (penfed.org) has a great rewards card. 5% points on gas and 3% at grocery stores. Everything else is 1%.
My debit card is linked to a VISA and can also be used as a credit card. So the risk of theft is eliminated as it is protected as the credit card.
But as a poster above said, I use Apple Pay a great deal. I wear an apple watch and just press a button on the watch and its done. And as he said, its safer, and I need neither my wallet or my phone.
But as a poster above said, I use Apple Pay a great deal. I wear an apple watch and just press a button on the watch and its done. And as he said, its safer, and I need neither my wallet or my phone.
Use credit cards for rewards and if someone charge something without your permission, credit card companies will credit your account. Debit cards are easy to empty your account and no recourse. Money/cash gone forever..
Those aren't the only reason, not even the best. The best reason is, you order an XL shirt online, they send you a Small and say sorry, no take backs once you opened the package. With a credit card you simply dispute the charge. With a debit card, you don't have that recourse.
I have never seen anything like this at a gas pump. Maybe Texas doesn't allow it.
If you have a Publix near you, watch their ads. Every 6-8 weeks, it used to be more often pre-pandemic so maybe it'll go back to more often soon, they will put a coupon in the ad for $10 off of a $50 gas gift card. It's pretty much any brand of gas. You must spend $50 on groceries with some exclusions such as alcohol, gift cards and tobacco. And sometimes they'll let you get 1 card per every $50 spent on groceries (ie 2 per $100, 3 per $150). I charge my groceries and the gift card on a cash back credit card. End result is that I pay about $38 for $50 worth of gas and if there's a skimmer's reader on the pump all I'll lose is $50 less how much I've used off of the card.
Its really amazing how credit card companies can afford to give points and cash back to everyone if they're all paying their balances every month.
It used to be .03 then it went to .05 and now it’s .10. Say they advertise $2.75 a gallon, so you pull in and swipe your card. Now, look at the price right above the grade you just selected, it’ll be .10 higher. Such a ripoff all because I don’t feel like walking into the store to stand in line behind 17 lottery players and then if I don’t get exactly the prepaid amount, I have to walk back in to get my change and stand in line behind 17 new lottery players. They’re basically charging you for convenience of your time.
Of course everyone is not. But don't forget the CC companies also get a percentage from the store for the CC usage!
I don't stop at places that charge extra if I can help it. I charge everything. But the reality is that that .10 per gallon is about how much the CC company is charging the store for the credit card usage. They are just passing it on to you. Those rewards are not free. Someone always pays.
The only gas station I can think of that doesn’t charge the fee is Walmart and Sams.
I don’t stop at stations that charge the fee either. Also, if you prepay and don’t pay that amount, only what is pumped will be charged. Forget all that walking!
I have a small family and love my Amex Blue preferred. 6% up to $6000 a year on groceries. We cover that no problem which is why I don’t mind the annual fee. Plus 6% back on streaming such as Netflix, Hulu live, etc. I also have a rotation I use for specific services to maximize amounts. 5% back on Amazon throughout the year I throw toward Christmas presents, the rest if it’s no benefit to apply points, I transfer to savings. Research the amount of reward money credit card companies are paying out as a whole, it is ridiculous the trend they are in and speaks volumes to the amount of people that are simply ok with paying interest fees EVERY SINGLE MONTH. It is mind blowing how irresponsible some are in regards to spending and debt
We use credit card for everything and DC just for cash only. Sometimes I’ll get a visa gift card just for using at restaurants and such with a limited number of $ on it just in case. Hate using debit. Heck, we even purchased our last vehicle with CC and paid it off the following week and racked up the points!
I don't worry too much about an extra .10 on gas. If I buy 15 gallons, that's a whopping $1.50.
And maybe I should value the rewards on credit cards, but I don't. I have an airlines card that I use for large purchases only, and I fly so infrequently that I have, like, 600,000 miles.
And maybe I should value the rewards on credit cards, but I don't. I have an airlines card that I use for large purchases only, and I fly so infrequently that I have, like, 600,000 miles.
Same here. I use the Delta AMEX card and make a payment each day for what I bought the previous day. I like the perks that come with the card: airline miles, annual free ticket, $15 discount on a meal each month, Medallion upgrade, and so on. I haven’t paid any interest in the four years I’ve had the card. I do the same thing with my Chase Freedom credit card because it pays cash back. Whatever I charge I pay for on the day the charge posts. In essence, there’s not a day of the year that I have a balance on my two credit cards.
You might consider a cash back card — if you pay the entire balance each month.
Most credit card holders don’t pay the entire balance each month. Very few holders pay the entire balance. Although the aggregate amount of national credit card debt is declining, the percentage of those not paying the entire balance each month is not. Besides, most premium cards have an annual fee. The key is to use the offered perks to overcome the annual fee. For example, when AMEX offered up to 24 months of no-interest and no fees for purchases up to $10,000, I jumped on it and purchased a $7,000 Sunlighten sauna I was going to pay cash for prior to the AMEX offer. I got a two-year loan for no cost at all.
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I was being sarcastic based on the number of people in this thread claiming to pay off their balance every month.
Yep, I figured as much, but thought I’d make a comment nonetheless. Your comment is a good one though.
I’m the biggest tightwad on this forum probably. Not that I’m one of those extreme cheapskates but I won’t just throw away $1.50 just because.
I did the CC/monthly payoff for years but when I realized recently that BofA, and probably others, were spying on their customers and sharing their private purchase info with federal agencies, I switched to cash. A measly 2-3% back just isn’t worth the lack of privacy.
I also use CC's and never carry a balance. What confuses me on this thread are all the people who say they pay their CC balance off every few days? Why? If you don't carry a balance from month to month what is the sense of paying early and not taking advantage of the free float? Maybe some people have small credit lines so they have to pay every few days, but fortunately mine are quire large and I just wait until the monthly bill arrives and take advantage of the additional 20 day float.
To me, if I owe a penny to anyone it’s a debt— and I hate debt of any kind. As such, I take the perks offered by charging something and then pay off the debt immediately. I don’t need the financial advantages of float, and I always keep my balance at almost zero percent of my credit line.
I am scratching my head about this too. Paying a credit card balances within the billing period sort of offsets some the benefits of having a card in the first place, and it certainly seems like a lot of useless effort to keep up with payments.
I use Discover for almost everything. I rarely have cash, and I cut up my debit card when it arrived in the mail. Those rewards points turn into restaurant gift cards, store gift cards, Amazon purchases, etc. I pay off the statement once it closes, but I don't pay anything early.
That’s what I do. First time I waited until the credit card bill came and reported I had a $502 balance it dropped my credit score even though I paid it off as soon as the bill came. Now I try to beat the reporting date and make sure I have a zero balance by the time they report to the credit agency’s.
Yes indeed! Most people don’t realize that the balance on the reporting date is used for percent of credit calculation.
U nailed it....Credit card only and pay the balance of each statement to avoid interest. It’s a no brainer.
If your credit score is low, it might be an issue. If it’s high, a few points here and there are no big deal. Especially when you don’t need to borrow money.
I try to keep mine above 750 no matter what. Well above 750 to be honest. It’s not that I need to borrow money, I just like having it incase for a rainy day. I recently bought a commercial zero turn and I could have paid cash but when they’re offering me 0% for 48 AND a $500 rebate, I take that all day long.
Hey, I get it. 750 is really good. I will use someone’s money at 0% all day long.
I find it comical as each month I get a notice from my monitoring service my score went up or down based on my useage as compared to-my Visa limit. I was at 821 several months ago, went on vacation, used the visa more, and the next month my score was 798. I just laughed. It keeps telling me my usage is too high a percentage to my limit. Basically tells me to obtain another card or raise my credit limit. I don’t play the game……I pay my bill then the next month it’s back around 815. I find it comical based on the fact that I keep a lower limit on my visa exposure, use it instead of cash, and pay the entire balance monthly, they lower my score because I don’t request more credit. They have no clue what my salary is, yet they think that’s an exact formula on someone’s risk level.
I use my Delta Reserve Card almost exclusively. I have a Marriott card too as I use that for my hotel stays only (but that is 125+ nights a year). The benefits of both cards are worth it even with the Delta Reserve Card fee. I’m in the Delta lounges too many hours a month to count, which is complimentary with the Reserve card and I get my wife a free first class trip a year (although she requires/demands more than one - LOL). I travel five of the next six weeks starting tomorrow. And, I definitely pay the entire balance every month. I’ve had the Reserve Card since 2015 - have never made any interest payments. AMEX doesn’t care - they make money on the merchants I use.
Yeah mine goes up and down every month. Got a notice the other day mine went up 8 points but yet no change to anything on my credit report, yet it went up.lol I don’t have sleepless nights over credit scores, I just like mine to hover around that 750 mark due to that’s what I’d need to get the best rates for a mortgage or something if I ever decided to. I don’t worry about much else as far as credit goes, I only have two cards and only one has rewards. It’s whatever Navy Federal gave me back in 2004 so apparently that card had rewards and when I get enough points to get cash back I take it. I don’t spend to get cash back though.
