Comments on: Credit card companies are watching your purchases

By: Erin

Erin — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 14:15:31 +0000

Wow that's a scary list: basically both bargains and luxuries are suspect, so you can't win. .-= Erin´s last blog ..Baby Kisses =-.

By: Karen

Karen — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 12:01:54 +0000

I think the idea is that if these habits are recurring, they may lower your credit limit or cancel your card, which would then affect your FICO and interest rates on future accounts.

By: frugalchick

frugalchick — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 06:23:26 +0000

Hmmm…I always shop at Walmart and I don’t think CC companies view my shopping there poorly. I still have a high FICO score and my interest rates are reasonable although I don’t carry a balance. I pay off my cards in full each month. They should worry if I start shopping at Nordstrom cause that means I don’t care about my finances anymore.
.-= frugalchick´s last blog ..High Yield Checking Accounts =-.

By: Kacie

Kacie — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 20:29:38 +0000

Guess what I charged today? Tires! Lolz. New ones, not retreads. And dangit, these boogers had better last me for the full 50,000 miles! My factory-installed ones tuckered out at less than 30k and that makes me mad. .-= Kacie´s last blog ..Meal-planning inspiration =-.

By: Karen

Karen — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 17:30:20 +0000

Meg & Paulina: Thank you for pointing that out. I misread. :) I’m happy to see that putting a purchase like tires on a credit card isn’t a red flag. I’m still a big proponent of keeping an emergency cash fund on hand to handle purchases like that without having to deal with a credit card!

By: Carla

Carla — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 13:59:32 +0000

Very interesting. I closed two credit card accounts recently because they raised my interest rate.... because of inactivity. Apparently, having a zero balance and not charging anything must be a red flag of some sort. .-= Carla´s last blog ..Zonked =-.

By: paulina

paulina — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 13:19:15 +0000

Ah but you see, it’s not buying big-ticket items like car tires… it’s paying to have your existing tires re-tread (cheaper option) because you can’t afford to purchase new tires. That’s the red flag.

By: Jill

Jill — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 13:08:30 +0000

Yikes! We use our credit card for pretty much everything and pay it off IN FULL every month, and we get cash back pretty regularly. I regularly use it at W/M and Target and for haircuts and such. I had no idea those things could be viewed poorly. However, I never-ever-ever use my CC for cash advances, and have threatened my younger brother within an inch of his life that he is NOT to do that under any circumstances, that he is to call me first if he needs money that bad. I witnessed my parents going thru bankruptcy when I was about 13, so that road is not enticing to me. Thanks for sharing this article! .-= Jill´s last blog ..Challenge: so far, so good =-.

By: Meg

Meg — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 13:00:15 +0000

This is my first time commenting, though I’ve been lurking for a while…I drop by every day to see what you’re up to! I just wanted to point out that, unless I’m missing something on the list, I don’t think they’re telling you to avoid putting tires and other large purchases on a credit card. It only refers to having your tires retreaded in lieu of buying new ones. People obviously need to be careful with credit cards but I’d hate for anyone (myself included – we charge everything!) to be unnecessarily afraid of using them.