To think this is not abnormal?!

[Linnylinn1]

In work today one of the girls asked me something about a credit card and transferring a balance. I said “oh don’t ask me I have never had a credit card, I don’t know anything about them!” She was totally shocked that I don’t have one (as were the rest of the office!” AIBU to think it’s not THAT shocking!!??

Don't you have any issues booking airline tickets, hotels or rental cars? Online shopping?

It's not shocking, but not having one because you don't want or need to borrow money is a little shocking because there are lots of reasons to have one that are nothing to do with getting into debt or spending money you don't have,

Improves credit rating, so access to better mortgage deals or similar
Purchase protection
Cashback
Profit from interest free balance transfers
Likely to be easier and cheaper to hire a car abroad
Many hotels will want to swipe one as a deposit against charges to your room
Pay for work expenses without tying up your own money
Safer when paying online

Why wouldn't you have one?

No, I have done all 3 on my debit card!

Its not abnormal no. I've never had one either and I don't think it really matters either way

I don't have a credit card and I thought I was the only one!! DH has a few as they are helpful for building a credit score and providing protection on big purchases. I don't have one because I'v never needed one but I do understand why most people have one.

@BarbaraofSeville I had no issues getting a mortgage at all, strange.

Don't you have any issues booking airline tickets, hotels or rental cars? Online shopping?

You can do all of those things with a debit card.

They are very useful though! The Costco points earned last year paid for a large part of Christmas for us last year, plus a patio set!

@KatharinaRosalie no I have done all of those on my debit card.

Most foreign car hire companies want a 1000 euro+ deposit when hiring a car. I'd really not want to give them that money off my debit card, and many don't accept debit cards anyway. Or they expect you to pay more for rip off insurance.

When Monarch went bust, I got the whole cost of new, more expensive flights refunded by my credit card, a debit card would have only refunded the original cheaper flights.

Some car rental companies insist on a credit card in the driver's name. At Goldcar we saw someone unable to collect his car because he'd only got a debit card.

BarbaraofSeville where do you hire cars? I’ve hired them in France, Italy, Spain and Germany and never paid a 1000 euro deposit!

Fair enough OP if you're getting along fine without one, they're not compulsory. I have several, I never ever buy things on them that I don't have the balance in my current account to pay for, it's more for the consumer protection and the rewards/cashback that I use them for.

Also although I would sincerely hope never to have to use them for this, I do think it is sensible to have at least one card with a good credit limit on it available for emergency use (never use it if you like). Obviously you should have savings etc that you can access but they may not necessarily be instant access in the same way a credit card is in case of disaster (thinking house burning down, massive legal bill or similar)...

You sound quite savvy with money and not the type to go off recklessly spending just because you have credit available so might be worth looking into getting a good cashback/rewards card and paying off the balance every month, moneysaving expert has good advice on it?

About 65% of UK adults have a credit card, so not having one isn't that unusual, though most adults do have at least one.

I'm 38 and I've never had one. It's never caused me any problems.

Do you have a mortgage or pay for anything on finance? Even things like mobile phone contracts and utilities require a form of credit agreement so if you have those things I can understand your credit score being good. If you don't have any of those then I'd love to know how you know your score is good?

I have an American Express Cashback credit card. I use it for all my travel, big purchases and miscellaneous spending each month. Each month my bill is between £400-£1200 but I just clear it every month.

I use it for the cash back and it's also good for certain cardholder offers. You also get extra protection when you pay via credit card so it's worth it then clear each month.

You don't have to pay a deposit if they have a copy of your credit card. They can put a hold on the card without taking anything.

I am a credit card user by the way, I have just never had that experience with rental cars.

@BarbaraofSeville we hired from hertz abroad before and they just ran a credit check I think

I have one I use for big purchases for the added protection and it's also a cashback one so I get money for free. I also have another one that I only use when abroad because it gives the best exchange rate and there's no spending / cash withdrawl fees. Both are always paid off in full so there's no debt.

To me both are just smart ways to handle money - I'm not carrying currency around abroad or getting charged unnecessary fees, I'm protecting myself and I'm earning money for doing so. I feel that people who don't use them are kind of missing a trick!

I don't have a credit card, never have. Don't want one either.

Not unusual to me either. I'm mid 30's and got my first credit card this summer.

I feel that people who don't use them are kind of missing a trick!

Me too! £1000 free money is not to be sneered at!

28, never had one, never needed one.

@Butterflyone12eyes we have a mortgage but nothing on finance. I pay my phone monthly and utilities obviously.