10 Reasons Why I Love My Credit Cards

I personally love my credit cards. But I do know that there are people who do not like carrying credit cards. Most of the time, they have had bad experiences with them – like getting into mountains of credit card debt. Many of my friends also feel the “urge” to carry a balance if they carry a credit card. For myself, I have never carried a balance and it is for this reason that I really love my credit card. Here are my reasons why a credit card is actually a good thing if you can use it responsibly.

1. Earn reward points – If you pay your bills on time every month and do not carry a balance, then reward credit cards allow you to earn “points” that can be used to redeem a variety of rewards. I have used reward points for airline tickets and many merchandise and I find it such an useful feature.

2. Earn cash rebates – I presently use the Blue Cash and I have been earning cash rebates with this card. For the last two years, my rebates work out to about 2+%. Every anniversary statement, I get a credit from the rebates I earn and I have a much lower credit card bill for one month in the year.

3. Credit Cards help me build a credit history – Let’s face it, my first credit card years ago helped me get started in building my credit. A good credit is essential for you to get the lowest rates for your mortgage and auto loans. Obviously, abusing your credit card can also hurt your credit.

4. Credit Cards allows me to carry less cash – I seldom have cash in my wallet. That is because I use to pay everything on my credit card. Mrs Credit Card is always having a go at me because my wallet is always empty! But hey, why carry cash which can be stolen when a credit card will do.

5. Credit Cards have purchase protection features – I used this feature a couple of time when I accidentally broke the product I bought from a retailer. American Express simply accepted the responsibility and I managed to exchange the product.

6. Extended warranty feature – Credit cards these days have extended warranty feature whereby they will take care of any repairs beyond the warranty period. Amex has this feature in their cards and I have used this for an old camera that I had.

7. Baggage Insurance – My Amex card has baggage insurance and I have lost my luggage once at an airport and I got given a lump sum of cash. Don’t underestimate how important this can be!

8. Emergency Line of credit – My credit limit provides me with an emergency source of credit should I need any funds. In my opinion, this is important to have because when you actually need cash, it is very difficult to get!

9. Credit Cards have concierge features – I use my Amex Platinum to book restaurants, help me when I have trouble with my airline tickets. You do not need an Amex Platinum card to enjoy such features. Many no annual fee Visas and Mastercard also have concierge features which are massively underutilized by cardholders.

10. Roadside Assist – Earlier this week, I left my keys in the car. I called Amex and their “Global Assist” helped me call up a roadside assist company and after an hour and a half, I got my keys of the car. The service was ‘free’.