Benefits From Having A Credit Card

Benefits from having a Credit Card
By: CCNcom
Credit cards, or plastic money, are the most popular mode of
payment today Most of us didn’t probably realize how quickly
that small piece of plastic took its place in our world (and our
wallet) So what is it that makes credit cards so indispensable
for all and sundry? Let’s examine a few factors here:
A matter of convenience Yes, this is the most important factor
Imagine stashing cash in all your pockets as against just a
small piece of plastic If you don’t have the convenience of a
credit card, you might end up dressing up for shopping in a way
so as to maximize the pockets in which you can carry cash With
all that cash stashed everywhere on you, even your body
movements get restricted hence causing even more inconvenience
Safety As they say, carrying a lot of cash on you is never safe
This becomes even more important when you are traveling to far
off destinations Cash is not only easily visible from the bulge
in your pockets but also the most liquid form of money ie
stolen cash can be easily used without detection Contrary to
this, credit cards transactions are detectable and traceable
Moreover, each transaction is authenticated for the user who is
carrying out the transaction More so, cash can invite trouble
in the form of muggers and more that just the money lead to
physical harm as well So it’s even more prudent to avoid the
display of cash and instead use plastic as a substitute
Necessity Yes, though a bit unbelievable, it’s true that the
credit cards are a necessity in some cases Buying air tickets
online to get good deals or booking an accommodation or a rental
car when traveling are examples wherein you cannot get the
service unless you book using your credit card
Planning budgets “Buy now, pay later with no interest”, this is
what it is popularly known as You will find such adverts every
where, be it your local stores or online shopping What this
means is that you can buy an item of $5000 today and pay for it
in 10 equal installments of $500 each (can be up to 24 equal
installments or more) Thus you don’t have to dole out the
entire amount at one go and can plan your expenditures more
effectively, that too without any interest charges
Rescuer in financially tight situations There are times when you
need some extra cash immediately In such emergency situations,
when you don’t have sufficient cash you can go on credit by
using your credit card Most credit cards provide up to 50 days
of interest free credit
Build credit rating Credit cards are a good way to establish
your credit worthiness in the market Based on whether you make
timely payments or default on them, the credit card companies
maintain your history and build your credit rating over a period
of time This can be shared with other financial institutions
who want to check your credit worthiness before conducting
financial transactions with you This rating can also become
handy when you are applying for loans or mortgages
Saves time No need to worry about whether you have enough cash
on hand or not No need to spend time withdrawing cash from the
ATM (or day/night cash machines) Just carry your credit card
with you and all is taken care of
Saves Money A lot of service providers give handsome discounts
when you subscribe online or buy stuff online This is because
they would save on commission to agents and on costs of
employing additional sales representatives, if everyone started
shopping in person These discounts are available from your
airlines to your phone service provider or your internet
connection provider
Insurance Most credit card companies provide you free travel and
accident insurance on your credit cards Though this is limited
and you could prefer to go for personal insurance, this can
become handy at some odd times
Fall back option when overseas You can treat your credit card as
a supplementary source of money when overseas (ie if you don’t
want to treat credit card as your primary source in order to
avoid paying commission etc on overseas credit card
transactions) So, when you run out of cash or traveler’s
cheques you can rely on your credit card as a fallback option
Thus, your credit card can act as your savior in such situations
With so many benefits on the rack, credit cards are something
that one cannot (rather should not) avoid In fact credit cards
are truly a necessity in today’s world

Tags | accommodation, budgets, bulge, cards, convenience, credit, deals, inconvenience, muggers, rental, result, stores, tickets, transactions, wallet