Some Little-Known Benefits Of Credit Cards – The Necessary Evil Of Our Nation

In the United States of America, there’s always this buzz of credit cards being more of a bane than boon to the society. Given the fact that credit card debt is plaguing the entire nation and is standing as an obstacle to their personal financial growth, everybody thinks that credit cards are nothing but the necessary evil of our nation. While it is true that we can’t step out of our homes without tucking the credit cards into our wallets, it is also true that this is the reason behind the soaring credit card debt within the nation.

Although the debt consolidation companies are there to help you combine your high interest debt into single monthly payments and get rid of the debt burden, yet debt is something that has become a part and parcel of our lives. Among all this financial chaos, people tend to forget the hidden benefits of using credit cards. Credit cards not only make it easier to shop but they also offer us a number of free benefits that many consumers aren’t at all aware of. As long as you use your credit cards responsibly and keep paying off your balances in full, you’re away from danger. Have a look at some little-known benefits of credit cards.

• Chargebacks: If a company doesn’t give you a good product or service for which you’ve paid, they usually won’t refund the money. But if you have a credit card, that company might even refund the money. This is a process which is known as chargeback. In this process, the credit card company will refund the money to you and then charge you the cost to the business. However, you may require meeting certain conditions like disputing the charge within the given time period, making a good faith effort to solve the problem with the merchant and offering a tracking number to prove that you have actually shipped a lost return back to the merchant provider.

• Extended return back policies: There are many retailers who restrain returns to only 30 days but usually there are a number of credit card companies that extend this policy to about 90 days. MasterCard will refund you up to $250 for a purchase that has kept you dissatisfied within 60 days if the store doesn’t accept to return the money. On the other hand, Visa’s Return Protection policy will reimburse consumers for all the eligible items up to $250 within 90 days of purchase and the annual limit is $1000 per account.

• Price protection: If the retailer from whom you bought a product doesn’t have a price-drop policy, you can recuperate the savings that you missed out on directly from your credit card company. In fact, MasterCard and Visa will reimburse you for the price difference on another item that you locate at a lower price within 60 days of your last purchase. This is indeed one of the biggest benefits of credit cards.

• Shop without money: There are many people who tend to keep their money in the bank and shop on credit or with their debit cards. When you have credit cards, you can get the advantage of shopping without having to use your cash. Even when you forget your money back home, you can fulfil your desires of owning something if you have a card in your pocket.

Hence, if you have credit cards, you should know the ways in which you should use them. Misusing your credit cards can push you into the deep dark hole of credit card debt. Always stay in touch with your financial advisor and help yourself stay away from debt.