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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To think this is not abnormal?!

380 replies

Linnylinn1 · 24/10/2019 16:19

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!!??

OP posts:

Nquartz · 24/10/2019 16:55

For those who earn Costco vouchers, which credit card do you have please?

I get cash back on mine for grocery shopping so it pays me to use it! Always paid off in full & never earn interest.

Recently also got one with zero interest on purchases purely to buy a car & pay it off at our own pace because we didn't have £3,000 sat in the bank at the time but needed a new car.

Very useful things in our case!

lanbro · 24/10/2019 16:55

I have 4, only a balance on one at 0% interest til 2021 and I don't add to it, I used them to build credit rating up. I went from a £300 limit to £15k in just a few years by using and paying off in full every month. Interest free ones are useful for large purchases. I wouldn't say abnormal but definitely unusual

TwittleBee · 24/10/2019 16:55

I dont have one because I already have a top credit rating. I am not sure why else I would need one. The holiday thing is an interesting point though, maybe if we ever get to go on holidays like that we might consider getting one. But tbh, it scares me when friends tell me how much debt they have on credit cards

CheeryB · 24/10/2019 16:55

Normally get up to £1000 of JL vouchers a year

How does that work? Do you have to have large amounts going through it to qualify for that much?

weymouthswanderingmermaid · 24/10/2019 16:56

DH is nearly 50. He hasn't had one since he was in his early 20's.
I'm 41, I've never had one.
Up to now we've never needed one.
But, we are about to order one as we've realised it's the cheapest way of accessing money when abroad. Also, we came up against the car hire thing last year. In the end, we found a company that didn't require a waiver, but it took a bit of time.
I am terrible with money, and so I've always been a bit scared of credit cards and their temptations . But now I'm older I know I can just hide it away, ready to use as needed with the balance paid in full each month.
DH and I are very lucky that we've never needed to access credit beyond a a small overdraft. I think that's quite a privileged position to be on so I'm thankful for that.

BarbaraofSeville · 24/10/2019 16:56

Twittle But if you paid for your food shopping, and other day to day spending on your credit card, the money to pay for it stays into your bank account until the bill is due and you don’t have to go into overdraft, which usually costs money.

Then you just set up a direct debit to pay off the credit card in full every month. Plus you can get cashback on the credit card spend if you use the right card, and you could go even further and get a bank account that pays interest and earn a little extra on the money that stays in your bank account longer.

Being brought up to avoid the credit card at all costs, especially when it means going into overdraft means that person didn't know what they are talking about. Particularly when using a credit card and paying it off every month is seen as a good thing by banks, but going into overdraft is considered to be a bad thing.

beachysandy81 · 24/10/2019 16:57

Not unusual enough for people to comment on.

SoyDora · 24/10/2019 16:58

Debit card is good enough for me

You don’t get points/vouchers/cash back with a debit card though!

Our Costco card is an American Express (credit card not charge card).

Nquartz · 24/10/2019 16:58

Forgot about the one we use solely abroad as there's no charges or fees.

Lots of different benefits available

BlueJava · 24/10/2019 16:59

I dont think its abnormal but it is unusual. They do offer the buyer protection as well -.for example i recently had a huge issue for some tickets bought online and my credit card company took up my case and got my £700 back for me. Without the buyer protection I would not have been able to do that, if i had used a debit card for example.

Derbee · 24/10/2019 17:00

I’d be surprised, but I wouldn’t be shocked. I’d just assume you weren’t very financially savvy. We do all our spending on a Credit card and pay it off in full every month by direct debit.

Added protection, and points/offers. We currently get 1% cash back on our monthly spend. Ok, that’s not massive. But it’s absolutely free money. So why wouldn’t we?

Elmo230885 · 24/10/2019 17:01

I'm 34 and have never had one. My credit report is good but suggests getting one to increase it.

Spidey66 · 24/10/2019 17:01

As others have said, they are useful for added protection. If I was in your position, I'd get one just for large purchases eg holidays and then repay it straight away. Then you get the benefit of the financial protection as well as no debts as well as building your credit profile in case you get a mortgage in the future.

Blobby10 · 24/10/2019 17:01

I got an Amex for the (then) brilliant cashback. Still get around £100 a year which is a nice little windfall in January. Have a visa and pay both credit cards off in full each month. Don't know why I don't just use my debit card

ArnoldWhatshisknickers · 24/10/2019 17:02

I have a credit card, but was in my 30s before I got one and my partner, 48, has never had one.

We find one between us is enough for the rare occasion we might need one. It might be the less common position to not have one but it isn't that rare. Neither of our early 20s children have one. Neither of his parents have one.

I've never known anyone be particularly surprised by this. They are a lot more shocked when they find out we don't have smart phones and only one 'stupid' mobile between us.

Derbee · 24/10/2019 17:02

Our cash back almost pays for my fuel every month. So I feel like I’m driving for free, thanks to my credit card. And we’re not in debt, it’s our normal monthly spending.

BarbaraofSeville · 24/10/2019 17:03

I get about £120 a year cashback from my credit card by just putting normal spending on it.

Plus I have about £12k that I balance transferred without any fees and charges that is sitting in savings accounts paying between 1.5 and 5% interest - maybe earns about £300 in interest per year.

I used to use a Halifax Clarity card for fee free transactions abroad, but now I prefer the Starling card.

This is all just free money, simply for using a credit card to pay for things you would buy anyway.

Ohyesiam · 24/10/2019 17:03

It’s unusual , but as we live in such a crazy world, that’s no bad thing!

I got my first credit card aged 48 because it’s a safer way to buy online van do live rurally. 53 now, never transferred avalanche, always pay off the whole thing every month.

OtraCosaMariposa · 24/10/2019 17:05

I would imagine that all adults I know have one. Not having one says to me that you're either very young and still living at home, or pretty uneducated about how credit works.

ELM8 · 24/10/2019 17:05

Surely it's always better to get big purchases (I think it's anything over £100) on a credit card because the credit card company is also liable if something goes wrong and the original company goes bust or something. We always do this for holidays and big house purchases.

Plus points/vouchers as have already been mentioned, never get anything back from a current account that matches up to credit card perks.

If you pay it off straight away you don't pay any more for anything so a bit of a no brainer?!

This could be a bit harsh but the only people I know who make a thing about never having had a credit card either feel superior (not sure why.. a bit like those of certain generations who wont put money in bank accounts and prefer to put it under the bed - what exactly are you gaining?!) or are quite frankly so terrible with money that they couldn't get one with a decent limit/with any real perks to see the benefits of having one.

saraclara · 24/10/2019 17:05

Yep. I got myself a card recently that meant I had no charges for taking out cash abroad. Given that my debit card costs me between £4-£5 per withdrawal abroad, that saved me a lot of money over a three week holiday.

Whenever a company goes bust or scams anyone, when it's mentioned on the media, they say how 'If you've booked with a credit card you'll be protected'. So why anyone would take a risk and book/pay for a large purchase with a debit card, I don't know. It's like not taking out insurance.

elliejjtiny · 24/10/2019 17:07

I haven't got one either. I don't really make big purchases so I don't need one.

Letthemysterybe · 24/10/2019 17:08

I’ve never had one. I grew up in a household with debt and I never wanted one because of that. It is a bit unusual though, I’m the only person I know without one!

frumpety · 24/10/2019 17:09

I have a credit card but not a debit card. I probably shouldn't have a credit card and I am trying to pay it off, should really cut it up and then it would be paid off in a year

Derbee · 24/10/2019 17:10

Also, when you go on holiday and use certain Credit cards, there are no currency conversion rates to pay. We have credit cards like that which are purely for holiday spending, and again are paid off straight away. Also have one somewhere that used to give us 5-10% off event tickets at our local arena, so we always booked through that.

Basically, get a credit card and use it sensibly. There are many with great perks that cost nothing

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