Given today's economic situation, and especially the problems with credit, you might be wondering if you actually even need a credit card.
I mean, after all, it seems that they only lead to financial problems.
But actually credit cards are useful in today's world.
You just need to know how to use them.
Credit cards do several things for you.
You don't have to carry around a lot of cash.
If you lose your wallet or purse, you can call the credit card company and have them cancel your account.
You can even reverse charges that you didn't make.
(You can't do this will all debit cards, by the way.
) There are other benefits of credit cards.
Frequent flyer miles is one.
Other cards offer gas rebates.
When I was commuting a lot, those gas rebates really added up.
They saved me $.
03 to $.
05 a gallon! That may not see like much, but over a year's worth of driving to and from work, it becomes meaningful.
Although you can get either Visa or Master Card credit cards, Visa is much more popular.
One of the best things I like about credit cards is cards that give you free airline tickets and other travel related perks.
These cards work just like other cards, like my gas card for instance.
Except that instead of pennies off of the cost of my gas, they give you miles on certain airline carriers.
Usually, you have to tie these cards into certain airlines.
So, find someone who's going where you want to go, and get a card associated with them.
When I quit commuting so much, I started having more time to travel and my airline card really helped save me some money.
One thing you don't want to get into, however, is thinking you can or should buy something just because you're going to get more miles on your card.
That's a mistake.
Just buy what you normally would and should, and over time you'll watch those miles add up to as much as a free trip to California.
(Or if you're already in California, a free trip to Florida, or New York.
) Used judiciously, incentive cards can be a real money saver, and fun, too!