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I've had a credit card for over 10 years and get roughly 3% back on average which comes out to thousands of dollars each year. Never once have I paid any intere

I've had a credit card for over 10 years and get roughly 3% back on average which comes out to thousands of dollars each year. Never once have I paid any interest or fees. It has helped build my credit which is a big part I have over a 800 credit score. The money automatically is paid each month out of my bank account, I don't have to manually do anything What exactly are the downsides I've had?

Gasp0de 4y ago
This (especially the building credit part) is only valid for the weird US rules though.
- weird-eye-issue 4y ago
  Yeah I can only speak to the US but I would be surprised if credit history and such is not relevant in other places...
  - scrollaway 4y ago
    The US is the only country in the world where you have such a credit history system built with credit cards. Some countries such as the UK have a credit system but CCs are not involved.
    - weird-eye-issue 4y ago
      I find this REALLY hard to believe https://www.capitalone.co.uk/creditcards/credit-builder-credit-cards.jsf https://www.capitalone.co.uk/creditcards/credit-builder-cred... https://www.experian.co.uk/consumer/credit-cards/types/credit-builder.html https://www.experian.co.uk/consumer/credit-cards/types/credi... https://www.barclays.co.uk/credit-cards/credit-building-credit-cards/ https://www.barclays.co.uk/credit-cards/credit-building-cred... https://www.hsbc.co.uk/credit-cards/credit-builder-credit-cards/ https://www.hsbc.co.uk/credit-cards/credit-builder-credit-ca...
    - rpdillon 4y ago
      > The US is the only country in the world where you have such a credit history system built with credit cards. Aside from the links posted in a sibling comment, I wouldn't say the U.S. credit system is built with credit cards: it's a fairly holistic metric that takes into account rent payments, loans, and a bunch of other stuff like "bankruptcies, foreclosures, lawsuits, wage garnishments or attachments, liens, or public judgments against you"[0]. Credit cards are lines of credit, so they certainly factor in, but the focus on your overall credit health, of which your credit cards may be a small part. [0]: https://www.investopedia.com/articles/pf/10/credit-score-factors.asp https://www.investopedia.com/articles/pf/10/credit-score-fac...
  - Gasp0de 4y ago
    In Germany you cannot build "positive credit" by spending money. I also think this is inherently unfair. As long as you never defaulted on a loan or forgot/failed to pay a bill you automatically have a perfect credit score in Germany.

Gasp0de 4y ago

This (especially the building credit part) is only valid for the weird US rules though.

weird-eye-issue 4y ago
Yeah I can only speak to the US but I would be surprised if credit history and such is not relevant in other places...
- scrollaway 4y ago
  The US is the only country in the world where you have such a credit history system built with credit cards. Some countries such as the UK have a credit system but CCs are not involved.
  - weird-eye-issue 4y ago
    I find this REALLY hard to believe https://www.capitalone.co.uk/creditcards/credit-builder-credit-cards.jsf https://www.capitalone.co.uk/creditcards/credit-builder-cred... https://www.experian.co.uk/consumer/credit-cards/types/credit-builder.html https://www.experian.co.uk/consumer/credit-cards/types/credi... https://www.barclays.co.uk/credit-cards/credit-building-credit-cards/ https://www.barclays.co.uk/credit-cards/credit-building-cred... https://www.hsbc.co.uk/credit-cards/credit-builder-credit-cards/ https://www.hsbc.co.uk/credit-cards/credit-builder-credit-ca...
  - rpdillon 4y ago
    > The US is the only country in the world where you have such a credit history system built with credit cards. Aside from the links posted in a sibling comment, I wouldn't say the U.S. credit system is built with credit cards: it's a fairly holistic metric that takes into account rent payments, loans, and a bunch of other stuff like "bankruptcies, foreclosures, lawsuits, wage garnishments or attachments, liens, or public judgments against you"[0]. Credit cards are lines of credit, so they certainly factor in, but the focus on your overall credit health, of which your credit cards may be a small part. [0]: https://www.investopedia.com/articles/pf/10/credit-score-factors.asp https://www.investopedia.com/articles/pf/10/credit-score-fac...
- Gasp0de 4y ago
  In Germany you cannot build "positive credit" by spending money. I also think this is inherently unfair. As long as you never defaulted on a loan or forgot/failed to pay a bill you automatically have a perfect credit score in Germany.