Credit cards that benefit gun purchase stuff

[steelerdude99]

Just remember: Nothing is Free.…. Credit card companies love to lure a few new customers in with reward cards to benefit customers or some other "cause". Folks then spend more and more. More sales mean the card companies make more on interest and fees by folks who pay only the minimum or forget to pay the bill. This is on top of the cut merchants pay the card companies to make a credit sale. So credit card companies aren’t in to be good friends with customers or to benefit the community; they know they’ll make more. The companies and organizations who offer “reward cards” know they’ll benefit too.

chuck

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

I have taken over $100 off some Cabela's purchases with my club card, including a couple of nice guns. How is that not saving money? Sure, there is interest, but you can always pay it off early.

 

[Arkansas Paul]

steelerdude, you're absolutely correct. The CC companies are counting on people running up a balance on stuff they can't afford to pay for and paying the minimum payment for 10 years. That's where they make their money. They actually refer to people who pay their balance off in full each month as "deadbeats".
If you don't pay the balance each month, you will most likely spend substantially more in interest than the "free" points or cash back rewards you get.

 

[xxjumbojimboxx]

How do you pay for your orders from Amazon?

The Cabelas Visa is a VISA card that works just like every other credit card with Amazon or anyone else.

You can use your Amazon Prime and pay with your Cabelas card so you get your cheaper product, free shipping, AND points from Cabelas.

I very seldom buy anything from Cabelas, but I use their card every month to pay all my bills from my house note on down, then send in a payment the next day for the full amount. It costs me nothing extra (no credit card fees or interest) and I get a couple of free guns every year.

I use my debit card... That way there I can only use money I have (set not to overdraft)... I really DONT like credit cards, not that I'm not financially responsible... I've been double paying my mortgage for three years now (I'm 27). I just think they're deceptive predators...

 

[Arkansas Paul]

I just think they're deceptive predators...[/QUOTE

They certainly are that and if you feel better not having one, then that's certainly not a bad thing. We're not really advocating that more people get CCs, just pointing out that done right, they can work for you. Of course the flip side of that is that done wrong they can bankrupt you.
No CC debt and doubling up on mortgage payments at 27 years old? You're ahead of the game friend. Keep on doing exactly what you're doing.

 

[IBEWBULL]

Cabelas all the way

We mostly use the Cabelas and about a year ago the Cabelas rewards were up there pretty good. I was getting paranoid about somehow loosing the rewards . So we took a trip to the Cabelas Store near Milwaukee. After looking at many handguns she chose the one she liked a Kimber Carry II it cost us less than $200 bucks out of pocket. I really thought she would have gone with a .40 but I have been wrong before. She loves the 45s and this was her 3rd one. The oters are a Springfield full size and a Ruger P90.
What we get next time I don't know but this is way better than all the air miles I never used and lost over time.

 

[xxjumbojimboxx]

I just think they're deceptive predators...[/QUOTE

They certainly are that and if you feel better not having one, then that's certainly not a bad thing. We're not really advocating that more people get CCs, just pointing out that done right, they can work for you. Of course the flip side of that is that done wrong they can bankrupt you.
No CC debt and doubling up on mortgage payments at 27 years old? You're ahead of the game friend. Keep on doing exactly what you're doing.

I grew up in a half poor half well to do family(divorce, split custody).. I learned a lot about money in that time.... Debt free, the way to be...

 

[Buzznrose]

We mostly use the Cabelas and about a year ago the Cabelas rewards were up there pretty good. I was getting paranoid about somehow loosing the rewards . So we took a trip to the Cabelas Store near Milwaukee. After looking at many handguns she chose the one she liked a Kimber Carry II it cost us less than $200 bucks out of pocket. I really thought she would have gone with a .40 but I have been wrong before. She loves the 45s and this was her 3rd one. The oters are a Springfield full size and a Ruger P90.
What we get next time I don't know but this is way better than all the air miles I never used and lost over time.

Cabelas points don't ever expire. Don't worry about losing them unless they change the program.

 

[Buzznrose]

The only thing I buy from Cabella's is the nuts. Those pecans are good...

The Cabella's card, while great if you like paying retail, do offer a slight allure. But I really don't pay full retail for ANYTHING as the markups are immense. So yes, you rack up points, and it feels like your getting somewhere, but if you bought the same things elsewhere. (amazon comes to mind as I get free shipping with my amazon prime.) you'll save more in the long run.

Agree. I rarely buy stuff from Cabelas unless it's on sale, but when you catch a good sale on something you need, it's definitely worth it.

Last Christmas, I bought a ton of stuff that was marked way down using points, as well as a bunch of other stuff that had bonus points using the card. I specifically remember Kershaw knives, marked down from $50 to $25, and then they offered 50% points back, so the knife cost me $25 but I got back $12.50 in points!

Now, I'm looking at a couple strong boxes for my kids to use at college. These are what I'm buying:

http://www.cabelas.com/product/Bull...&Ntt=Bulldog&WTz_l=Header;Search-All+Products

So I'll pay $130 and get $26 back as club rewards. Not bad!

I'm also one of those folks who never pay interest, and we've accumulated lots of points.

If you are not a credit card person, more power to ya, but this works great for my family.

 

[45_auto]

I use my debit card... That way there I can only use money I have

Only problem with a debit card is if someone fraudulently uses it to clean out your bank account. It's a direct link to your money. Your money is already gone, if you're lucky the bank will give some of it back in a month or so. If it causes the account to be lower than expected and you write some bad checks because of it, that'll also cause lots of fun with all of the bad check fees.

Worst thing that'll happen with a credit card is your bill is bigger than expected. Protest the fraudulent charges and that's the end of it. No direct link to your money.

You'll find that credit cards have many more legal protections than debit cards. No big deal, credit cards aren't for everyone. No one forces you to use one.

Some good pointers here:

http://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/10-places-not-to-use-debit-card-1271.php

 

[RetiredUSNChief]

Mine earns me rewards points, which I can redeem at any time as VISA gift cards. Right now, I have almost enough to buy that Colt SAA I've always wanted (currently on track to order next year).

These are FREE rewards points, because I don't allow my card to carry a ballance for any significant amount of time, so I don't pay any interest at all on it. Since I use it to pay for virtually EVERYTHING, this means each year I rack up a ton of rewards points, to be used however I see fit.

 

[PWGUNNY]

I've had my Cabela's Visa card for about 15 years. I rack up a lot of points on my card and pay the bill in full each month. I'm constantly getting Cabela's boxes shipped to the house, most often with little or no cash from my pocket.

 

[Akita1]

Amex. They don't give a crap what you buy or how you buy it, and they're always on your side in a dispute. For those reasons (and the merchant fee), some retailers don't take it and the annual "membership" fee sends many people away. Using it frequently, however, ends up in the fee more than paying for itself, especially if you give gift cards as presents at Christmas (not the Amex ones, they charge you a fee - the direct retailer ones).

 

[xxjumbojimboxx]

Only problem with a debit card is if someone fraudulently uses it to clean out your bank account. It's a direct link to your money. Your money is already gone, if you're lucky the bank will give some of it back in a month or so. If it causes the account to be lower than expected and you write some bad checks because of it, that'll also cause lots of fun with all of the bad check fees.

Worst thing that'll happen with a credit card is your bill is bigger than expected. Protest the fraudulent charges and that's the end of it. No direct link to your money.

You'll find that credit cards have many more legal protections than debit cards. No big deal, credit cards aren't for everyone. No one forces you to use one.

Some good pointers here:

http://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/10-places-not-to-use-debit-card-1271.php

Banks cover all of that... But yes it does take some time...I know, I've been through it once.

 

[HKGuns]

Become debt free and pay cash man. Then you'll stop worrying about these credit card gimmicks that pretend to "give back" a fraction of the money they make of folks.

Paying off the card as I do is far better than paying cash. I use their money for 30+ days.

 

[45_auto]

Just remember: Nothing is Free

House payment, car insurance, electric bill, water bill, garbage bill, phone bill, and cable bill all cost the exact same whether I pay them with a credit card or cash. I assume a car payment would work the same way but I've never financed a car. It's also much easier to pay them all with a credit card.

Cabelas credit card doesn't cost anything and I pay it off every month so there's no interest charges. Closest Cabelas is about an hour and a half away in the city where my youngest son's in-laws live. We visit them once or twice a year, and I go by Cabelas and walk out with a gun or two without paying for it just by using the credit card points.

If that's not free (they don't cost me a single penny), what do you call it?

 

[cfullgraf]

Banks cover all of that... But yes it does take some time...I know, I've been through it once.

But with debit cards, your money is tied up if you contest a charge. With a credit card, it is the bank's money. They have a bit more incentive to resolve the problem quickly so they get paid.

The key is to pay off the credit cards every month. I wish a Cabela's was near me so that I could get free guns.

 

[RetiredUSNChief]

House payment, car insurance, electric bill, water bill, garbage bill, phone bill, and cable bill all cost the exact same whether I pay them with a credit card or cash. I assume a car payment would work the same way but I've never financed a car. It's also much easier to pay them all with a credit card.

Cabelas credit card doesn't cost anything and I pay it off every month so there's no interest charges. Closest Cabelas is about an hour and a half away in the city where my youngest son's in-laws live. We visit them once or twice a year, and I go by Cabelas and walk out with a gun or two without paying for it just by using the credit card points.

If that's not free (they don't cost me a single penny), what do you call it?

BINGO!

The key here, of course, is wise management of one's finances in the first place, like you said! Carrying a balance costs money, and it costs MORE money than the earned rewards points. Credit card companies WANT people to carry a balance...this is how they make their money from individuals.

Live within one's means and refuse to (or rarely ever) carry a balance from one month to the next and what you end up doing is temporarily using someone else's money to pay your bills AND earn yourself something on the side as well.

I pay for nearly EVERYTHING using my credit card. And each payday, I pay it in full. Only extremely rarely do I ever charge more on my credit card than what I earn in a single pay period.

Given what I earn in a year, this means I routinely run high 5-figures through my credit card every year...and don't pay one red cent in interest doing so.

THAT is using the system WISELY.

 

[Buzznrose]

Been a while since I'd hit my nearest Cabelas, and as it's NRA weekend, decided to go and renew my wife, daughter, and my account for a year. Spent $105 ($35 * 3) and received $75 in store credit. Been wanting a Vortex Viper scope for a new AR build, and while Cabelas wasn't the cheapest, they weren't the most expensive either. With the scope, I needed a mount, and I'd decided on the Burris PEPR. The PEPR has a $20 rebate, making it $69 after the mail in rebate. So I bought a Vortex scope $499 + PEPR mount $89 + 325 count box of.22 Federal Automatch $18. Used the $75 in gift cards, a $20 coupon I received from Cabelas, and the rest came from Cabelas Club Bucks I'd accumulated. Felt really good walking out with $600 in quality merchandise while basically spending nothing (I'd have renewed our NRA memberships regardless, just did it early).

We put everything we can on the card and pay our bill in full every month, and I've never paid a penny of interest since getting the card in 2008. My last purchase was a Benelli shotgun (A300), hard carry case, and case of shells last January...

Beats the heck out of air miles for our needs.

 

[newfalguy101]

Don't kid yourselves, Credit Card companies make money off EVERY customer, EVEN those that pay every month. They make money when you use the card, and there are more than a few studies that show that people spend MORE when using plastic than when using cash.

That being said, to those that have the discipline to use the cards and pay them off each month, more power to you, I don't.

I DO have and use my debit card, on a near daily basis, I carry only a very small amount of cash, unless I have a very specific reason for having a large amount of cash.

 

[RetiredUSNChief]

Yes, they do make money off of every credit card transaction. That's covered in the price of the merchandise you buy because this is how the retailers pay for this.

Which means that everybody is affected whether they pay by card or not because retailers don't give two prices for merchandise...cash or credit. (Well...except at some gas stations).

The question is whether or not you MINIMIZE your own out of pocket expenses while using your cards by not carrying a balance from month to month and by choosing to use credit cards which earn you some kind of rewards in the process. If you use a credit card wisely, you can actually end up paying LESS than you would if you paid cash.

The question is whether or not people are wise enough to do this.

 

[Robert]

THR is not a financial education forum. This was barely on topic to begin with and has slid further and further off topic with almost every post. We are done here.