Credit/debit cards & discounts?

[Philipc4u59]

I have noticed that many business places I frequent - especially supermercados; offer 10% discounts for using a particular credit/debit card. This seems like a sizeable percentage; are their prices inflated or hidden costs of the cards.

I stopped at a Kisok in Open Plaza; I was told I had to be employed in Peru to be qualified for a card? I receive monthly Social Security; I would hope this is secure enough for some cards???

Any suggestions, fees, experiences, etc.?

Gracias,
Philip

[chi chi]

You also need DNI or CE those days.

Those cards give you a 10% discount but they charge an interest rate of up to 75%. Yes, 75%
Stay away from taking credit in Peru. It's a ripp off.

[fanning]

The trick with these cards is to use the discount, but not the credit. So get the 20% off on a TV, and immediately pay of that debt. ( at least before the 'ultima dia de pago' )
If you have no Peruvian income it can be hard to get your first credit card. Maybe you can get one through a bank, with a prepaid amount, and buy then some things with 'quotas' to get registered in the creditsystem, once you are in the credit system it is easy to get another card from a shop for example.

[Philipc4u59]

Some good advice from you both...

Muchas gracias!
Philip

[chi chi]

buy then some things with 'quotas' to get registered in the creditsystem.

Up to 220% intrest with those quotas.

[fanning]

I know you just don't want to get it .. but that is you, Chi Chi
But it works relatively simple.
If you have a credit, it will only be reported to SBS ( the state credit system ) if you actually USE the credit. So the trick is, to actually use the credit for some months.
Lets say you ( well not you, Chi chi, but an other expat who is interested in getting a credit score to get access to the credit system ), have a credit of S/. 5000
You buy something of S/. 200 and ask for 2 quotas. Let's say the quota is 2 times S/. 208 . ( I am sure if you calculate that to a yearly interest rate, it will be very high ! but we only do this to get registered in the credit system )
You pay your first quota of S/. 208 ON TIME !! and the second one also ON TIME.
Congratulations you are now registered in the credit system, and if you ask in any shop or bank for a credit card ( discount card), you will show up as a good paying customer who has S/. 5000 of credit, so other shops will give you without problems a new credit. As long as you pay ON TIME all your credits, you have an easy live with credit cards.
If for some reason you are failing your (minimum) payments, then in Peru they are also very straightforward, they CANCEL ALL your credit, so not just in the one card you are failing to pay.

[Kelly]

And a great way to keep you credit up is to purchase things on the cards then pay before the due date. All four cards we have give 0% for 30 days, so as long as you pay the entire balance a few days early, no interest. (there are some fees with the cards). It does make it easier than having to run to the ATM every time I want to make a larger purchase.

[falconagain]

And a great way to keep you credit up is to purchase things on the cards then pay before the due date. All four cards we have give 0% for 30 days, so as long as you pay the entire balance a few days early, no interest. (there are some fees with the cards). It does make it easier than having to run to the ATM every time I want to make a larger purchase.

True, besides that it saves you a ton of money on the specials that the stores due on certain holidays (Mothers Day, Fathers Day, Valentine, Christmas, Independence Day); most of the stores run specials
on those days that allow you to save a lot of money.( electronics, exercise equipment, food).

[chi chi]

And a great way to keep you credit up is to purchase things on the cards then pay before the due date. All four cards we have give 0% for 30 days, so as long as you pay the entire balance a few days early, no interest. (there are some fees with the cards).

Only a few people are able to do that.

Credit is addictive. It's easy to spend more money than you can afford with those cards. It's doesn't feel like spending money.

[stuart]

Only a few people are able to do that.

Credit is addictive. It's easy to spend more money than you can afford with those cards. It's doesn't feel like spending money.

I paid for something that cost about $1000 recently, and paid in cash. That didn't feel like spending money either, it only felt like it was spent when I had to enter it into a spreadsheet the next day and everything turned red. I.e. Keeping track of your expenses is the factor that causes you to feel how much you're spending.

The problem with credit is that most people in the world are poor and stupid. Stupid because they are poor, poor because they are stupid. Far far fewer of us are either poor and smart, or rich and smart. Obviously in the 3rd world education is worse, even in the "school of life". No-one has experience with being extended a 10,000 soles credit line, 5 times their salary. If I were rich and smart instead of poor and smart, and if I had no human soul, I'd definitely go into the banking industry and provide "services" to bleed my customers. Meanwhile, those of us who can, Chi Chi with his cash, fanning with his clever use of credit, let's bleed the banks a little and try to come out on top.

[Kelly]

And a great way to keep you credit up is to purchase things on the cards then pay before the due date. All four cards we have give 0% for 30 days, so as long as you pay the entire balance a few days early, no interest. (there are some fees with the cards).

Only a few people are able to do that.

Credit is addictive. It's easy to spend more money than you can afford with those cards. It's doesn't feel like spending money.

If you aren't able to do that, then you shouldn't be using credit cards. Too many people use them as an extra income source then find themselves screwed when the bill comes in. Some people learn from this and don't make the same mistake again. Other people are too thick to learn it and make the same mistake over and over.

If you can't afford to buy something, you shouldn't buy it on credit. Instead, save for it.

And with all the math courses that my son has in school - alg, trig, geom, reasoning, logic, etc - there's nothing teaching him about managing money and credit. Perhaps I should lobby the school for an economics class!

[chi chi]

Too many people use them as an extra income source then find themselves screwed when the bill comes in.

Many just don't pay back because they know that the bank can't do anything. They move to another city and nothing can be done.

And that happens everywhere.

I know a girl from the UK. Before coming to Peru, she maxed out all her credit cards and took out a few personal loans. Fled with money to Peru. Total heist was 37000 pounds.

There's nothing the banks can do. And debt expires after 5 years.

[rama0929]

Meanwhile, those of us who can, Chi Chi with his cash, fanning with his clever use of credit, let's bleed the banks a little and try to come out on top.

The banks aren't bleeding. Cards be they credit or debit are only one way that banks make money.

[rama0929]

There's nothing the banks can do.

You would think so, but that isn't the case; protection's built into the interest rates.

[chi chi]

There's nothing the banks can do.

You would think so, but that isn't the case; protection's built into the interest rates.

Rama, of course, so if a customers doesn't pay back it's debt, it's the people who pay off their loans pay for the ones that don't want to pay.

[rama0929]

There's nothing the banks can do.

You would think so, but that isn't the case; protection's built into the interest rates.

Rama, of course, so if a customers doesn't pay back it's debt, it's the people who pay off their loans pay for the ones that don't want to pay.

Which means that "there's nothing the banks can do" is an incorrect statement. They've already hedged against the degenerates and deadbeats.

[Kelly]

We've wandered far off topic here - let's bring it back to answering Philip's questions.

[Philipc4u59]

Kelly, I agree!
This is good talk for another forum.
I still seek advice on what cards are the most adventageous to obtain; which to decline.

[Kelly]

If you bank through Interbank, they have a Visa Vea card, affiliated with the Plaza Vea grocery store. The store often features specials that are only available with the card. What's more, depending on how much you spend on the card each month, they send you a pack of coupons with your bill that can be pretty good if you shop carefully with them.

[rama0929]

Kelly, I agree!
This is good talk for another forum.
I still seek advice on what cards are the most adventageous to obtain; which to decline.

The cards most advantageous to obtain are the ones with the lowest interest rates.

How disciplined are you with paying off your balances?

Prices aren't so much inflated or at least not any more than your local supermarket in the US. There may be user costs, but that's something you'd have to check the cardholder agreement.

[chi chi]

If you bank through Interbank, they have a Visa Vea card, affiliated with the Plaza Vea grocery store. The store often features specials that are only available with the card. What's more, depending on how much you spend on the card each month, they send you a pack of coupons with your bill that can be pretty good if you shop carefully with them.

The ATM card that Interbank gave me also has the visa sign on it and I can use it like a visa card but if I pay with it, the amount is directly deducted from my account. No interest but several transaction fees if I pay an airline ticket on the internet. Luckely, with TACA, STARPERU and several other airlines, you can book only and pay at a bank in cash for your ticket without those extorionate hidden fees.