*They're never a good option and just leave you in a cycle of debt. Pay it off and cut it up!
What tosh. They can be a good option if they are managed wisely and used as a useful resource.
Here are some good reasons why a credit card can be a good thing. I have taken 'this from a financial site I use.
Safety
Paying with a credit card makes it easier to avoid losses from fraud. When your debit card is used by a thief, the money is missing from your account instantly. Legitimate expenses for which you've scheduled online payments or mailed checks may bounce, triggering insufficient funds fees and making your creditors unhappy. Even if not your fault, these late or missed payments can also lower your credit score. It can take a while for the fraudulent transactions to be reversed and the money restored to your account while the bank investigates.
By contrast, when your credit card is used fraudulently, you aren't out any money – you just notify your credit card company of the fraud and don't pay for the transactions you didn't make while the credit card company resolves the matter.
Keeping Vendors Honest
Say you hire a tile setter to set some tile. Workers spend the weekend cutting, measuring, grouting, placing the spacers and tiles and letting the whole thing set. They then charge you $4,000 for their troubles.
You draw upon your savings account and write a check. But what do you do when, 72 hours later, the tile starts to shift and the grout still hasn't set? Your entryway is now a complete mess, and that vein in your forehead won't stop throbbing.
You can take up the issue with your state licensing board, but that process could take months and the contractor still has your money. That's why, if you can, you should pay for a big-ticket item like this with a credit card. The issuer has an incentive to discourage fraud among its vendors, and if there is a problem, they have a mechanism to try to resolve it. More important, if you dispute the charge, the card issuer withholds the funds from the tile setter, and not only will you get your money back, you might even get help finding a new contractor.
Grace Period
When you make a debit card purchase, your money is gone right away. When you make a credit card purchase, your money remains in your checking account until you pay your credit card bill.
Hanging on to your funds for this extra time can be helpful in two ways. First, the time value of money, however infinitesimal, will add to wealth. Postponing payment makes your purchase that much cheaper. Beyond that, your cash will spend more time in your bank account, and if you pay your credit card from a high-interest checking account and earn on your money during the grace period, the extra will eventually add up to a meaningful amount.
Second, when you always pay with a credit card, you don't have to watch your bank account balance as closely.
Insurance
Most credit cards automatically come with a plethora of consumer protections that people don't even realize they have, such as rental car insurance, travel insurance and product warranties that may exceed the manufacturer's warranty.
Universal Acceptance
Certain purchases are difficult to make with a debit card. When you want to rent a car or stay in a hotel room, you'll almost certainly have an easier time if you have a credit card. Rental car companies and hotels want customers to pay with credit cards because it makes it easier to charge customers for any damage they cause to a room or a car.
So if you want to pay for one of these items with a debit card, the company may insist on putting a hold of several hundred dollars on your account. Also, when you're traveling in a foreign country, merchants won't always accept your debit card – even when it has a major bank logo on it.
Building Credit
If you have no credit or are trying to improve your credit score, using a credit card responsibly will help, because credit card companies will report your payment activity to the credit bureaus. Debit card use doesn't appear anywhere on your credit report, however, so it can't help you build or improve your credit.