nbking
Platinum Member
We use the Citibank Costco credit card for everything. Never use my debit card, except to get cash out of the ATMs.
Theoretically probably. In practice I have been using debit cards for 30 years without any catastrophic problems.In my opinion - Debit cards are used to access cash and cash only. There is zero benefit to purchasing anything with a debit card - it exposes the buyer to too much risk.
I gave up on American Express over 30 years ago. They kept sending my advertisements to join, then kept rejecting me.AMEX !
You should know AMEX is the only major credit card company that requires merchants to sign a waver allowing AMEX to use the customers purchase history information for profit.
I wouldn't let my dog carry this card. And we banned it's use in protest at our business.
I’m seeing the opposite. Many businesses discourage cash. Especially large businesses such as Walmart only have one or two check outs that take cash. And I have seen no small businesses that give cash discounts.We're seeing a lot of small businesses that do offer cash discount, AND some that ONLY accept cash. Especially restaurants.
I think it's mostly small businesses.I’m seeing the opposite. Many businesses discourage cash. Especially large businesses such as Walmart only have one or two check outs that take cash. And I have seen no small businesses that give cash discounts.
A lot of people consider things to be necessities that aren't truly necessary. I lived on minimum wage for a time. I lived in a crappy apartment in a dangerous part of town with two roommates in a one-bedroom apartment. I lived in the basement of an old house with an extension cord to the neighbors for electricity, no phone, no cable tv, no car, only a bicycle and bus for transportation and never took a government handout. Even now we live well below our means. Our household income is about 4 times our expenses.From what I have seen, people with extremely poor financial habits use their credit cards and don't pay the balance at the end of the month. Equally bad are people who use a debit card with no money in the bank to back it up. People who have a little better, but still less than ideal, financial habits regularly use their debit cards within the limits of their finances (mostly young people seem to do this). The smartest way is to use a credit card with a high payback rate and religiously pay of the balance each month.
All this is easy to say for most of us whose income is greater than our minimal expenses for necessities, which unfortunately not always true for everyone.
Ain't that the truth! It would be great if more people had the discipline to live within their means.A lot of people consider things to be necessities that aren't truly necessary.