One to go?

[onencgirl]

Just paid off and cancelled two cc's. One left that has a zero balance. I'm thinking I need to keep this one for emergencies and/or travel. Is this a wise decision? It has a $3,500 limit.

[mombottoo]

Congratulations!!!! I would recommend keeping the one card for exactly the reasons you stated. Although some will say you should have an EF for emergencies and vacations should be paid for from you vacation fund .

My feeling is you usually need a credit card to reserve a room.

[zakity]

I would say "yes" to keeping the card, but not to charge anything on it unless you have the cash in the EF or savings.

Be aware the some cards require you to use them a few times a year or they will cancel the card. Several people that I know use their card for gas purchases and then put the cash they would have spent in an envelope for when the bill comes due.

[chris w]

It depends. You really should have an emergency fun that is MINIMUM 3-6 months of expenses and then various sinking funds for items that you pay for throughout the year.

Many that struggle and pay off their credit cards have no interest of going back into debt as they realize how hard it is to get out of debt. Yes you may need to use it a couple times a year to keep it current.

You can you a debit card to reserve a car or room.

[onencgirl]

Thanks for the responses. I do have savings/ef of just over $12,000 for a buffer. I feel I should keep the cc for reasons stated. I use my debit card mostly... helps me track my spending. Sometimes I feel a cc is needed in some cases. I just like to keep things as simple as possible.

[nodmicks]

Congrats! We kept 2 cards after we paid of our debt years back. It is not a buffer but for travel and large purchases. I find it very hard to travel with my debit card.

[Libby]

Congrats!!

And yes, I would keep the credit card 'just in case'. I am very leery of using debit anywhere and charge everything. Bonus is that I get points for doing so and only buy whats needed now days.

(I do track the spending and pay off the week's spending on the weekends via online banking)

[hnybny91]

I say keep the card. Don't forget, you need to have a CC for things like renting a car.

[khaski]

Nevermind emergencies and renting things, IMO you need a cc or two to help maintain your credit score...even if you stay away from debt the rest of your life. Your credit score affects everything from your insurance rates to possible employment, so I would be hesitant to ding it too badly closing down accunts left and right. The caveat, of course, is if you can have it open and not abuse it- some can some can't.

[dancemommy]

HI- KEEP THE CARD FOR TRAVEL!!!!!!!! The reason I "screamed" that at you is that we had a very bad experience a couple of months ago traveling without a credit card. We travel quite a bit for our children's activities/sports with their teams. We have always paid with our debit card. We have learned to ask what kind of a hold they put on the card as often hotels will put a hold of a certain amount in case you incur expenses at hotels and they always insist that they HAVE to, no way around it. Well, even though I asked and had plenty of money in my account to cover the hold, a few months ago when we traveled the hotel not only put on a hold but also swiped our card too many times. We were actually quadruple charged- knocked $2000 out of our account immediately. We found out quickly as we get text alerts when our account gets below a certain amount and we were able to transfer money around, but neither our bank nor the hotel could knock off the hold which was in the pending transactions for 3 BUSINESS days. This happened on a Saturday so really it was Wednesday before it was fixed. Made for a less than pleasant trip as I stressed about money. I was told over and over by both our bank and the hotel that really for travel you need to use a credit card as those holds will disappear before you get your bill, but if you have a hold on your debit card you basically "lose" that money for a few days until it comes off. I have been warned that for renting a car it can get even more nasty with holds and security deposits.

So, after years of no credit cards we recently got one again- just for travel and we will always pay it off right away. Good luck!!

[Uniwolf]

I also say to keep the cc. as mentioned above, not only does your credit score effect the items mentioned but it can also effect your ability for some jobs, it is also more prudent to make some purchases on a cc vs a debit card, for chargeback purposes(sp). But that is just MHO.

[frugalfranny]

Way to go.............keep it up!!

Like the others........keep the card.......just don't abuse it!

[Mom2-3]

Keep the card and put a recurring bill on it, then pay off the card monthly. You will keep the card active and not pay any interest.

[frugalman]

We have one credit card only. It's useful for travel. We get at least one percent cashback on every purchase. We pay it off every payday. I monitor our checking and credit card balances daily to make sure nothing is getting out of hand. Takes about 2 minutes a day. I wouldn't be afraid of having a credit card unless I doubted my self control. I don't. We don't buy more than we can afford to pay. We save up for larger purchases. We have emergency money.

[core21]

It goes against some teachings, such as Dave Ramsey, to keep any credit cards but I myself still keep 1 card. Actually I didn't cancel any of my cards yet, but I cut them all up except one. It has come in handy a couple of times. One of the times I forgot my wallet but had the CC in the glove box. The other is travelling for work. I put the work expenses for hotel and food on there and then get reimbursed.
Also the post about getting holds on your debit card seems like a good point. But don't think you *have* to have a credit card. If your debit card has a CC logo on it, you can use it just like a CC, but yes the money comes out of your checking account rather than having a buffer. Just my 2 cents.