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Do I need to have a credit card?

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    #32
    Tork
    Registered Users Posts: 3,270 ✭✭✭Tork


    I was glad to have one when Ulster Bank had that major outage some years ago. It went on for quite a while and my wages didn't come through for ages. Having a credit card saved me from having to take time off from work to go to the bank or credit union to take money out. It also gave me the flexibility to leave enough money in the bank account to cover the direct debits which still were working fine.


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    #33
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 11,614 ✭ [Deleted User]


    kenmm wrote: »
    At least you were lucky to have that option - its rare for a car hire company to even entertain taking the deposit from an debit card. It has other legal implications, pre auth doesn't work the same and on top of that they seem to prefer the extra level of security a credit card provides them (i.e. not quite everyone can get a credit card, more people can gt a debit card).

    Talking to a friend of mine about this who is a hotel manager, he said then philosophy in the US, is that if you cause 5000 bucks worth of damage, they can charge it to the credit card. With a debit card they'd have to go chasing you for the money. Makes sense.


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    #34
    punisher5112
    Registered Users Posts: 24,647 ✭✭✭✭punisher5112


    coylemj wrote: »
    How did you manage to pay them a large deposit and buy the rip-off insurance? It's normally one or d'other.

    They put a bigger price hold on the card.


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    #35
    NewbridgeIR
    Registered Users Posts: 3,754 ✭✭✭NewbridgeIR


    Definitely worth paying the stamp duty for all the reasons mentioned. I used a debit card c10 years when I checked into a hotel for a weekend and they pre-authorised the amount of the full bill. When I left, they put through a second charge which left my account straightaway. However the first charge remained pending for 10 working days which severely disrupted my cashflow.


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    #36
    sweet_trip
    Closed Accounts Posts: 275 ✭✭sweet_trip


    I've toured the world from asia to the US and russia and never once had an issue with not owning a credit card.
    I've considered getting one, but I've never felt the need for it. Sure it might be handy, and I might not use it more than once a year, but in my eyes I think I'd be paying a CC fee just for leaving it sit idle.



    Kind of a waste of money no?


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    #37
    ATC110
    Registered Users Posts: 300 ✭✭ATC110


    sweet_trip wrote: »
    I've toured the world from asia to the US and russia and never once had an issue with not owning a credit card.
    I've considered getting one, but I've never felt the need for it. Sure it might be handy, and I might not use it more than once a year, but in my eyes I think I'd be paying a CC fee just for leaving it sit idle.



    Kind of a waste of money no?

    I have similar sentiments.
    Have you hired a car on your travels and if so how did it work out using a debit card?


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    #38
    sweet_trip
    Closed Accounts Posts: 275 ✭✭sweet_trip


    ATC110 wrote: »
    I have similar sentiments.
    Have you hired a car on your travels and if so how did it work out using a debit card?


    I've actually never rented a car because relying on bus/train has always been the best method in every country I've visited, for what I was doing at least.



    Honestly, I've still yet to hear a convincing argument for me getting one other than renting a car and maybe charging back on flights if an airline goes bust or something.


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    #39
    freshpopcorn
    Registered Users Posts: 30,289 ✭✭✭✭freshpopcorn


    JeffKenna wrote: »
    Handy if you shop in surpervalu as they give 2 points per euro spent on your credit card. Wouldn't amount to the €30 fee but if you combine with the need for one if renting a car it probably makes sense to have it.

    They also do this with Visa Debit!


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    #40
    kenmm
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,698 ✭✭✭kenmm


    sweet_trip wrote: »
    I've actually never rented a car because relying on bus/train has always been the best method in every country I've visited, for what I was doing at least.



    Honestly, I've still yet to hear a convincing argument for me getting one other than renting a car and maybe charging back on flights if an airline goes bust or something.

    yes, but the OP mentioned car rental in the opening post.

    Also - some people rent cars at home a lot as its often cheaper than running an Irish car for occasional use.


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    #41
    AngryLips
    Registered Users Posts: 2,681 ✭✭✭AngryLips


    sweet_trip wrote: »
    Honestly, I've still yet to hear a convincing argument for me getting one other than renting a car and maybe charging back on flights if an airline goes bust or something.


    No one is trying to convince you, people have given loads of reasons why someone might want to have a credit card, but nobody cares if you choose not to have one.


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    #42
    Jim2007
    Moderators, Business & Finance Moderators Posts: 10,041 Mod ✭✭✭✭Jim2007


    sweet_trip wrote: »
    Honestly, I've still yet to hear a convincing argument for me getting one other than renting a car and maybe charging back on flights if an airline goes bust or something.

    The only one who can make a convincing argument for you to get a card is yourself. It entirely depends on you life style, if you can't see a need for one, don't get one.

    I know a middle aged who insisted in paying for everything in cash, including putting down a $6,000 deposit on a car rental in the US. The guy behind the counter did not even know there was such an option, he had to check with HQ. They then made a nice little pile of the cash and called all the office staff out so they could see what $6,000 looked like.


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    #43
    Bob24
    Registered Users Posts: 10,905 ✭✭✭✭Bob24


    Graham wrote: »
    Car hire company would typically pre-authorise a chunk of money on your credit card at the start of the hire. Often in the region of €1,000 - €2,000.

    With a credit card you wouldn't see the pre-auth as it's just reserved against your available limit. On a debit card you'd probably see the money deducted and refunded at a later date.

    Similar for hotel bookings/room charges.

    Can be very inconvenient if you've gone on holiday with €2k in the bank and €1,500 of it suddenly vanishes.

    I haven't rented a car in a while, but in my experience hotels in Europe don't always pre-authorise an amount (some are happy just to have a card on file), and if they do it is more in the region of 100 to 300 euros (I also travel to Asia regularly and same experience). US hotels tend to pre-authorise larger amounts though, but I don't think I have had more than $1000.

    Having said that, yes it is a drawback. But I travel a good bit without having had a credit card in my life and TBH it was never a big issue for me (it would be different if I was a regular traveler to the US and staying at many different hotels during each journey - some US hotels are crap as they wait over a week after your departure to release the security pre-authorisation, and on top of that they process the actual room charge as a separate transaction - meaning that for a few days both the final room charge and the security deposit are counted against the card balance).


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    #44
    Bob24
    Registered Users Posts: 10,905 ✭✭✭✭Bob24


    ATC110 wrote: »
    Apparently this is not the case - I'd thought the same

    As far as I have heard, in the US you definitely want to have a credit card even if you never use it, as not having a credit facility and a credit score is seen as suspicious by some service providers and financial institutions (kind of tells you something about American society that not having a credit facility is weird :-)).

    But yeah I've lived in a few European countries without having had a credit card in my life, and this was never an issue. If we are talking about applying for a mortgage in Ireland, having a credit card history definitely isn't a requirement (and I doubt it is either an advantage or an inconvenient - unless of course there is a bad debt history whereby it will be a problem).


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    #45
    Dempo1
    Registered Users Posts: 26,934 ✭✭✭✭Dempo1


    I gave up on credit cards many years ago, I got a Viabuy prepaid credit card about 3 years ago and have to say its brilliant, there is a yearly fee of around €19, a new card about €60 but that's annual fees x 2 in advance. There's no other charges if you top up via sepa. Excellent app also and my card as a dedicated IBAN AND BIC.

    Evertime I use it I get a free notification as an added security feature.

    One thing that didn't occur to me is car rental, I doubt I coukd use it for that but I'm likely never going to rent a car.

    Is maith an scáthán súil charad.




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