Yea, the 5 day thing is a hassle, but I have my direct deposit split so some of it goes to the card.

If there's ever an emergency, I purchase a MoneyPak from Walgreens (or CVS or 7-eleven) and load it that way. The MP is $4.95 to buy, but AMEX doesn't charge you to load money that way. Walgreens has a one hour delay, but purchasing the MP from other places allows you to load it immediately.

I don't think it's useless. I think this tool could be used for someone young, who hasn't had a run in with borrowing money to establish credit, and also for people who are "recovering" from bad credit.

I think it's ridiculous to say there's no reason to have a credit card. Just because people misuse them all the time doesn't make them horrible.

My parents opened a credit card in my name when I was young and used it to pay bills, and then paid it off in full every month without fail. They gave me the physical card when I turned 18 and took over paying for everything myself. So as a young adult, I had a nice long established credit history. I still pay off the card in full (almost) every month and I have outstanding credit scores.

Obviously this wouldn't work for everyone -- I've always been really responsible. My parents did this same procedure for both of my younger siblings and it worked well for the middle sister and me. The youngest has required more parental oversight in her finances.

I meant useless in that specific context (someone who doesn't manage his/her finances well). Obviously, it fills a niche or it wouldn't be in existence ;)

Well, as others have said, not if you pay it off each month.

My father did something similar, putting my name along with his on a credit card when I was in college. I used it, he got the bill. Nothing like knowing your dad will get the bill to make you careful about how you use it.

I have three or so credit cards, not counting one for work expenses. I don't use any of them very often -- just often enough that they know I'm there and still paying my bills.

You do realize that this is identity theft, right?

This.

The "omg credit cardz are the devilllll" thing is ridiculous. They really are a great way to build your credit if you're using them responsibly and not treating them like they're "free money."



Credit cards aren't windfall, though. I don't mean to be rude, but I hope you're not planning to finance an NYC move all on credit cards.

I have a Paypal debit card that my mom used when I was at PSU to transfer money. If you have your Paypal account hooked up to your bank account you can send money instantaneously to hypo and if she has the card she can use it right away.

There's no fee to use it as a debit card but it is a $2 charge to take out cash (but you can also say take out $40 once instead of $20 twice to save money that way) and most places take debit cards anyway. The only issues that I've had with it is that last summer they were calling me every other day asking if my charges were legitimate. Which is good because I never worried about fraud but annoying the one time they froze my account. They call you before they do that though.

Also sometimes when I'd go to get gas it would automatically charge $75 to my account and if there wasn't $75 in there it would get declined. Sometimes it doesn't do that though. But overall I like it and it was very useful for my mom and I who don't have the same bank. The transfer is also instantaneous and can be done through a smartphone app/on a phone's browser on your end.

That's the gas station, not the card. If you pay at the pump, gas stations will sometimes preauthorize a set amount that will get cleared up when they submit their receipts for processing.

You can get around this by going inside and paying up front.

You're insane. It was a card joined with their account, and I took it over when I turned 18.

Or by using a debit card.

FYP, for clarity's sake :)

PREACH!! I raised an eyebrow myself when I read that. Quite the dangerous path there....

IMHO credit cards are like alcohol, the only "bad" thing about them is that most people abuse them. I have about 9 credit cards and my main problem is the banks closing some accounts due to lack of activity on my part. I just don't use them. A few of my cards are store cards (Best Buy, Crate and Barrel, Mattress Firm) but I only use(d) them because of the no interest financing they offer. I paid all of them off before the promotion ended and didn't pay a penny of interest. It's kind of nice not having to drop $2,000 in one day. Best Buy is particularly good with 18 months of no interest on most larger purchases.

Thx.