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What are the advantages / disadvantages of credit card verses charge card?

• brudgers 16y ago
  A charge card must be paid off each month. The advantage is that it is not cash or a check and can be used online. A credit card allows you to float debt, and therefore can improve cash flow at the expense of interest.
• CyberFonic 16y ago
  From my experience, I would describe the differences as: Charge card: you pay an annual membership fee and then if you pay off the balance in full each month then there is nothing more to pay. Credit card: you pay at least the minimum amount when the statement comes and you get charged interest on the balance. There may also be transaction fees for cash advances, etc. Both the annual fee and the interest rates are highly variable so it pays to shop around. Personally, I think charge cards cost less in the long run. Another option is a Debit Card, which uses funds in an account. There are some account charges. From a fraud resistance point of view, as long as you don't have much money in the linked account, the debit card poses the lowest financial risk, but can be a hassle to keep transferring money between accounts.
  • d2viant 16y ago
    How does a charge card cost less in the long run? Why not just have a credit card that you pay off each month? Nobody is forcing you to carry a balance and there are tons of credit cards with no annual fees.