Did anybody here retire with no credit cards? How is it working out so far for you?

[Dtail]

Call me paranoid but how do I really know that what I see for free is the same as what merchants see when they pay for it? All part of the game.

Okay you are a little paranoid. lol
I have matched up Credit Karma, when I had a hard pull on my credit and it was fairly close.

 

[SecondCor521]

Yeah I think we really don’t know the details of what’s reported to the credit bureaus. I pay my cc balances in full each month but the free credit monitoring I get from Chase appears to reflect the statement balance anyway. Credit scores are near the max so it doesn’t seem to matter and it’s really just a scam anyway IMHO. Even though I try not to care I peek at our scores frequently in the course of monitoring unauthorized activity.

Generally speaking, credit card companies report your statement balance to the CRAs once monthly right around the time your monthly statement generates.

Generally speaking, you then have 25-28 days to pay the statement balance in full to avoid interest.

If you want the CRAs to reflect a zero balance - which usually doesn't help the credit scores of people who tend to be on this board so really no reason to do this - then you have some options:

1. Pay it down to zero and then dispute the balance with the CRAs. This will trigger an additional balance update from the CC company to the CRA.

2. Pay it down to zero before the statement closing date so the statement balance is zero.

CC companies generally do not update CRAs after you make a payment. Even if they did, someone regularly using their card would have racked up additional charges after the statement close but before the payment due date, and would therefore still have a non-zero balance.

 

[Nemo2]

My grocery store has Milk for 1.99 a half Gallon, right next to the Milk $4.50 Gallons..

I noticed the same thing here with the laundry detergent we use - buying two smaller containers, (the same overall volume), was cheaper than buying the larger one.

We agonized for the better part of half a nanosecond before grabbing two smaller jugs.

 

[jimbee]

Some people find it easier to manage their cashflow and spending with cash instead of cards. It's a perfectly fine way to manage one's financial affairs.

That is a behavioral preference, not a cash-back credit card disadvantage.

 

[The Cosmic Avenger]

My grocery store has Milk for 1.99 a half Gallon, right next to the Milk $4.50 Gallons.

It's fun to watch people grab the gallons... apparently saving .50c isn't worth having 2 smaller containers? That's the only rationale I've come to.

I barely even look at the actual prices any longer, I just look at the unit price. And before all the grocery stores around here displayed those, I worked them out in my head. People probably thought I was crazy, standing there staring intently at the price for a few seconds while calculating it and comparing it in my head to the other ones I knew.

 

[GrayHare]

What are the cons to cash-back credit card use?

It drives up prices for everyone, a Tragedy of the Commons.

 

[The Cosmic Avenger]

It drives up prices for everyone, a Tragedy of the Commons.

Actually, I make it a practice to pay cash at small local operations like non-chain restaurants or our farmer's market, and so I discussed it one time with a vendor at the farmer's market. He said he had been a holdout, taking only cash for a while, but when he started taking credit cards his sales went up 30-40%, more than making up even for the more exorbitant fees that Square/mobile vendors pay over brick-and-mortar vendors.

 

[JustCurious]

I apologize for not being able to quote the source, but I read that credit cards make comparatively little of their money off the high interest that most ER people avoid. The make much more off the 1-5% fees that every retailer tacks on to every purchase.

I think you have that backwards. My understanding is that credit card issuers make a great deal of money off of interest charges and various fees, and comparatively speaking they make little profit from the merchant transaction charges. I also do not think that any credit card issuer charges as much as 5% for transaction fees, they are mostly in the 1-3% range.

 

[jazz4cash]

Actually, I make it a practice to pay cash at small local operations like non-chain restaurants or our farmer's market, and so I discussed it one time with a vendor at the farmer's market. He said he had been a holdout, taking only cash for a while, but when he started taking credit cards his sales went up 30-40%, more than making up even for the more exorbitant fees that Square/mobile vendors pay over brick-and-mortar vendors.

I like the idea of asking smaller merchants if they prefer cash. I did ask my barber and he seemed to be ambivalent at first but after awhile he mentioned that handling cash is more work and risk.

 

[jimbee]

It drives up prices for everyone, a Tragedy of the Commons.

Any data on that?

 

[AniOr]

Just to add my recent experience ~ Ive recently had to file B13 to save my house, which involved closing my credit cards (tho they were all in good standing at the time). Im to have no debt/credit for the 3 yrs of my plan. So that said, I tried to travel with only my debit visa, which is attached to my bank account. Works well with money in the account. I got my airline ticket online, even booked my hotel. Car rental was a no go without a traditional credit card ; and my travel money that was in my account was frozen with the hotel putting a hold for a certain amount on my card when I checked in. Even tho I got that money back, it was a hardship to have that money tied up. Fortunately for future travel, my lawyer has advised I can get a low limit CC to use when traveling, long as paid off each month. Anyhoo thats my experience. I miss my credit card(s). More on my situation later as I do have questions ~ Ani

 

[kwblack]

A yes for CCs here

I'm a big fan of the protections built into CCs, one having saved me $15K from a crooked contractor some years back... I also find value in airline (or other) cards that give airport lounge access. Very helpful when I had a several hour delay at the Las Vegas airport. One lounge closed at 11, one at midnight, but I had access to both, which alleviate some of the misery of a delayed flight.

One of our cards has great concierge service, getting us into places that tell us there's nothing available. Not a big benefit for most, but when you need it, it's nice.

I'll be taking DH to Europe for the 3rd time in April...all on FF miles. Again, not something that everyone would care about, but we value that.

Mostly, though, I love being able to pull up purchases. Very helpful at tax time, or when trying to figure out if I'm within a warranty period. Or just to crunch budget stuff, like trends in our eating out. Those statements spin out a lot of data, which I find useful.

It does have to be approached (IMHO) like a hobby, using miles, discounts, benefits, etc. associated with each card. And it's not for everyone, for sure. It works for us, though. I don't notice any increased spending with CCs, since I know we'll both be going over statements every month. I do note that if I'm using cash, I don't think about it as much--like it's just "paper" with no accountability attached. I feel much more accountable with statements in front of me.

A very YMMV situation.

 

[bobandsherry]

I think you have that backwards. My understanding is that credit card issuers make a great deal of money off of interest charges and various fees, and comparatively speaking they make little profit from the merchant transaction charges. I also do not think that any credit card issuer charges as much as 5% for transaction fees, they are mostly in the 1-3% range.

Go back and re-read the post you responded to. In general you are right, but the poster made reference or ER crowd. I don't think they are making their lunch money off the majority of those in this forum. [emoji16]

 

[bada bing]

It drives up prices for everyone, a Tragedy of the Commons.

Actually it is dependent on the merchant and their business, but in many cases it does not "drive up prices on every one". There is a cost associated with taking payment from all methods, including cash. Have you ever seen an armored car making a weekly pick up at a convenience store ? Cash is the most expensive payment method to accommodate in some cases. Credit cards are in many cases very competitive with the costs of other forms of payment.

Credit cards companies have, as part of their service contract, a requirement that the merchant doesn't offer a cash price differential. Gasoline is a notable exception to this contractual language, because gas is a low margin, high volume business. So there is some strong arming by credit card companies to protect their turf in the cases where there actually is a hidden cost spread on everyone for credit card users.

 

[JustCurious]

Go back and re-read the post you responded to. In general you are right, but the poster made reference or ER crowd. I don't think they are making their lunch money off the majority of those in this forum. [emoji16]

I did go back and read the post I responded to and I think my response was appropriate, I don't think I took the poster's comments out of context.

 

[ownyourfuture]

But not using your cards doesn't save you any of those costs since they are baked into the prices!

This!

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

Some people find it easier to manage their cashflow and spending with cash instead of cards. It's a perfectly fine way to manage one's financial affairs.

On the other hand, my credit card providers have complete documentation on every expenditure I make, readily accessible by me. It's like having someone balancing my checking account for me.

I can't recall whether company V does this, but company D also sorts my expenditures into categories and generates a pie chart showing how much I spent on gasoline, groceries, etc. It's a nice budgeting tool.

 

[gayl]

Sounds like a reasonable option. I don’t like debit cards, consumer protections aren’t as rigorous.

As for cards, we would need at least two. Following the advice and example of others here (such as audreyh1 and Alan) we have a card dedicated to autopay that is not used for any other purpose and never leaves the desk drawer. This reduces the likelihood it will be hacked, which saves us the real hassle of setting up all the autopsy accounts time and again.

Yeah. I just had a minor issue with what was supposed to be the online Australian eTA office. Fortunately I used my visa so I could block immediately & wound up getting my money back. If it was on a debit card I'd be SOL

 

[jimbee]

Any data on that?

I guess that's a no.