The Credit Cards in the Mail are you tempted by the ones that offer a lot
By suspenseful
@suspenseful (40193)
Canada
September 19, 2008 11:23am CST
We are both pensioners, we have our own credit cards, I have two, and so does my husband. They do not have annual interest rates, they either give rewards -points, or cashback or dividends. And we do not have to worry about paying an annual fee even though such might give us extra points. But we get credit cards in the mail that we always shred. They offer us better benefits, and even though we like the benefits, we do not like to pay the annual fee.
The other day I was listening to a show on Tv either the Fox show or the BNN network that said that the stores that accept these preferred credit cards have to pay an extra fee so some stores and companies do not allow them.
So with this information, if you have a credit card would you update your card, or keep it as it is? I would not update my card. I do not buy enough or make enough interest to balance out the extra fees.
7 people like this
14 responses
@Munchkin547 (2778)
•
19 Sep 08
I always get loads of offers in the post and i just throw them straight in the bin! I don't have any credit cards at the moment because i'm a student and don't have the means to pay them off, but when i did use them, when i was working full time, i shopped around myself for what i thought was the best deal, some of these offers are too good to be true, you have to be careful!! xxx
2 people like this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
20 Sep 08
It is amazing how many credit cards are aimed at students who still have those big loans to pay for. I never got credit cards until about twenty years ago because I used my husband's and I was working as a telemarketer, but that was when the companies started to lay off people and of course they could not buy anything. So now I make sure to pay off the cards each month and do not get any that has annual fees.
2 people like this
@Munchkin547 (2778)
•
22 Sep 08
that's the best way! it's better not to borrow money unless it's really necessary, better to live within our means i think! Credit cards can be helpful if they are used sensibly though!! xxx
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
30 Sep 08
The only time I got into trouble was when I worked as a telemarketer during the time they were laying off people. I estimated what I needed for the month, mostly office supplies because I was just starting on learning how to write but guess what orders got canceled at the last moment. It took me five years to get back on track so now I make sure I have enough money and more so to cover the statements.
1 person likes this
@deebomb (15304)
• United States
19 Sep 08
I have only one credit card and that is all I want. I usually tear up any others that come in the mail. I don't have to pay a fee for it ether. In fact when it came time to get an up dated One I didn't bother to call and register it. If I need it I can then call.
2 people like this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
27 Sep 08
Yes I read that on one of those mail in contracts. The interest rate was low and i think they charge about $40 annual fee. Does not do much good unless you are making more than ten percent interest in savings. Of course, I shredded it. Does no good if they deduct the fee every year.
@mipen2006 (5528)
• Australia
20 Sep 08
I don't take much notice of those. I have one credit card, and slthough the interest is a little over the odds, I'm happy with the service, and they issued my card when I was really in a spot of bother, and others wouldn't. I like to think of myself as repaying their faith in me.
2 people like this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
20 Sep 08
I have a bank credit card and I have a store mastercard because I always shopped at that store and the store that is affiliated with it. So it is easy for me, but there is another store that I also shop at but it does not have another store affiliated with it, and beside it offers Visa and I find with Visa is that if you do not pay it all off, they tack on interest even if it is only one day.
1 person likes this
@LittleMel (8742)
• Canada
20 Sep 08
the ones we receive mostly offer low interest but after 3 - 6 months it wil go way higher so we don't usually pay attention to them. there are also store credit cards that will allow purchase and no interest for 3 months or even a year but we don't take them either because there is no use to have them if we don't buy a lot at their stores anyway. I encountered a lot of problems closing my credit cards so I just don't feel like getting another one I can't afford it anyway
@stealthy (8181)
• United States
20 Sep 08
I shred them all. I have two credit cards, one that pays cash back and another because some places will not take the first one. I don't pay much attention to the interest rate they charge because I have always paid the full amount each month and have never had any credit card debt and never paid any interest. If you can't afford something, don't get it is my philosopy.
2 people like this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
22 Sep 08
I find that those you get in the mail are not worth it. I pay off my credit card statements in full, both of them. I do look at them to see if the offers, but when you read about the annual fee, then unless you have enough bank interest, they are not worth it. Also it would be more confusing to pay three credit card balances off each month and if you want to get something big, you really cannot.
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
22 Sep 08
I trash it after I look at it. I have to see if it is any good and if it is better than what I got. But usually it is not. Two credit cards that I use all the time are good enough for me. My husband is the same way. He has a bank and a Canada Tire and he alternates between them.
@magnet (2087)
• United States
20 Sep 08
No, I absolutely hate credit cards. I paid off all of my credit cards. I only have one left I only owe $300.00 on it and I am going to pay it off and I don't ever want to use another one again unless it is a severe emergency. I just hate bills.
2 people like this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
20 Sep 08
I have two credit cards and one has an overpayment on it, since this lady with a foreign accent phoned me and told me about card security. I learned that if you charge something and you wait until you get the statement, they will tack on the credit card security charge. Another lady from the same country called me about my Mastercard, but I said no. I do not hate credit cards, but I do hate these so called credit card security charges.
1 person likes this
@riyasam (16556)
• India
20 Sep 08
i feel credit card is a liability for me.i go shopping with my credit card,thinking that i will pay later when the due date is and i will get the reward points also.but it turns out to be a big headache for me,when i find it difficult to pay the bill.now i try not to use my creditcard as much as possible.
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
27 Sep 08
I do not like to buy anything that I cannot pay for right away. It has taken years for me to finally wait for my credit card statement and yet when I should keep the money in my high interest savings account and transfer it to pay the balance to my checking account and then write a check to pay the balance when I get the statement in the mail, I transfer the money as soon as I bought the item and lose out on that interest because I think something bad will happen in the meantime.
@Lakota12 (42600)
• United States
20 Sep 08
I have 2 that are almost maxed out so Ihave to get them paid down but they do have and interest rate to them that are to high for that matter.
But this is ones I got one want even surpose to be this high of rate but somehow it got up there
1 person likes this
@Lakota12 (42600)
• United States
1 Oct 08
NOpe they are only surpose to go at teh rate they stae in the beginning.
but the seem to charge it everey month and most of them dont do that.
The one that I first got they was to do a much lower rate for they were trying to redo a payment I was already making and then it got on a credit card! was to be around 5% well its 21.50% see what I mean its not surpose to be that high!
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
30 Sep 08
I think if you have a balance left over, the interest rate goes up.
@cwilson26 (2735)
• United States
20 Sep 08
I try to throw credit card offers away before my husband sees them. He wants to apply to everyone we get and we owe enough debt now as it is. We owe two credit cards now not to mention other debt that has piled up over the years. When we get them, he is like a kid at Christmas, lol. I swear some men never grow up, lol. :)
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
21 Sep 08
My husband throws the credit card offers away, but he just rips them in half and often they have our names and address on. So I told him that the bad guys carry scotch tape around with them and would better that I shred them. And I do. I do not like getting offers that will cost us in the end. He thinks I am going to spend money like water, but I do not - I am very tight fisted, (his mother was always giving her money away) and I do not like paying more for something and that also applies to credit cards.
@blackbriar (9076)
• United States
2 Oct 08
These credit card offers go from mailbox to garbage in one swoop. Credit cards and I don't mix well so I avoid them like the plague.
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
2 Oct 08
I am happy with my two. Do not need any other. It is too confusing to me. There are some that are very tempting though, like now my second favorite computer store is offering a credit card, but it is a Visa and I prefer Mastercard.
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
19 Sep 08
I always through them away. They do have lower interest rates, but when you consider that I have to pay an annual fee that negates the savings. And a lot of them I get from my bank and that my husband deals with, plus the usual American Express, thinking that we are going on a cruise every year.
1 person likes this
@1hopefulman (45120)
• Canada
27 Sep 08
I only have two credit cards by the same bank, on Canadian and one US, because I do some business in the US. I'm always offered cards but I always refuse. I prefer to buy only when I can afford to. I hate to owe anybody anything. No thank you I don't need any more credit cards unless it's self-paying. Now a self-paying card that I would be happy to accept.
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
30 Sep 08
It works pretty good. So when I go to the States I can charge things and I have it arranged so they just transfer the money from my bank.
@1hopefulman (45120)
• Canada
29 Sep 08
Sounds like a good plan. Happy saving! :)
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
27 Sep 08
I like to see the records of what I buy. I find that with the credit card statements now, they will categorize the items to give a general idea. With those small cash receipts, they sometimes get lost. And sometimes they will give you two, a small one and a large one, so you often think you bought the item twice.
