Five Reasons to Use Your Credit Card
Some people can’t live without their credit cards, others see them as a necessary evil. Wherever you stand on the issue, credit cards have a lot to offer the average consumer. Here are a just a few advantages to paying with credit cards.
- It’s safer than physical cash
Ask a criminal the best spot to pick a pocket. If they’re being honest, they’ll tell you it’s next to signs that warn ‘beware of pickpockets’. The sign is meant to make passers-by more vigilant – and it does. They immediately pat down the pocket or check the part of their bag that has their cash. This actually winds up showing the pickpockets where to target. If you’re only carrying a credit card, you have a lot less reason to be worried, and you are generally safer from opportunistic criminals. This is mainly because your card is a lot harder to use without getting caught in the act of using it, even if they get away with the initial theft.
- It’s easier to track your spending
How often do you leave the house with $50 and within a few hours, you have nothing but a few coins and hardly any idea where your money went? With credit cards, you can look up a statement at will, checking where every cent has gone. Additionally, you don’t have to worry about making change, so your wallet and handbag will be lighter and less cluttered.
- It can earn you discounts
Many credit cards come in the form of loyalty cards from your favorite store or airline. For them, it’s a way to ensure repeat business. For you, every swipe of your card earns points. These points can be converted into rewards, such as frequent flyer miles, flight upgrades, in-store discounts, or entries into draws.
- It helps you qualify for loans
Credit scores are a complex tabulation to show how good you are at paying off debts. Naturally, your credit card usage is a part of that. Missing repayments can lower your score, but when you repay in time, your credit score can get go up. This can raise your credit card limit, but it can also make you eligible for loans that are completely unrelated to your credit card account. Shopping for a mortgage, student loan, or a car loan? Regularly using your credit card (and paying on time) can help.
- It’s more fun
This is debatable, of course, but pop culture is full of images that show smiling people swiping their cards and walking out with armloads of shopping bags. In real life, shopping by credit card isn’t usually as dramatic, but it can definitely be enjoyable. You don’t feel the ‘pain’ of forking over cash. Science has proven that using credit cards greatly minimizes the so-called ‘pain of paying’ for things. And while you will repay your card eventually, it is still not as discomfiting as handing over cash.
For more information on reasons to use your credit card, or to sign up for a merchant account, please call (888) 924-2743 or go to Charge.com.