Credit cards: why did payments with them grow and how should they be used?

For the financial adviser Marcelo Bastante, meanwhile, this growth in the use of credit cards “mainly due to inflationsince cardholders achieve defer payment of their expenses, on average, 18 business days”.

The benefits of paying with a credit card

And he explains that this is due to the fact that, if a cardholder makes the consumption after the closing of the billing of the month, he achieves defer payment for more than 1 month and, if you do it a few days before the closing of the cycle, you will be able to delay it only the days that remain from the closing to the expiration of the summary.

This possibility, indicates Basita, “with a monthly inflation average of 5%, represents a saving for the consumer”. And it is that, as recommended by Elena Alonso, an analyst at Grupo Broda, the use of the card It is convenient, even in one payment, because it gives an opportunity to invest the money in the meantime between the payment and the due date.

“What can be done is pay with cardput the money in a fixed term or make stock market guarantees, and, with that money, already with the interest earned, you can pay the card ”, Alonso describes.

As exemplified by Juan Pablo Albornoz, from the Invecq consultancy, this is applicable as follows: “If you know that you are going to spend an amount on weekly, fortnightly or monthly purchases of food and household expenses, instead of of paying them in cash, that liquidity can be placed in a money market background (the risk is that there is an event with the debt in pesos and affect the returns of those FCIs) or even in sureties or, with greater illiquidity, as the Fixed deadlines”.

Thus, it ensures that, in the event that the return of the money market exceeds the cost of consuming with a credit card in one payment (without interest, but yes, with taxes), it is convenient to work the funds, consume on credit and then pay off the statement of the card with which one initially invested.

What precautions to take when paying with a credit card

However, as the director of CyT Asesores Económicos, Camilo Tiscornia, warns, “although credit cards are very practical, they must be used with that caution and make sure to pay the total at closing because financing the balance is very expensive.”

Likewise, Basita mentions that, on the other hand, it is necessary to take into account usage chargessuch as, for example: the stamp tax in CABA, which is equivalent to 1% of consumption, the expense for annual renewal and, in the case of some banks, they charge monthly charges.

However, Tiscornia mentions that, yes, it is very beneficial to take advantage of when installment payment alternatives without interest. “If a person can finance themselves like this, with current inflation, it’s better than paying in cash,” she says.

And another issue pointed out by the economist Salvador Vitelli, economist at Romano Group, is that it is advisable be compliant with payments because, thus, credit scoring begins to improve and this improves the financing offer for the user.

“Access to better credit offers is a great advantage and it is convenient to make a payment with a card because, postponing the payment without interest is always a good possibility to use the money for something else, such as investments and increasing the capital”, says the analyst .

To what has been said, Buteler points out that credit cards are one of the few ways you can buy in installments because the credit rates are very high. That is why he points out that “when there is an offer without interest in one or two or three installments, you have to take advantage of it”, but he recommends avoiding financing with interest because the charges are usually high.

Take advantage of quotas and special promotions

In addition, Tiscornia points out that it is very advantageous to take advantage of when special bank discounts or cards, which offer better prices. “Shopping stores or clothing stores sometimes offer special discounts with a card and those are also good opportunities,” he says.

In summary, Albornoz considers that “it is convenient, in itself, to consume on credit when one cannot make a purchase in cash (that is precisely the function of credit cards) or when you have fixed installments without interest that liquefy against inflation”. This, to the extent that there is some certainty that wages will nominally rise more or less in line with inflation.

And Tiscornia adds, on the other hand, that you also have to take advantage of when they appear discounts from banks or cards, which offer better prices. Shopping malls, clothing houses, sometimes offer special discounts with a card.

“There have been quite a few promotions lately for interest-free installments, which, as long as there are no benefits in paying in cash, it is convenient to take advantage of”, says Vitelli.