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Having a credit card is like having a video game passive that makes everything permanently 2% cheaper. Everything should be put on a credit card for that discou

Having a credit card is like having a video game passive that makes everything permanently 2% cheaper. Everything should be put on a credit card for that discount as well as fraud protection provided you are disciplined enough to never ever ever ever ever ever carry a balance.

pjc50 6mo ago
This is US-specific advice; EU capped merchant fees, and therefore you don't get a free 2% reward at their expense. The fraud protection and insurance can be useful though.
- DonsDiscountGas 6mo ago
  You still get a 30 day interest free loan. Assuming you pay the full balance.
- lxgr 6mo ago
  You get roughly the same level of fraud protection on both at this point. This is both due to converging legal protections in many places and due to market developments (both Visa and Mastercard require issuers to offer "zero liability" on debit cards just like on credit cards). One advantage of credit cards is that you don't have to wait until the dispute has been at least accepted to get your money back, though.
benj111 6mo ago
I don't get the down voters, it is, or should be a tool. Although we are talking about it being an issue. Which you have already covered. Problem is, most people don't spend that much time thinking about it. So I suspect "don't get a credit card" or "only use it in emergencies" are generally good advice. Although perhaps we should just be better at teaching house hold type finance
rzzzt 6mo ago
The "provided" part is the reason I'm staying away from credit cards.
basch 6mo ago
3% at restaurants is offset by 3% fee to use cards at restaurants. this benefit is evaporating. not an argument for or against cards, but they are becoming closer to neutral than a discount.
- lxgr 6mo ago
  Of course somebody is paying your 3%; there's no free lunch. To a large extent it's yourself (via interchange paid as part of the merchant's fees); part of it is however also other people paying cash and often not receiving a discount for doing so. Regardless of all that, at the individual level, not using a credit card is still irrational. Not quite the tragedy of the commons, but it's pretty close. The only way out is probably outright regulating the entire thing away, like the EU has successfully done; the market seems too inefficient and consumer behavior too sticky for card-specific surcharges (i.e. "you pay for your own points") alone to solve this.
  - basch 5mo ago
    It’s just a 3% surcharge at restaurants now. Maybe you haven’t experienced it in your area but most non chain restaurants have it by me.
lxgr 6mo ago
Unfortunately it does so at a >2% average cost to everybody. At the individual level it makes total sense, though.

pjc50 6mo ago

This is US-specific advice; EU capped merchant fees, and therefore you don't get a free 2% reward at their expense. The fraud protection and insurance can be useful though.

DonsDiscountGas 6mo ago
You still get a 30 day interest free loan. Assuming you pay the full balance.
lxgr 6mo ago
You get roughly the same level of fraud protection on both at this point. This is both due to converging legal protections in many places and due to market developments (both Visa and Mastercard require issuers to offer "zero liability" on debit cards just like on credit cards). One advantage of credit cards is that you don't have to wait until the dispute has been at least accepted to get your money back, though.

benj111 6mo ago

I don't get the down voters, it is, or should be a tool. Although we are talking about it being an issue. Which you have already covered. Problem is, most people don't spend that much time thinking about it. So I suspect "don't get a credit card" or "only use it in emergencies" are generally good advice. Although perhaps we should just be better at teaching house hold type finance

rzzzt 6mo ago

The "provided" part is the reason I'm staying away from credit cards.

basch 6mo ago

3% at restaurants is offset by 3% fee to use cards at restaurants. this benefit is evaporating. not an argument for or against cards, but they are becoming closer to neutral than a discount.

lxgr 6mo ago
Of course somebody is paying your 3%; there's no free lunch. To a large extent it's yourself (via interchange paid as part of the merchant's fees); part of it is however also other people paying cash and often not receiving a discount for doing so. Regardless of all that, at the individual level, not using a credit card is still irrational. Not quite the tragedy of the commons, but it's pretty close. The only way out is probably outright regulating the entire thing away, like the EU has successfully done; the market seems too inefficient and consumer behavior too sticky for card-specific surcharges (i.e. "you pay for your own points") alone to solve this.
- basch 5mo ago
  It’s just a 3% surcharge at restaurants now. Maybe you haven’t experienced it in your area but most non chain restaurants have it by me.

lxgr 6mo ago

Unfortunately it does so at a >2% average cost to everybody. At the individual level it makes total sense, though.