Many people talk bad on credit cards

But

Let me explain the pros of credit cards https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="👀" title="Augen" aria-label="Emoji: Augen">

(thread)

First off, I want to lead with this

Credit cards can be HORRIBLE for your finances

If you can’t control your spending

Or

You can’t delay gratification

Or

Pay them off each month in full

Then I don’t recommend spending on credit

18%-22% interest rates will haunt you

However,

I do want to explain so pros of credit cards https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="💳" title="Kreditkarte" aria-label="Emoji: Kreditkarte">

Because

If you can

1. Pay off in full each month

2. Control your spending

3. Delay gratification

Then credit cards can quite actually be goodhttps://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🤷🏼‍♂️" title="Achselzuckender Mann (mittelheller Hautton)" aria-label="Emoji: Achselzuckender Mann (mittelheller Hautton)">

I am going to break this down into 4 parts

1. Sign up bonus

2. Card rewards

3. Fraud protection

4. Ability to track spending and pay at once

Let’s get into ithttps://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🤝" title="Handschlag" aria-label="Emoji: Handschlag">

1. Sign up bonushttps://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🤩" title="Vom Star geblendet" aria-label="Emoji: Vom Star geblendet">

Many credit cards offer a bonus when you sign up

They usually have stipulations attached to them

“You have to spend x amount in 3 months to receive y in rewards”

This is a great way to get a jump start on those sweet rewards the card offers

BUT...

NEVER increase your spending solely for a sign up bonushttps://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="❌" title="Kreuzzeichen" aria-label="Emoji: Kreuzzeichen">

Be smart about it!

When I was making the move to a new city after college, I knew I would incur extra expenses for furnishing a new apartment

So

I signed up for a travel card https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="✈️" title="Flugzeug" aria-label="Emoji: Flugzeug"> and easily hit the sign up bonus

2. Rewards

Whether the card offers

Cash back https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="💵" title="Banknote mit Dollar-Zeichen" aria-label="Emoji: Banknote mit Dollar-Zeichen">
Travel points https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="✈️" title="Flugzeug" aria-label="Emoji: Flugzeug">
Hotel points https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🏨" title="Hotel" aria-label="Emoji: Hotel">

Or other rewards

Look at this as “free” rewards that come from your expenses you already havehttps://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🤩" title="Vom Star geblendet" aria-label="Emoji: Vom Star geblendet">

Reminder; PAY OFF IN FULL EVERY MONTHhttps://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🗣" title="Silhouette eines sprechenden Kopfes" aria-label="Emoji: Silhouette eines sprechenden Kopfes">

I have a few cards that offer different rewards

I have 2 that offer cash back https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="💰" title="Geldsack" aria-label="Emoji: Geldsack">

And 1 that offers travel points https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="✈️" title="Flugzeug" aria-label="Emoji: Flugzeug">

I keep them for longevity of credit history... but I ALWAYS pay in fullhttps://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🗣" title="Silhouette eines sprechenden Kopfes" aria-label="Emoji: Silhouette eines sprechenden Kopfes">

I know @itsloganjones puts his flipping on credit cards and enjoys those rewards!!

3. Fraud protection

This is something that you don’t really think about

Until you need ithttps://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🤷🏼‍♂️" title="Achselzuckender Mann (mittelheller Hautton)" aria-label="Emoji: Achselzuckender Mann (mittelheller Hautton)">

Debit cards, more than likely, don’t offer this type of protection

And to me, that’s a protection that I wanthttps://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🤝" title="Handschlag" aria-label="Emoji: Handschlag">

4. Track spending and pay at once

I like this feature because

1. I can see where my spending is allocated each month

2. I have the ability to see if there were any unnecessary charges on my cardhttps://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="❌" title="Kreuzzeichen" aria-label="Emoji: Kreuzzeichen">

And I know, every 15th of the month, my credit card bill is automatically paid!

Instead of the money being taken out at the time of the swipe

I can go back and make sure it all looks good https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="👍🏻" title="Thumbs up (heller Hautton)" aria-label="Emoji: Thumbs up (heller Hautton)">

And

I can get those sweet rewards I talked about earlierhttps://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🤩" title="Vom Star geblendet" aria-label="Emoji: Vom Star geblendet">

I want to reiterate

IF YOU CAN’T CONTROL YOUR SPENDING OR YOU CAN’T PAY YOUR CARD OFF IN FULL EACH MONTH

THEN YOU DO NOT NEED A CREDIT CARD

18%-22% INTEREST RATES WILL HAUNT YOUR FINANCIAL FUTUREhttps://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🗣" title="Silhouette eines sprechenden Kopfes" aria-label="Emoji: Silhouette eines sprechenden Kopfes">

And if you get a card, but see yourself spending more money, lose the cardhttps://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🤷🏼‍♂️" title="Achselzuckender Mann (mittelheller Hautton)" aria-label="Emoji: Achselzuckender Mann (mittelheller Hautton)">

I hope this thread enlightened you on the pros of credit cards

Again, please make sure you don’t get yourself into debt because of a credit cardhttps://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🙏" title="Folded hands" aria-label="Emoji: Folded hands">

Thanks for reading and if you think this message could be of help to to others, feel free to share it!

@DecadeInvestor