USBank cardholders - Don't pay at the pump!

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Homerboy

Lifer
Mar 1, 2000
30,890
5,001
126
Not to mention every credit card has some sort of rewards/cash back program. If you're broke, why the hell not save 1% on everything?

Because you will then be paing 12% (and more when you miss a payment) on that CC balance.
 

Svnla

Lifer
Nov 10, 2003
17,986
1,388
126
Ok, where are the posters that said "we don't need no stinking CC's, I always use debit card...debit card is as good as credit card and so on"? Where are you? Come on out.

Not to mention every credit card has some sort of rewards/cash back program. If you're broke, why the hell not save 1% on everything?

You can get up to 2% cash back on everything and 5% on gas/hotel/car rental/airfare on some of the good CC's.
 
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Train

Lifer
Jun 22, 2000
13,599
90
91
www.bing.com
LoL... I don;t think you get how "paycheck to paycheck" really works ;)

I know exactly how it works. I've been there.

If you can't afford something. DON'T BUY IT. Having a CC doesn't magically make you overspend.

Saying "I'd rather take the overdraft fee at the bank" is flippin retarded. Especially if you can use a CC as a 30 day buffer, and get rewarded for it in the process.
 

AstroManLuca

Lifer
Jun 24, 2004
15,628
5
81
If you're already paycheck to paycheck. the worst possible thing you can do is to start using CCs... Hell the overdraft at the bank is a better alternative.

No way man. A $30-$40 fee every time you overdraft is horrible. It's the equivalent of several hundred thousand % APR. Now, it's also not good to be putting a bunch on a credit card and put it off and end up paying lots of interest, but sometimes you just need to put a few things on the CC until some more money comes in.

A CC can't cure money woes or fix an unsustainable level of spending vs. income, but it's nice to have in some cases. Sometimes you just get unlucky and a bunch of big bills hit all at the same time a few days before payday.

I do have a little bit in savings to cover those instances, but it's hard to continually add money to savings without occasionally having to pull it out.
 

Train

Lifer
Jun 22, 2000
13,599
90
91
www.bing.com
You can get up to 2% cash back on everything and 5% on gas/hotel/car rental/airfare on some of the good CC's.

I just threw out 1% as a general rule of thumb. Ya the 5% back on gas Discover card has going until the end of Sept is pretty awesome. I even try to fill up my wife's car with it whenever I can.

And whenever they have the 5% back on grocery stores, I jump on it. Don't really use the other stuff though.
 

bruceb

Diamond Member
Aug 20, 2004
8,874
111
106
I pay my cc bill in full every month. Card companies hate me, as they NEVER get any interest or late fees. And my cards come with No Annual Fee .. so they lose all around with me.
 

Bignate603

Lifer
Sep 5, 2000
13,897
1
0
Just new and exciting ways for banks to make up the revenue lost for the new overdraft laws.

Not really, this is a way to prevent overdrafts. When you run you're card they put a hold on an amount of money that you could reasonably use to fill up your tank. If you have less than the amount they use for the hold I assume that the bank will refuse the transaction. It keeps people from low amounts left in the account from running their debit card and then filling up with more gas than they can pay for with the money left in the account.

As far as I know when the merchant pings the debit/credit company about a transaction they don't get a message back saying how much money you have left in your account, they just get a yes/no answer if the charge is accepted. For most purchases you know the full cost ahead of time and the bank can compare that to how much you have in your account so that's no problem but for gas there's no way for them to know that until you're done.

I pay my cc bill in full every month. Card companies hate me, as they NEVER get any interest or late fees. And my cards come with No Annual Fee .. so they lose all around with me.

Don't kid yourself, they still make money off your transactions. The merchant has to give them a percent of your transaction. While you don't see it tacked on top of what you pay the costs to the merchants do raise prices for everyone overall because it's part of the cost for them to do business.
 
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DrPizza

Administrator Elite Member Goat Whisperer
Mar 5, 2001
49,601
167
111
www.slatebrookfarm.com
I pay my cc bill in full every month. Card companies hate me, as they NEVER get any interest or late fees. And my cards come with No Annual Fee .. so they lose all around with me.

And every time you buy something at the store using that credit card, the credit card company makes a couple percent of that sale. So, if you spend $1000 per month, they earn $20 per month off you, minus expenses.
 

Train

Lifer
Jun 22, 2000
13,599
90
91
www.bing.com
I pay my cc bill in full every month. Card companies hate me, as they NEVER get any interest or late fees. And my cards come with No Annual Fee .. so they lose all around with me.

If you buy a pack of gum on your CC, the CC company has already made a profit off you for the month.
 

LTC8K6

Lifer
Mar 10, 2004
28,520
1,576
126
I use a plain ATM debit card most of the time. Or a regular credit card for the few places that won't take the ATM card.

Never a Visa/MC Debit or check card. Those are way too dangerous since anyone can use them and it's your own money. They don't require a PIN.

The ATM card requires a PIN, so it's safer.

The credit card is not my own money, so that's safer too.
 

digitaldurandal

Golden Member
Dec 3, 2009
1,828
0
76
I pay my cc bill in full every month. Card companies hate me, as they NEVER get any interest or late fees. And my cards come with No Annual Fee .. so they lose all around with me.

No they dont because the retailers pay a fee to have the license and you add to their pool of clients. The CC company is happy to have you.
 

SSSnail

Lifer
Nov 29, 2006
17,458
83
86
Maybe they should have thought of that before they became peasants. :awe:


+ points for reference.
 

bruceb

Diamond Member
Aug 20, 2004
8,874
111
106
What I mean is they make no extra from me in Fees, Interest or Late Charges.
The cost of an item is the same Cash or Credit, except some gas stations that offer
a Discount to pay in cash (you can save .10 to .15 cents per gallon that way)
 

kami333

Diamond Member
Dec 12, 2001
5,110
2
76
What I mean is they make no extra from me in Fees, Interest or Late Charges.
The cost of an item is the same Cash or Credit, except some gas stations that offer
a Discount to pay in cash (you can save .10 to .15 cents per gallon that way)

10-15cents? I've only seen 5cents (and I still use my CC since 5% back is better).
 

ultimatebob

Lifer
Jul 1, 2001
25,134
2,450
126
Numerorean: Rich man, poor attitude.

Edit: that was too nice. Shitty attitude.

Yeah... it was kind of a douchebag thing to say.

That said, if a $74 hold on your debit card is enough to put your account in the red, you're doing a really lousy job of managing your money.

If you actually got an overdraft notice caused by something like this, it's time to pick up a Suze Orman or Dave Ramesy book at the library and read the chapter on starting an Emergency Fund.
 
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PieIsAwesome

Diamond Member
Feb 11, 2007
4,054
1
0
Never heard of this. I've bought gas with my debit card before with only like $20 in my checking account.
 

Praetor

Diamond Member
Oct 14, 1999
4,498
4
81
I was looking at my USBank statement online today and noticed the charge for some gas I purchased on 9/1 was higher than it should have been. I called USBank customer service and was very politely informed of a new policy they instituted on 9/1.

Anytime you use a debit card to pay for gas at the pump, USBank now automatically freezes $74 in your account until the actual charge clears when they refund the difference. It doesn't mater if you pump $2 worth of gas, they still freeze $74.
<snip>

Interesting. I use US Bank and just purchased fuel this morning at QT. I paid at the pump and my charge was something like $32. I just checked and I only see a $1 pending charge.

YMMV?
 

nerp

Diamond Member
Dec 31, 2005
9,865
105
106
I pay my cc bill in full every month. Card companies hate me, as they NEVER get any interest or late fees. And my cards come with No Annual Fee .. so they lose all around with me.

They love you because they get to skim the store profits every time you swipe. You're a money machine for them and they don't have to do jack.