Holidays Are Best Time to Employ Credit Cards

If you have been considering applying for a new credit card, the busy holiday shopping season is one of the best times to do it. There are a variety of reasons credit cards over cash makes more sense during the gift-buying season of the holidays. Using your plastic, especially rewards credit cards, can help you in ways cash or checks can not.

Let’s look at the advantages for holiday shoppers:

Convenience

Let’s face it – society is finding it easier every day to use credit cards. It is much more convenient than carrying cash. You have much more buying power and do not have the added pressure of carrying and potentially losing the cash money you are carrying in your wallet. Plus, you can always track what you spend in real-time thanks to the online account technology and automated account notification services.

Protection

You are more protected with credit cards than with cash or debit cards. During the holiday shopping madness, especially evident on Black Friday, it is easy to misplace or lose your wallet or purse at any time. If this happens, face the facts that your cash will likely be gone and your bank accounts could be wiped clean. With credit cards, you simply need to report the incident and you do not have to worry if someone has intentions of using your card fraudulently.

Pricing Guarantees

Some credit cards offer as part of their terms and conditions, the ability for a consumer to get back the cash difference if an item they purchased subsequently goes on sale. Some stores will have strict limitations on what can be refunded if at all but your credit card provider may offer longer deadlines for getting a refund of the difference. This means if you are hurriedly shopping for the perfect gift for your brother only to find it much cheaper a week later, you can often get back the extra amount you paid through your credit card provider.

Warranty Extension

Instead of wasting the additional cash on confusing store warranties for big-ticket purchases, check with your credit card provider to see how they extend your warranty coverage. Some providers will offer a year’s worth of extended warranty coverage on merchandise so you don’t have to pay more in-store.

Online Bargains

In the age of progressive Internet businesses, shoppers are likely to find some of the best deals of the holiday season on the Internet. You obviously can not pay cash for online transactions so you can put your credit card to good use and snag the deals you need this year. Budget-conscious shoppers will be utilizing the Internet more than ever this year and your credit card will offer you the added fraud protection your debt card from your bank can not.

Rewarding Shoppers

There are so many different credit card reward programs available right now that will allow the credit card to work for you during your shopping excursions. You can literally save money and make money at the same time using a cash back rewards card for your shopping needs. You can also earn points for discounted holiday travel and a number of other incentives just for using your card for gift purchases. It’s a win-win situation all around.