Credit Cards.....why do you need them???

The other day some people from an Islamic bank came to my office and gave a talk on personal financing and loans. Credit cards were also mentioned. Some of the younger staffs started to sat up a bit when it came to the credit card talk and were immediately impressed with what was on offer.I think they applied for the cards soon after that.

What I was interested was "why did you guys select that bank's credit card?". The answer that I got was, it sound good and its my first credit card. Well, not really a solid reason to have a credit card.

So, why do you need a credit card. I myself hold a few cards. Each has its own purpose. Groceries (card have special rebates at ALL hypermarkets), entertainment (rebates and also "buy 1 ticket, get 1 ticket free"), bills (again rebates) and petrol (rebates).

an example of a petrol rebate scheme from a bank

From the statement above, you can see that I use cards in terms of savings. And yup, I pay my credit cards in full every month. Some might say, better not use credit cards if paying full each time. But for the past 3 years, I've saved a bundle through rebates and offers. It is a an important tool in my finances.

The Government's decision to put a RM 50 service tax on each credit cards has somehow reduced the need to have too many cards. I am planning to terminate a few. But still, they are an important in my financial plannings.

So, that is why I need credit cards. What is yours?