3 ms·

> apart from it being very difficult to get a credit card (amusingly, my bank wouldn't issue one to me even as the proceeds from the sale of my company were sit

> apart from it being very difficult to get a credit card (amusingly, my bank wouldn't issue one to me even as the proceeds from the sale of my company were sitting in my checking account) Not even a secured card?

tptacek 6y ago
I ultimately ended up getting a secured card, just so I could rent cars from more car rental places; that card, presumably still secured, is my only credit card. I don't understand credit cards, at all.
- kasey_junk 6y ago
  Uhh. Credit cards are pretty simple. For virtually no cost you get consolidated billing, easy access to credit, fraud protection & ~2% rebates. That the consumer bureaus get to decide who gets access to these benefits is something we all should be concerned with.
  - tptacek 6y ago
    I don't get "easy access to credit" with debit cards. Which is the part I don't understand! There have been many periods in my adult life where cash flow has been a significant problem for me and my family, but it has never even occurred to me to use revolving credit as part of a solution to those problems. I'm not litigating whether unequal access to financial products is a bad thing. Inequity is a bad thing. We're on the same page there. But when discussions like this come up and people imply that a bad credit score is somehow life-changing --- that just doesn't connect with my life experience? Like I definitely didn't come up rough or anything, but I feel like to the extent that there's value in access to these particular financial products, I'm well within the cohort of people who would perceive that value. And... I just don't get it? Like: a debit card from a good bank has actually pretty solid fraud protection? And lack of access to 2% rewards doesn't seem life changing? I have never understood credit cards.
    - ValentineC 6y ago
      > There have been many periods in my adult life where cash flow has been a significant problem for me and my family, but it has never even occurred to me to use revolving credit as part of a solution to those problems. I don't support paying interest on credit card bills either, but some cards come with a "0% on balances for ~12 months" welcome offer [1], which might help a little if cash flow is tight, but the borrower knows that some income will be guaranteed in the coming months. [1] https://www.cnbc.com/select/best-zero-interest-credit-cards/ https://www.cnbc.com/select/best-zero-interest-credit-cards/
    - deleted 6y ago
      [deleted]

tptacek 6y ago

I ultimately ended up getting a secured card, just so I could rent cars from more car rental places; that card, presumably still secured, is my only credit card. I don't understand credit cards, at all.

kasey_junk 6y ago
Uhh. Credit cards are pretty simple. For virtually no cost you get consolidated billing, easy access to credit, fraud protection & ~2% rebates. That the consumer bureaus get to decide who gets access to these benefits is something we all should be concerned with.
- tptacek 6y ago
  I don't get "easy access to credit" with debit cards. Which is the part I don't understand! There have been many periods in my adult life where cash flow has been a significant problem for me and my family, but it has never even occurred to me to use revolving credit as part of a solution to those problems. I'm not litigating whether unequal access to financial products is a bad thing. Inequity is a bad thing. We're on the same page there. But when discussions like this come up and people imply that a bad credit score is somehow life-changing --- that just doesn't connect with my life experience? Like I definitely didn't come up rough or anything, but I feel like to the extent that there's value in access to these particular financial products, I'm well within the cohort of people who would perceive that value. And... I just don't get it? Like: a debit card from a good bank has actually pretty solid fraud protection? And lack of access to 2% rewards doesn't seem life changing? I have never understood credit cards.
  - ValentineC 6y ago
    > There have been many periods in my adult life where cash flow has been a significant problem for me and my family, but it has never even occurred to me to use revolving credit as part of a solution to those problems. I don't support paying interest on credit card bills either, but some cards come with a "0% on balances for ~12 months" welcome offer [1], which might help a little if cash flow is tight, but the borrower knows that some income will be guaranteed in the coming months. [1] https://www.cnbc.com/select/best-zero-interest-credit-cards/ https://www.cnbc.com/select/best-zero-interest-credit-cards/
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]