Do You Have A Credit Card?

[RabbitsRock]

DH has one - I did for a while but found it too tempting to spend more than I could really afford plus it’s sometimes tricky to keep up with the repayments. I have had credit accounts with catalogues such as Bon Prix & Damart. These days I use Clearpay & Klarna which are really useful although again obviously you have to ensure you can make the repayments.

Nope, never had one

Yes, wouldn’t be without one. There’s no way I’d use a debit card for online shopping plus you get additional protection if you buy something costing more than £100.

I keep an eye on my spending and pay the balance off every month, though.

Yes but not for personal spends, I use it for food and petrol which are relatively fixed amounts and pay it off in full every month, it earns cashback. I use a debit card for personal / treat spending.

No, and I told my DKs not to get one,did they listen, the boys did, not the girls. Did they have problems,he'll yeah!

Yes but I only use it for fuel / work expenses that I will claim back or booking holidays

Yes. I use it instead of debit card for everything then repay as soon as statement arrives. I get cashback and discount offers. Even won my weekly shop money back once.
Had 0% one for large purchase so money in avaings were making more money rather than being spent altogether so ended up few quid "richer".

I also use it for household one-offs such as appliances, for the added consumer protection although I've never needed to use it. And holidays. But they are all budgeted for.

Yes, almost all my expenditure goes on a credit card then gets paid off by an automatic direct debit in full each month (unless I've got a 0% purchases deal in which case the funds sit in savings and the card balance gets paid off just before the 0% deal finishes).

Reasons: enhanced purchase protection, points schemes, 0% interest deals where I can earn interest on the funds.

No. It's like any loan, in the long run it's just agreeing to give the bank your money, you end up poorer than you would be.

Yes some people manage to juggle around and pay off each month— but I've never seen the benefit of giving yourself that stress.

My grade 7 home ec teachet told us it was very important to have one and make sure it was in our own names. It was the first thing I did with my first real paycheck.
I’ve had mine longer than my dh.
Always made sure it remained solely mine, for a while the bank tried to amalgamate mine and dh…

I do but only to increase my credit score (which was ok but said this would improve it).
It's an amazon barclaycard one and it's set up on amazon (which I don't spent much on) and it's payed off in full each month by direct debit. Every time I spend on it I put the money into a separate savings account and then I know it's there when I need to pay it. Slightly more work than if I just used my debit card but it's useful for my credit score.
The only other thing I use it for is big purchases/holidays but only buy them once the money is in my bank. This is just for extra protection.

Yes absolutely, I make sure to use it every month and pay off the full balance which contributes positively towards my credit score. I also use it for large purchases for the added consumer protection. My credit card also offers cash back so at the end of the year I always get around £50 just credited into the account! It's also saved my life on a couple of occasions when I've been abroad and my debit card has not worked or been blocked

Yes some people manage to juggle around and pay off each month— but I've never seen the benefit of giving yourself that stress.

Not stressful at all, and no juggling needed - just paid off from the current account.

Yes, I use it for household spending and pay it off every month. I use it for the added protection and also collect avios which gets me cheap/free flights.

Yes, three, which I use for everything and pay off in full each month, I collect points and cashback on them and don't like using my debit card for shopping and online transactions in case it's compromised

I don't find it stressful as I'm just spending money that I would have spent from my bank account anyway

Yes. I have two.
Both have a zero balance.
I'm good at managing money. Every so often ill have a frivolous spend session but not with the cards.

The cards are used for big purchases and the balance is cleared by transfer several hours later.
I made sure my children got one at 18 and to use it for fuel, shopping etc and to pay it off immediately and also toset up a direct payment if in case they forget to do a transfer. They are not in debt but they built up a good credit history when they applied for a mortgage four years later.

I buy everything on a credit card. Food, going out, online shopping...everything. Always pay it off in full and get John Lewis vouchers 3 times a year from it.
Never paid interest in 45 years of having one.

No, the temptation would be too great. DH has one, and we put the big expenses we want to defer a month.

This.

Plus I get either air miles or cashback every time I use my cards. Paid for our holiday last month and got nearly £150 cashback.

But the protection afforded by using CCs alone is worth it. I'm baffled why people would use any other means for large purchases.

It’s a direct debit. Absolutely no juggling at all, I don’t have to do anything.

I wouldn’t purchase anything online without a credit card, or any large purchases as there is no protection with a credit card. I get air miles and cash back when I use it, I also get to keep the interest on my money held in my account as a credit card doesn’t charge interest if you pay it off in full.

It’s an absolute no brainer for me to have a credit card, I use it for everything. I’ve saved so much money and able to claim back the cost of goods and services that didn’t meet standards (e.g. when an airline I had booked tickets with went bust and they covered the cost of the new flights which were more expensive).

We use one for pretty much any large or online purchase and pay it off at the end of the month. The extra protection being the main reason.

I think I would be more likely to apply for one if I worked full time.

Yes, for emergencies and large spends over £100 for the protection.

This.