I am in no way an expert or even an intermediate user of Credit Cards, as I’ve JUST applied for my very first card late 2019. BUT in my short-lived Credit Card Swiping career, I have experienced the upside in using these financial devices and I would advise others to use them as well.
1. Protecting Cash
If you ever had the pleasurable experience of having your debit card hacked/copied, and you went to go check your account and noticed some erroneous charges from a Walmart .. in Montana! Then you call the bank, and they state you will get your money back within 14 business days (actual time frame may be inaccurate lol, but I know its a long time).
Credit Card Companies are 1000% percent more efficient in the same scenario. All it takes is a simple phone call or some companies you flag the charges within the app, and within a few days (maybe shorter) the charge is removed from your account.
Cash is King … GUARD YOUR CASH!
Swipe now .. pay with cash later…
2. Free Money
I mean it ain’t exactly free, but listen bro … you’re going to spend the money anyway. Everyone has bills, everyone pays for food and various services. You might as well receive some sort of benefit from the cash that you were already going to spend ANYWAYS!
Many Cards offer cash back for the money you spend or points that can be redeemed via a Portal. Keep in mind the percentage of Cash Back and the value of points vary from card-to-card, company-to-company.
Furthermore, as of recent, many cards have begun to disperse credits for more everyday items like streaming and groceries. So image charging your Netflix, Hulu, Apple Music/Spotify to your card, and receiving that value back … making streaming basically free!
3. Travel Benefits
Ion think many us are really are concerned about traveling at the moment, but during normal times, travel benefits can provide tons of value.
Many travel cards come with a signup bonus if you meet the minimum spend in x amount of months. And these points can be redeemed for Air Fare, Car Rentals, Hotel Stays, etc.
A few other benefits include:
- Travel Credits
- Dining Credits
- TSA PreCheck Credit
- Lounge Access
- Lyft/Uber Credits
- Trip Cancellation / Trip Interruption Insurance
- Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver
- Baggage Delay Insurance
- Trip Delay Reimbursement
- Lost Luggage Reimbursement
- Travel and Emergency Assistance
- Travel Accident Insurance
4. Budgeting
Being that I RARELY use cash and I’m literally swiping my card for EVERY – SINGLE – PURCHASE. When I pay that bill at the end of the month, I have access to every transaction and can accurately view where exactly my money is being spent.
Most companies have some sort of tool whereas you can actually view this date via charts, and can export it to excel and other formats.
5. Purchase Protection
So boom … imagine you just bought the brand new TV, someone breaks in your house and steals said TV (knock on wood).. would you believe many cards would REPLACE or at the least pay x amount towards a replacement .. for that TV! If you buy the TV on the Credit Card, the value of the TV or up to a certain amount would be a credit to your card IF certain events occur, theft commonly being one of them.
Furthermore, some cards offer an extended warranty (past manufacture warranty) and a Return Protection, in which they will “refund” and item if the merchant would not accept it as a return item.
Summary
In all seriousness…I am not a financial advisor .. I don’t know much .. but ALWAYS pay your credit card balance IN FULL EVERY MONTH!
Credit Card Offers
