Yahoo Finance I Paid for Everything With My Credit Card for Months: Here’s What It Taught Me
In the past, putting most — or all — of your purchases on a credit card was frowned upon. However, things have changed. These days, some of the smartest shoppers are using plastic for just about every purchase.
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This allows them to enjoy a variety of benefits, simply for opting against paying with cash or a debit card. If you’re thinking of making this your payment strategy, there’s a variety of factors to consider.
GOBankingRates spoke with two people who are in the habit of paying for everything with their credit cards. Keep reading to find out what they’ve learned from it.
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“I pay everything with my reward credit cards, for the exceptions of bills that tack on a high fee for paying with credit cards,” said Melissa Cid, consumer savings expert at MySavings.com. “Chase and Amex have many reward and cash back credit cards that make it more beneficial to shop with compared to my debit card.”
Like any savvy shopper, she has a strategy for reward points.
“I put most of my restaurant purchases on credit cards that I earn four times points on that spending category,” she said. “I redeem my points yearly for travel purchases.”
When it comes to grocery shopping, she said cash back credit cards are a great option.
“Check your credit card offers for additional cash back or points for stores you love like CVS, Walmart and Amazon,” she said. “If you shop through a website like Rakuten you can even double dip your cash back by earning through the website and with your credit card.”
Of course, putting nearly all purchases on your credit card requires a high level of financial sensibility.
“As long as you are a responsible credit card user and pay your statement off in full every month, the perks of cash back and reward credit cards can really add up,” she said.
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“I’ve paid for every purchase with a credit card for years,” said Scott Lieberman, founder of TouchdownMoney. “I can’t remember the last time I’ve used a debit card or even cash.”
He said he chooses to do this for a variety of reasons.
“I pay with [a] credit card because, fortunately, I had the lesson of not spending more than I can afford drilled into my head by my parents,” he said. “Plus, I’ve learned all about credit card rewards.”
The credit cards he uses allow him to earn cash back or travel points to with each purchase, he said.
“For instance, credit card travel points paid for my business class flights to and from Europe,” he said. “I got to lay down to sleep on the flight — the big seat folds down into a real bed — and I enjoyed delicious food and champagne.”
Beyond the fun perks, he said there’s also practical advantages to paying with plastic.
“I also really like credit card consumer protections,” he said. “It’s very rare, but I’ve been able to successfully dispute unfair charges by businesses.”
While this strategy works well for him, he doesn’t necessarily recommend it to everyone.
“I do not recommend paying with credit card to people who don’t trust themselves not to overspend,” he said.
If you do trust yourself to spend within your limits, he said paying exclusively with credit cards can teach you valuable lessons.
“For me, the experience has taught me discipline and even made me excited about travel planning,” he said. “It’s also made me more organized, because I use different credit cards for different purchases, depending on the rewards they offer.”
Another enticing perk, he said some of his credit cards provide savings opportunities.
“Many of the credit cards I have offer serious limited-time discounts when you use them,” he said. “Currently, one of my cards is offering 20% off Bloomingdale’s and another grants $15 cash back at Total Wine.”
Clearly, if you have the restraint to avoid overspending when paying with plastic, there’s plenty of benefits to be had.
Using Your Credit Card Responsibly
Credit cards offer a level of convenience that can be hard to pass up. In fact, 82% of U.S. adults have at least one credit card, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office.
However, everyone isn’t paying their balances off each month. The average credit card balance is $6,365 — an increase of 11.7% since 2022 — according to Experian.
Therefore, it can’t be emphasized enough that you shouldn’t pay for everything with your credit card, if you can’t pay the balance off in full each month. While there’s many advantages attached to paying with credit, none are worth allowing yourself to go into debt.
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: I Paid for Everything With My Credit Card for Months: Here’s What It Taught Me
