Do you apply for credit cards just to get the freebies or discounts?

I used to do this all the time too, before I learned how damaging it is to your credit score. Every time you have someone check your credit, your score gets worse. It's not good to have lots of checks on there for no good reason. I still can't help myself every once in a while... :o)

You know, I dont even know if they still give stuff away! I tend to walk wide circles around the credit card people at stores. When I was young and first getting credit I had a hard time getting it so I applied everywhere but they really didn't give away free stuff back then. Since I had such a hard time getting credit and got myself into a little bit of debt after I finally did get some credit, I take my credit very seriously and don't get sucked in by offers of new credit. My credit rating is very high and I pay off my accounts every month so I don't really need any more and dont want to do anything to screw it up either. I think it's very irresponsible of companies to give things away to lure people to get credit. I think it can be a vehicle to lead young people into messing up their credit before they understand how important good credit is later in life.

I do not apply for credit cards for freebies or discounts. I stay away from store credit cards and many major credit cards as well. Credit cards can be very bad for your credit rating and financial situation so I do not apply for them. The store cards have high interest and finance charges. The freebies and discounts are not worth risking my credit.

I do not see the free gifts much anymore- usually the stores offer so much of a % off your first purchase- I used to sign up for these- I have most of the cards for the stores I shop at- so I don’t apply anymore : ) I do use my fashion bug card still instead of cash- for every $100 I spend- I get $10 off- so it adds up- and if I’m going to shop there- Might as well get the discounts

I have done that only once. I got discounts on every purchase, and an instant gift of glassware for the kitchen. That was a good experience, and no hidden expenses or traps were involved.

We have a Target card that we have used exactly ONE time, and that was when we signed up for it. We used it to get 10% off when we bought our digital camera, and then paid off the balance when we got the bill. So it was really worth it. And since it was only my name, and that's the only time I've done it, it doesn't hurt my credit at all. Combined, we have 5 credit cards total. One of them is my husband's card that he has to keep for work. One is the Target card that I mentioned previously, and one is a Menard's card, that we use when they offer 0% interest for X months, or 10% off when you use it. We always pay it in full and never pay interest on it. The other two cards we have are a Discover and Visa. I don't think we got any gifts with either of them, they just had a low interest rate.

Here in sweden i do not think they are alloweed to give away gifts when u apply. I was stupid when I was youung and had alot of maxed out creditcards that I am now taking care off.

I don't because my credit rating is important and causing it to be lower just for a gift isn't worth it. Sadly, to many people want the discount and end up paying more in fees to have the card. I have one card with no fees and never carry a balance.

I made the credit card for the sudden need and to be easy to pay if buying the thing in the shop that exlusive but also to discou him also best regards

I have never done that because I am afraid of having too many credit cards and then end up spending more and paying more bills. I know a friend who would sign up for credit cards which offer Hello Kitty gifts (she is a Hello Kitty fans). Then she would cancel the credit card afterwards. I have one credit card now which I have been using for a few years and I think it has the best offers and discounts when compared to other ones, and therefore I would stick to this card and I don't think I will apply more.

We have signed up for department store credit cards to get a 10% discount on that purchase. And we have signed up for a credit card offer by mail when it offered 0% interest for a year. We put the balance from another credit card on that one which gives us more time to pay it off without any interest charges. So I guess the free offers do attract people. Who can resist something free?

no i never even tried to get a credit card

I did that once to get a free t-shirt, and I did wear it a lot. I don't do that anymore though. What bugs me even more is every time you checkout somewhere they ask you if you want to receive 10% off by applying for their credit card. I still turn those down every time. We've been in our own trouble with credit cards and we won't let it get out of hand again. The more debt you're in the more credit card offers you get in the mail. They want to be in the most debt possible! This just floors me and I can't stand it. I hate credit card companies!

I don't think I would because alot of the gifts would be pretty worthless to me. Not only that those cards seem to have pretty high interest rates..