MasterCard vs. Visa

[pstylesss]

Originally posted by: HOWITIS
debt = bad get neither. go debit. there is no reason to establish a debt history. credit score = meaningless, unless you WANT to go into debt.

Yes, because everyone is able to purchase a house with no financing. Having a healthy debt is good. imo you shouldnt buy anything you can't afford (don't have in the bank) on a cc. You need credit in this world.

 

[Skeeedunt]

Originally posted by: Squisher

Originally posted by: Skeeedunt
I think Visa and Mastercard are virtually interchangeable, I've never seen a place that accepted one but not the other. Obviously the issuing bank and other details will matter. If it's true that only one card has rewards, and the other only has the extended warranty perk, you might be want to look into getting one with all of the above if you think you'll qualify (see RossMAN sig ^^^).

Originally posted by: Squisher
I would have said it's a was a wash between the two, but I recently went to pay my electric and gas bill online in order to get the cashback rewards of using a charge card and they would only take Visa. I've seen plenty of people refuse AMEX, but I can't recall anybody only taking Visa.

DTE Energy, probably Michigan-centric.

Ok, you found one, here's a

There are a few cases like that, but like you said, very different from AMEX that has a tangible amount of vendors who won't accept it. I think the only Visa I have is my debit card and it's never really been a problem. Never hurts to have both, but they're 99% identical.

ElFenix brings up a good point, but you'd be better off staying out of those non-'merican countries anyway.

 

[HOWITIS]

Originally posted by: ZeroIQ

Originally posted by: HOWITIS
debt = bad get neither. go debit. there is no reason to establish a debt history. credit score = meaningless, unless you WANT to go into debt.

Yes, because everyone is able to purchase a house with no financing. Having a healthy debt is good. imo you shouldnt buy anything you can't afford (don't have in the bank) on a cc. You need credit in this world.

in your world only, i have a 160k mortgage, no credit cards, no car loans. underwriting is your friend. a home loan is the only time you should have debt.

 

[thomsbrain]

Originally posted by: HOWITIS
debt = bad get neither. go debit. there is no reason to establish a debt history. credit score = meaningless, unless you WANT to go into debt.

this is the stupidest piece of crap i have seen on these forums in years.

news flash: your credit score is EVERYTHING. want to rent an apartment? good luck with that. want to buy a house? good luck with that. want to buy something on the internet? good luck with that. want to rent a car or a moving van? good luck with that. want to get a hotel room? good luck with that.

credit cards are free month-long loans that have the side benefits of making sure you have a place to live, can buy things anywhere at any time, and don't piss away money when it comes time for your first mortgage. obviously, getting into credit card debt is bad. not having any credit cards is probably worse, though. and if you can't have a credit card without carrying a balance, i pity you.

 

[thomsbrain]

Originally posted by: HOWITIS

Originally posted by: ZeroIQ

Originally posted by: HOWITIS
debt = bad get neither. go debit. there is no reason to establish a debt history. credit score = meaningless, unless you WANT to go into debt.

Yes, because everyone is able to purchase a house with no financing. Having a healthy debt is good. imo you shouldnt buy anything you can't afford (don't have in the bank) on a cc. You need credit in this world.

in your world only, i have a 160k mortgage, no credit cards, no car loans. underwriting is your friend. a home loan is the only time you should have debt.

people actually want to live in our world. that's one reason a starter home requires a $600,000 mortgage that you'll never get without a solid credit history. talk to us again when you live somewhere other than Kentucky. until then, enjoy being inconvenienced all the time.

 

[HOWITIS]

Originally posted by: thomsbrain

Originally posted by: HOWITIS
debt = bad get neither. go debit. there is no reason to establish a debt history. credit score = meaningless, unless you WANT to go into debt.

this is the stupidest piece of crap i have seen on these forums in years.

news flash: your credit score is EVERYTHING. want to rent an apartment? good luck with that. want to buy a house? good luck with that. want to buy something on the internet? good luck with that. want to rent a car or a moving van? good luck with that. want to get a hotel room? good luck with that.

credit cards are free month-long loans that have the side benefits of making sure you have a place to live, can buy things anywhere at any time, and don't piss away money when it comes time for your first mortgage. obviously, getting into credit card debt is bad. not having any credit cards is probably worse, though. and if you can't have a credit card without carrying a balance, i pity you.

i feel for you. that you actually believe the crap you are spilling. i said in the post above that i OWN MY OWN HOME. before that i had rented 2 diff apartments. i do not own a credit card. i do have a home loan for 160k. i own 3 cars, all paid for. although i must admit my parents bought 1 of them when i was a freshman in college. i did NOT have a co-signer. A credit score means absolutely nothing. i have rented cars... on my debit card.

ordered online... with my debit card. rented a u-haul, with my debit card. a credit score is used for one thing, and one thing only, judging how well you will handle more debt. i do not want debt. therefore i do not need a credit score!!!! open your mind, the credit card companies have sold you on this fallacy.


the only time i could see a credit score being an issue is if an employer used it, but given that i have never had bad credit i do not feel this is a risk to me.

take a look at all your debt. your car payments on cars you couldn't even sell to pay them off because their value dropped faster than you could pay it off, your credit card debit, ect, ect. then look at me whose only payment is for the home. how has more freedom? how easy is it for me to save money?

there are people out there that say credit cards are good if you pay them off every month. then why have a debt card in the first place!?! why have a good credit score if you never want to acquire debt? i don't believe you. those who praise credit scores are the people with 2-3 car payments, plus house payments, plus working on trying to transfer their balance to another "low interest" card. all the while living from one pay check to next.

 

[HOWITIS]

Originally posted by: thomsbrain

Originally posted by: HOWITIS

Originally posted by: ZeroIQ

Originally posted by: HOWITIS
debt = bad get neither. go debit. there is no reason to establish a debt history. credit score = meaningless, unless you WANT to go into debt.

Yes, because everyone is able to purchase a house with no financing. Having a healthy debt is good. imo you shouldnt buy anything you can't afford (don't have in the bank) on a cc. You need credit in this world.

in your world only, i have a 160k mortgage, no credit cards, no car loans. underwriting is your friend. a home loan is the only time you should have debt.

people actually want to live in our world. that's one reason a starter home requires a $600,000 mortgage that you'll never get without a solid credit history. talk to us again when you live somewhere other than Kentucky. until then, enjoy being inconvenienced all the time.

i wouldn't go in debt for 600,000$ unless i made at least 100k a year, and had 300k sitting in the bank. until then i would rent. that would be insane. thats why there are so many foreclosures. there is a house on every corner i can wait until i can afford it. 600,000 in debt i couldn't live with that.

 

[pstylesss]

Why put 1200 into rent that you'll never see again when you can put 1200 in your own pocket with equity?

Your logic is flawed.

 

[HOWITIS]

Originally posted by: ZeroIQ
Why put 1200 into rent that you'll never see again when you can put 1200 in your own pocket with equity?

Your logic is flawed.

you think a mortgage payment on a 600,000 loan is 1200? think again. maybe on a what, 200 yr loan? then forget your equity. keep in mind i own my own home, so i aint knocking home ownership.

actually,



Simple Loan Payment Calculator

Result:
Monthly payment: 200 Years
Interest rate: 6.000%
Loan amount: $ 600,000.00
$ 3,000.02 a month

 

[KK]

Originally posted by: HOWITIS

Originally posted by: ZeroIQ
Why put 1200 into rent that you'll never see again when you can put 1200 in your own pocket with equity?

Your logic is flawed.

you think a mortgage payment on a 600,000 loan is 1200? think again. maybe on a what, 200 yr loan? then forget your equity. keep in mind i own my own home, so i aint knocking home ownership.

actually,



Simple Loan Payment Calculator

Result:
Monthly payment: 200 Years
Interest rate: 6.000%
Loan amount: $ 600,000.00
$ 3,000.02 a month

200 years, shit, I feel bad for their great great great great great grandkids.

 

[alimoalem]

Originally posted by: HOWITIS

Originally posted by: ZeroIQ
Why put 1200 into rent that you'll never see again when you can put 1200 in your own pocket with equity?

Your logic is flawed.

you think a mortgage payment on a 600,000 loan is 1200? think again. maybe on a what, 200 yr loan? then forget your equity. keep in mind i own my own home, so i aint knocking home ownership.

actually,



Simple Loan Payment Calculator

Result:
Monthly payment: 200 Years
Interest rate: 6.000%
Loan amount: $ 600,000.00
$ 3,000.02 a month

his point was not all your money is wasted. and a 30 yr mortgage at 6% is less than $600 more per month compared to your calculation. suppose half the monthly payment goes to interest. ~$1800 is still going towards the equity on the home.

also, what you're saying about credit cards is totally flawed, and your generalization of those that use them is absurd. i'm almost 20 years old and have a credit score above 720. what's the average credit score? 678, right? look here to see what the average interest rates for individual states and the nation are for the different credit scores. most of my friend are in the 500's, a few in the 600's. look at the difference in total interest paid.

and as i said, i'm almost 20 and have 2 credit cards meaning i'm in irresponsible teen in college with like $10k in debt already, right? wrong. as others have said, you can pay with your credit card instead of your debit card and just use as much as you have in the bank. no worries about overdrafting (which is very common for college students), better benefits (warranty, travel, returns, auto rentals, etc.), cash back, etc. some even try investing the money they spent on goods that month in a high interest account for a month to make a few more bucks off their purchases.

i have an idea. why don't you say ONE benefit a debit card has over a credit card for a RESPONSIBLE person.

 

[AmpedSilence]

HOWITIS, what hell are you talking about?

Having a credit card can be an amazing thing. Take me for example. I have a Chase Visa card with 10k (thats how i bought my current car) on it right on at 0% APR. Now that sounds terrible but i also have an ING account with 11k in it at 4.5% APR. The intro rate runs out on Feb. 2008; when i clearly have enough money to pay it off. I will without thinking or worrying pay it off without incurring any penalty. And the end of it i will have almost $500 ($300 interest from ING, and $200 in cash rewards) in my pocket. If i had just bought the car on my debit card like you are suggesting, I wouldn't have that. $500 isn't that much, but its greater than $0, which your method would have produce.

Credit Cards, and debt in general, if properly managed will make money for you! Having a debit card is a great teaching tool for students and other irresponsible people. Frankly, by you saying that you only use debit cards you are basically telling me at least that you don't trust yourself to be responsible.

But thats just my opinion, I've made enough (i.e. profit) from properly balancing my cards and debt that my credit rating is 775+. Oh, and i have no car loan, or any other debt besides what i said above (which in my eyes doesn't count since i have the cash to pay it off right now if i wanted).

OP, i would keep both. The smaller limit card can be used for online purchases and such. And just use a no-fee (very important!!) convenience check to transfer the balance over to your new card.

 

[Mxylplyx]

Originally posted by: HOWITIS
debt = bad get neither. go debit. there is no reason to establish a debt history. credit score = meaningless, unless you WANT to go into debt.

With responsible use of cc's, ie pay it off every month, I get about $500/yr cash back on my AMEX, and about $100 cash back on my MC, which I use places that dont accept AMEX. It also allows me to leave money in savings longer and collect more interest, and also gives me extended warranties, and other common perks of using CC's.

Also, are you a trust fund baby or something. Who the hell can afford to buy a house with cash when their young?

 

[daggerr]

All other things being equal, Visa slightly edges out MasterCard because it's accepted a bit more widely than MasterCard. If you're not going to be carrying a balance, then the APR doesn't really matter, but the rewards do. Unless the credit limit is preventing you from funneling most of your normal spending through your card(s) (to reap the rewards), then the credit limit doesn't matter that much either.

If you're carrying a balance then the APR and rewards both matter. Also, the credit limit matters because it will determine your % utilization which affects your FICO credit score which can affect your mortgage interest rate and auto insurance rates. (It get's complicated once you decide to carry a balance. I'd recommend against it if you can at all avoid it.)

 

[fstime]

Only have a Visa and I have never been somewhere where it wasnt accepted, including Europe.