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I've had a credit card for over 10 years and get roughly 3% back on average which comes out to thousands of dollars each year. Never once have I paid any interest or fees. It has helped build my credit which is a big part I have over a 800 credit score. The money automatically is paid each month out of my bank account, I don't have to manually do anything

What exactly are the downsides I've had?




This (especially the building credit part) is only valid for the weird US rules though.


Yeah I can only speak to the US but I would be surprised if credit history and such is not relevant in other places...


In Germany you cannot build "positive credit" by spending money. I also think this is inherently unfair.

As long as you never defaulted on a loan or forgot/failed to pay a bill you automatically have a perfect credit score in Germany.


The US is the only country in the world where you have such a credit history system built with credit cards.

Some countries such as the UK have a credit system but CCs are not involved.



> The US is the only country in the world where you have such a credit history system built with credit cards.

Aside from the links posted in a sibling comment, I wouldn't say the U.S. credit system is built with credit cards: it's a fairly holistic metric that takes into account rent payments, loans, and a bunch of other stuff like "bankruptcies, foreclosures, lawsuits, wage garnishments or attachments, liens, or public judgments against you"[0]. Credit cards are lines of credit, so they certainly factor in, but the focus on your overall credit health, of which your credit cards may be a small part.

[0]: https://www.investopedia.com/articles/pf/10/credit-score-fac...




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