As I’m doing research for my new project all about credit cards, I’m learning some really fascinating stuff. One question that I like to throw out to anyone I speak to on the subject is– how do you use your credit card? I’ve received some interesting responses.
My response to this question is pretty standard. I personally use my credit to book all of my trips and pay for major expenses. I also automate my payments to my plastic. I essentially use my card to build my credit. That’s really it. Definitely not as interesting as two weird credit card usages I heard of recently.
What are the two weird (perhaps stupid?) ways to use a credit card:
To pay for college tuition.
A younger friend of mine told me that he was stuck with paying for a semester’s worth of tuition with his credit card. Due to finding a high paying summer job, the main student loans program denied him. Instead of looking into it further, he decided to put a couple of thousands dollars on his credit card to cover tuition.
I find this to be really odd because there are plenty of other options to help you cover the cost of tuition. If you can’t find any student loan programs at all, you can always look into the various forms of free money that’s available to all college students. The interest rate on your credit card is just too absurd to be used to put any major college expenses on it. The interest payments alone can crush you.
As an emergency fund.
Now this one may not seem so stupid at first glance. If you need money in an emergency situation, you really want something convenient like a credit card. With your card all you need to do is pull it out of your wallet and you can bail yourself out of any situation. Right? Not really.
Well here’s the problem: why don’t have you have an emergency fund or any savings for that matter? You don’t want to get into debt every single time that an emergency hits you. This will just create unnecessary stress because now you need to deal with paying off your credit card and any interest that adds up.
Those are two weird ways to use a credit card that I wanted to share with you guys. Have you heard of any strange ways to use that plastic? Please share with us.
Further reading on credit cards:
Finding The Perfect Credit Card.
Pros & Cons of Credit Cards in College.
Credit Cards Around the College Campus.
Why Cutting Up Credit Cards is a Dumb Idea.
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Paying for college with a credit card isn’t weird, it’s awesome! Yesterday, my father told me this was an option, so he signed up for a 0% interest for 18 months credit card, put my brother’s full tuition on the card, and will pay it off in 18th months. Not only does he get any rewards, but what’s better than an interest-free loan for school!
That’s actually a perfect case scenario example Daniel. That makes sense if you find yourself a zero percent card. In the example that I shared the person didn’t bother even asking for a rate reduction on his card until I suggested it.
Paying 18% on your tuition is definitely not a good idea.
Many colleges won’t let you put your bill on a credit card since they want to avoid transaction fees. Otherwise I would have totally done this, if only for the $200 in rewards I’d get for this semester!
Oh I faced a similar issue. I had the money for my tuition one semester saved in my savings account. I wanted to use my credit card for the purchase to earn my cashback rewards. Then I found out that my college didn’t accept credit card payments.
Using a credit card to pay for college is a good way too especially if you don’t have to pay an interest. But using a credit card for emergency funds seems a bit odd.
My college will let you pay for tuition with a credit card but you’re charged an extra percentage on the costs. I had to explain to someone that was having a fit in the bursar’s office that this does make sense. The university doesn’t want to lose money on the tuition because they’re paying too much towards the credit card company.