foreign currency

[cruisemom42]

44 minutes ago, Extra Kim said:

No. We don't use credit cards, ever. We don't even have credit cards.

I don't buy stuff that I can't afford.

 

There are a number of good reasons to use a credit card:

 

1.  It may be different in your country but in the US one has far less liability using a credit card than a debit card. When criminals fraudulently use your credit card, they’re spending your credit card issuer’s money. When criminals fraudulently use your debit card, they’re spending money from your checking account. Yes, ultimately in both cases you can get your money returned but IME it is easier with credit cards.

 

2.  Credit cards often offer insurance for purchases. If you make a large purchase abroad and have it shipped home, only it never arrives, you are covered. If it arrives in pieces, you are covered. If you get home and find out that 18k gold bracelet is really just gold-plated, you're covered.

 

3. Credit cards often offer travel insurance -- trip delays, lost luggage, even trip cancellation under certain conditions.

 

4. Credit cards often offer rewards for usage -- you can earn points for purchases to be used on future travel or even cash back.

 

[John Bull]

29 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

There are a number of good reasons to use a credit card:

 

1.  It may be different in your country but in the US one has far less liability using a credit card than a debit card. When criminals fraudulently use your credit card, they’re spending your credit card issuer’s money. When criminals fraudulently use your debit card, they’re spending money from your checking account. Yes, ultimately in both cases you can get your money returned but IME it is easier with credit cards.

 

2.  Credit cards often offer insurance for purchases. If you make a large purchase abroad and have it shipped home, only it never arrives, you are covered. If it arrives in pieces, you are covered. If you get home and find out that 18k gold bracelet is really just gold-plated, you're covered.

 

3. Credit cards often offer travel insurance -- trip delays, lost luggage, even trip cancellation under certain conditions.

 

4. Credit cards often offer rewards for usage -- you can earn points for purchases to be used on future travel or even cash back.

 

 

..................and importantly, for UK credit card-holders at least, the credit card issuer has the same responsibility to provide the goods / services as the merchant.

If the merchant goes bust or doesn't come up with the goods or service, the card issuer is obliged to recompense.

(lots of ifs & buts, but that's the general gist of it)

 

The bank doesn't have the same responsibilities if you use a debit card.

 

JB 

Edited July 30, 2019 by John Bull

[MicCanberra]

1 hour ago, Extra Kim said:

No. We don't use credit cards, ever. We don't even have credit cards.

I don't buy stuff that I can't afford.

I have both but use the same strategy.

[clo]

2 hours ago, Extra Kim said:

I don't buy stuff that I can't afford.

Nor do we.  But we put absolutely every thing we can on a card.  For travel and dining we get 3X travel points that can be used for travel around the world.  And, of course, pay it off every month.  And as @ducklife commented to you have maybe $10,000 in your currency in the account for an extreme emergency?  Stuff happens.

[Extra Kim]

I have travel insurance that covers the whole year and I re-new it every year. I have had that for years.

 

I have access to my bank online. If I need to move money onto my Visa Card, I can do that within a couple of min.

[clo]

11 minutes ago, Extra Kim said:

I have travel insurance that covers the whole year and I re-new it every year. I have had that for years.

 

I have access to my bank online. If I need to move money onto my Visa Card, I can do that within a couple of min.

So it sounds like you're saying that you don't trust yourself to not overspend if you had a credit card.  Totally valid.

[John Bull]

3 hours ago, Extra Kim said:

 

I don't buy stuff that I can't afford.

 

18 minutes ago, clo said:

Nor do we.

 

Nor do we.

Like most people we use a credit card as a charge-card.

Each month on the due date my bank automatically pays everything that I've spent. No charges, no interest.

As per posts above by cruisemom & myself there are a number of advantages in using a credit card - but credit isn't one of them!

If I did buy stuff that I couldn't afford, I sure as hell wouldn't do it with a credit card - I've just looked up the interest rates & they average 20% 

 

JB 

[clo]

2 minutes ago, John Bull said:

I've just looked up the interest rates & they average 20% 

And I almost choke over the minimum payment!

[Extra Kim]

No, I don't want to pay for a card that I don't need. 

12 minutes ago, clo said:

So it sounds like you're saying that you don't trust yourself to not overspend if you had a credit card.  Totally valid.

Sounds like you don't understand a word I write.

 

[ducklite]

12 minutes ago, John Bull said:

 

I've just looked up the interest rates & they average 20% 

It depends on your credit rating and the issuer.  We have one which is 12% and another which is 14%, the rest run 16-21%.  We only use two of them, the other gets used for a small purchase a few times a year to keep them active.  All are always paid in full each month.  

[clo]

12 minutes ago, Extra Kim said:

Sounds like you don't understand a word I write.

 

Not at all.  Again sorry.  We get tens of thousands of points every year that we use for travel.  For us it would just be silly to walk away from that enormous benefit since we love to travel so much.

[John Bull]

6 minutes ago, Extra Kim said:

No, I don't want to pay for a card that I don't need. 

Sounds like you don't understand a word I write.

 

9 minutes ago, John Bull said:

 

No charges, no interest. 

 

JB 

 

Our credit cards have cost us nothing.

Issued free of charge.

Transactions free of charge.

No cost whatsoever as long as we pay it off each month, which our bank does automatically. For free.

And we use a credit card that charges no fee for foreign transactions - we'd be charged a fee if we used our debit cards.

 

A genuine & serious question, Kim...

Are there costs to get or use credit cards in Sweden?

 

JB 

 

 

 

[clo]

3 minutes ago, ducklite said:

It depends on your credit rating and the issuer.  We have one which is 12% and another which is 14%, the rest run 16-21%.  We only use two of them, the other gets used for a small purchase a few times a year to keep them active.  All are always paid in full each month.  

We don't care what the interest rate is as I'm guessing you and John Bull and others don't.  Paying it in full every month makes it irrelevant.  But we recently got the Chase Sapphire Reserve card and IIRC the interest rate is almost 25%.  We don't care. 🙂  And we're getting a real kick out of it.  The 3X on dining even has McDs drive-thru getting charged on it.  LOL.

[clo]

Just now, John Bull said:

Our credit cards have cost us nothing.

Issued free of charge.

Our new CSR costs $450/yr!  But you get a $300 credit for a minimal spend and access to over 1200 lounges worldwide and more and more.

[MicCanberra]

58 minutes ago, clo said:

So it sounds like you're saying that you don't trust yourself to not overspend if you had a credit card.  Totally valid.

I don't think that is what they said. More that they do not need a credit card when the system they have suits them better.

[clo]

1 minute ago, MicCanberra said:

I don't think that is what they said. More that they do not need a credit card when the system they have suits them better.

And I subsequently apologized.  It's so 180 from how we handle our personal finances that I made an assumption.

[Extra Kim]

6 hours ago, John Bull said:

A genuine & serious question, Kim...

Are there costs to get or use credit cards in Sweden?

 

JB 

Yes there's a cost, not that big that it would make an difference for us. But it's still a cost and every credit you get will impact your credit score. That can have an impact if you want to take a loan for a house or something similar. 

[ilikeanswers]

If you use ATMs try and avoid the Euronets and Bankomat ATMs. These ATMs charge high fees and give terrible rates. Try to go with a bank owned ATM and check what banks your bank has agreements with to guarantee fee free withdrawals. 

[John Bull]

28 minutes ago, Extra Kim said:

.........every credit you get will impact your credit score. That can have an impact if you want to take a loan for a house or something similar. 

 

Strangely I found the exact opposite !

 

Years back I ran a business-to-business wholesale company which accepted cash or cheque.

Because I accepted cash and banks charged for handling cash, I paid in cash for most things, both business & personal - never had a credit card, never borrowed money, and that adversely affected my credit score. The reason given to me was that since I hadn't used any credit cards or loans, I didn't have  a record of re-paying  them. 

Others have experienced the same.

 

Do talk to your bank about that, I feel sure it's the same in Sweden.

 

JB 

 

 

[MicCanberra]

I find that banks tend to only want to loan to people who actually don't need it.

[Harley52]

Use your credit card or debit card at ATM's.

[ontheweb]

43 minutes ago, Harley52 said:

Use your credit card or debit card at ATM's.

Do NOT use a credit card at an ATM; it is treated as a cash advance. Using a debit card at an ATM is the proper strategy.

[MicCanberra]

3 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

Do NOT use a credit card at an ATM; it is treated as a cash advance. Using a debit card at an ATM is the proper strategy.

Or don't worry about getting cash, just use your cards for purchases.

[ontheweb]

1 minute ago, MicCanberra said:

Or don't worry about getting cash, just use your cards for purchases.

Yes, that also works. But, my post was more of a warning to not use a credit card at an

 

3 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

Or don't worry about getting cash, just use your cards for purchases.

 Yes, that works, but my post was more of a warning to not use a credit card at an ATM.

[whogo]

14 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

There are a number of good reasons to use a credit card:

 

1.  It may be different in your country but in the US one has far less liability using a credit card than a debit card. When criminals fraudulently use your credit card, they’re spending your credit card issuer’s money. When criminals fraudulently use your debit card, they’re spending money from your checking account. Yes, ultimately in both cases you can get your money returned but IME it is easier with credit cards.

 

2.  Credit cards often offer insurance for purchases. If you make a large purchase abroad and have it shipped home, only it never arrives, you are covered. If it arrives in pieces, you are covered. If you get home and find out that 18k gold bracelet is really just gold-plated, you're covered.

 

3. Credit cards often offer travel insurance -- trip delays, lost luggage, even trip cancellation under certain conditions.

 

4. Credit cards often offer rewards for usage -- you can earn points for purchases to be used on future travel or even cash back.

 

5. Credit cards stymie short change artists.