Credit
Card Benefits
Today about 80% of Americans
enjoy the privilege of owning a credit
card. This is mainly for the convenience associated with their use such
as preventing the need to carry cash around plus credit cards almost
eliminate the need to pay a visit to the bank whenever they need to buy
a large purchase. Card providers are making owning a credit
card
very attractive by offering rewards and incentives like cash backs and
frequent flyer miles, even gasoline. Credit cards can even
help
households balance their expenses and they also aid personal credit
worthiness records and a good credit score means that lenders often
offer loans at a reduced interest rate.
International credit cards are on the increase also. These are valid
globally and reduce the worry of having to calculate or carry
foreign currency around. Credit cards still get a lot of bad publicity
due in part to those who cannot manage them correctly.
Some reasons to love credit cards
Credit score
Being able to pay off your monthly
credit balance on
time provides better offerings on interest rates for mortgages or
loans. Having a good credit history is very important today
and
while it was once reserved for car loans or buying a house, more and
more companies are checking these credentials
Ease of use
Most companies or businesses anywhere in
the world
accept credit cards which makes travelling safe and secure
Travel
insurance
Credit cards offer life insurance when
you use them
to purchase air tickets or holiday packages. Should you die
in an
airline crash your family will benefit from a certain amount.
Free insurance of this kind can be expensive if you need to pay for it
yourself
Interest
free loans
Buying on your credit card is a form of
interest
free loan from the time you make the purchase until you pay it back
Damage and loss protection
When you buy with a credit card your
purchases are
protected against loss or damage. If you return your goods
within
a certain time frame you are guaranteed your money back.
Protection
against theft
Purchases bought on a credit card are
protected with
theft insurance which means that if your purchase is stolen within a
certain time frame your purchase is protected and you will get your
money back.
Rental cars
Depending on the type of credit card you
have, car
rental agencies will include insurance coverage for free, automatically.
Travel incentives
If you use your credit card often and
responsibly
you will be offered perks such as airline miles.
Cash back rewards
There is so much competition in the
credit card
industry that many companies will offer as much as 5% cash back on all
your purchases.
Security features
If you have ever had a credit card stolen you will
understand the benefit of the level of security they can offer.
Staggered payments
Repayments on credit cards are staggered
which means
that you don’t have to repay your entire balance at
one
time. If used wisely this will allow you to make those
important
purchases upfront and be able to put together a budget in order to
clear the balance.
Free
record keeping
With a credit card it is easy to keep a
record of
your purchases, especially in cases where you have been overcharged or
charged for a purchase you did not order. For example if you
cancel an order and it is still shipped to you and the vendor will not
allow you to return it. A simple call to your credit card facility will
normally resolve the issue and they have the power to get your money
back from the vendor.
Free services
Credit card interest rates may be high, but if you have the foresight
and the discipline to pay your balance at the end of each month, you
are getting credit card services for free. You pay no
interest
rates and you are good to go again. This service is only
possible
because of the fact that the majority of people don’t pay
their
credit card balances in full each month, if they did then banks would
lose a lot of money and none of the perks and rewards would be
forthcoming.