OT - Best Business Credit Card?

Rachel wrote:

Cub Driver wrote:
On Sun, 22 Jan 2006 20:36:57 -0600, Rachel wrote:


And your point is? I dislike credit cards. I see no reason to buy
something that you can't afford at that point in time. I use a debit
card and American Express card (which is NOT a credit card).


Who says he can't afford it? Perhaps he just likes the free use of the
money.

And to say Amex is not a credit card is ridiculous. Of course it is;
it just operates a bit differently because it was there first. It
gives you credit until you pay the bill.

Amex is a charge card. Big difference.

Some Amex cards are charge cards (which themselves are just a type of credit
cards), others (e.g. Optima, Blue, etc). are plain credit cards.

The credit cards typically don't have annual fees; the charge cards do. Pay
the credit card every month on time in full (or just have it done
automatically) and there's no charge either.

Rachel wrote:

Cub Driver wrote:
On Sun, 22 Jan 2006 17:56:27 -0600, Rachel wrote:


"Float" has more meanings that being lighter than air or water.

Excuse me? I don't float checks and never have. What is your real issue?


He's suggesting that it's silly to use a debit card when you can use
the bank's money for a month or six weeks by using a credit card.

(I agree. Plus your protections tend to be greater with a credit card.
The only real purpose of a debit card is to get cash out of machine.)

Like I said, I don't believe in buying something you can't afford at the
time. And yes, that extends to credit cards. What's the big deal? I'm
sure not missing the $2.00 a month in interest that I might be losing.r

Using a credit card does not require you to be buying something you can't afford
at the time. Many people are smart enough to know this and can take advantage
of the credit card benefits without paying any finance charges.

If you have a debit card that is compromised for any reason (e.g. a merchant
bank's backup tape is stolen), your checking account is compromised too. And
that can wipe out your checking account (and your savings account, if it's
linked to it) in a hurry. Sure the bank might tell you that they have a
no-fraud guarantee (which doesn't exist for most business accounts, btw) but
meanwhile your checks are bouncing, your automatic mortgage payment is bouncing,
and so on. If you're travelling overseas, your access to your now empty bank
account doesn't do you much good and you've got to get in touch with your bank
to begin the repairs. Meanwhile any of those bounced payments will result in
merchant's own fees and they're now upset at you.

If a credit card gets stolen you just call the company, get a new card, and keep
going.

A great option is to have your credit card co. automatically debit your bank
account to pay it on time in full every month. You get the float benefits of a
credit card, the fraud prevention benefits of a credit card, and the finance
benefit of a debit card. Plus some merchants (e.g. rental car companies) may not
take credit cards.

Rachel wrote:

Cal Vanize wrote:
Rachel wrote:

Sylvain wrote:

Rachel wrote:

American Express, hands down.



I've never had a problem with anyone accepting mine.




do you travel abroad much? I got rid off my amex years
ago because of that; and in many situations/places, taking
your business elsewhere is not an option...

--Sylvain



International travel is what I use the debit card for.



"Float" has more meanings that being lighter than air or water.

Just because you are in financial trouble and have to float checks
doesn't mean everyone else does. I've never floated a check and never
will.

Before you criticize others of critcizing you of your banking habits,
where did Cal say that he was in financical trouble? Taking advantage of
float benefits does not mean that you are in financial trouble in the
least.

For example, I frequently make use of float and I've NEVER bought anything
I couldn't buy with cash (if I wanted to) , with the single exception of
my house. Never paid a penny in credit card fees or charges either.

Rachel wrote:

Darkwing wrote:

I don't take them. They charge us to much for the honor of taking their
card. AmEx users are like a cult though, I've had a handful of people not do
business with us because we won't take AmEx, pretty odd....

------------------------------------------------
DW

Not a cult...there are just some places I'd rather not brandish
something that says USAA on it.

What would happen?

Rachel wrote:

Cal Vanize wrote:
Rachel wrote:
snip

The question was which is "BEST" instead of which one is worst.

A simple "I don't like it much" would have been a lot less insulting.
What works for me obviously doesn't work for you.

Insulting....like insinuating that somebody is in financial difficulty
merely because they take advantage of float?

Jessica Winston wrote:

Rachel wrote:


Cal Vanize wrote:

Rachel wrote:

snip

The question was which is "BEST" instead of which one is worst.

A simple "I don't like it much" would have been a lot less insulting.
What works for me obviously doesn't work for you.


Insulting....like insinuating that somebody is in financial difficulty
merely because they take advantage of float?

Don't even start. She doesn't know what float is, she thinks a
chargeback is when a cardholder returns merchandise.

Jay Honeck wrote:

American Express, hands down. I use their personal card, but both my
brother and father have the company card, and love it.

Too few businesses accept AMEX for me to consider them. They also extort
more money from the vendors -- which is why we threw them out of the hotel
back in 2002. Even Walgreen's threw them out of all 14,000+ stores in the
U.S. because of their absurdly high rates.

IMHO, unless they change their business model, they will follow "Diner's
Club" into the ash heap of CC history.

Hey, I love Diner's Club (for business purchases)! They give everyone two
billing cycles to pay and they offer primary insurance (i.e. it kicks in
before your own auto insurance) on auto rentals. I don't know of any other
card that does that. Of course I like Diner's Club a lot more now that it
uses the MasterCard network!

Cal Vanize wrote:


Jessica Winston wrote:

Rachel wrote:


Cal Vanize wrote:

Rachel wrote:


snip

The question was which is "BEST" instead of which one is worst.


A simple "I don't like it much" would have been a lot less insulting.
What works for me obviously doesn't work for you.



Insulting....like insinuating that somebody is in financial difficulty
merely because they take advantage of float?


Don't even start. She doesn't know what float is, she thinks a
chargeback is when a cardholder returns merchandise.

Give me a break. I stopped reading your posts days ago, unfortunately,
they've shown back up. I said nothing about chargebacks, that was
someone else. And I know what float is. Idiot.

If your flying a jet or turbo-prop for business, you need
about $75,000/30 days billing, to allow buying fuel at the
end of the month before they post your check. Either that
or just send them money every day. But that kind of defeats
the purpose.


--
James H. Macklin
ATP,CFI,A&P

--
The people think the Constitution protects their rights;
But government sees it as an obstacle to be overcome.
some support
http://www.usdoj.gov/olc/secondamendment2.htm
See http://www.fija.org/ more about your rights and duties.


"Jessica Winston" wrote in message
...
| Jay Honeck wrote:
|
| American Express, hands down. I use their personal
card, but both my
| brother and father have the company card, and love it.
|
| Too few businesses accept AMEX for me to consider them.
They also extort
| more money from the vendors -- which is why we threw
them out of the hotel
| back in 2002. Even Walgreen's threw them out of all
14,000+ stores in the
| U.S. because of their absurdly high rates.
|
| IMHO, unless they change their business model, they will
follow "Diner's
| Club" into the ash heap of CC history.
|
| Hey, I love Diner's Club (for business purchases)! They
give everyone two
| billing cycles to pay and they offer primary insurance
(i.e. it kicks in
| before your own auto insurance) on auto rentals. I don't
know of any other
| card that does that. Of course I like Diner's Club a lot
more now that it
| uses the MasterCard network!
|

Cal Vanize wrote:

AES wrote:

In article raRAf.750624$xm3.129206@attbi_s21,
"Jay Honeck" wrote:


Whose is best? What card do you guys use?
--


AmEx for personal and personal consulting business purchases where I
need a record, because of

* Fairly detailed itemization on bills
* Fairly wide acceptance (overseas and online)
* I have some trust in them

Discover Card for routine personal purchases where record keeping is not
required (although they do supply an itemized monthly statement),
because of a percentage rebate on purchases, which can be take as *cash*
(i.e., a refund check), or applied to subsequent bills.

Don't waste time on any card that offers "discounts" or "credits"
against various assorted "discounted" products which are either (a)
stuff you don't want anyway, or (b) (more often) marked up versions,
often under a slightly modified product number, of items you can buy for
less that the discounted card price in Costco or Walmart anyway.

Try to find merchants that accept Discover outside the states.

I've used Discover quite a bit in Canada, particularly restaurants, even local
Canadian restaurants. That's about the extent of Discover's reach outside the
US though. I found the exchange rate to be more favorable with Discover than
with M/C or Visa.