Credit cards have a long history in our country. They date back to the early 1900s have been used mainly as specific store cards. For example, you can get a Sears card they gave you credit to use it at your local Sears store. Since that time, everything is changed. Credit became a viable way for companies to make money off of interest. It also allowed customers the convenience of purchasing things and paying for it later or through installments.
Now you can buy just about anything with your credit card. Let’s take a look at five unexpected ways you may not have known you can use your credit card.
1) Credit Cards Can Be Used to Pay Off Traffic Tickets
Courts will now use and accept credit cards as payment for traffic tickets. Just like with stores or other entities that deal with money, there’s always a risk of checks bouncing or payment getting lost in the mail. When you get a ticket, usually has to be paid within a certain amount of time, so timing is important. Paying with a credit card removes the risk. You get to pay your bill in a timely manner, the court gets the money everything is settled. You also get the peace of mind of getting a confirmation that the ticket was paid.
2) Pay People for Small Jobs
As a society we seem to be moving away from cash. Of course, you can always go to the ATM and pay a large fee to pull some money out. This happens if you want to pay her babysitter or if you want to pay someone to mow the lawn or do some other small job. You might even be an entrepreneur looking for an alternative way to accept money for your work. Now there are little devices you can connect to your cell phone. They allow you to swipe your credit card to receive or make a payment.
3) Pay to Park
Parking meters is the bane of many people’s existence. This is especially true if you live in a big city. If you don’t live in the big city and you’re just visiting, you may not be aware that you must have small change on your person to be allowed the privilege of parking. What happens if you don’t have some change to feed the meter? Luckily, many places are replacing old outdated meters with new smart meters that accept credit cards. You also don’t have to worry about the meter running out because you didn’t put enough change in. It will charge your card when you’re done.
4) Pay for Goods at Flea and Farmer’s Markets
This is sort of connected to point number two, as now places you might enjoy going to, like flea markets and Farmer’s markets, with usually a cash game. But thanks to the advancement of technology in those devices you can attach to your cell phone and an app, you can use your credit card to pay for purchases at these vendors.
5) Buy Legal Marijuana
As marijuana has become legalized in many states, and is even sold as a medical treatment in others, you could never use a credit card to purchase it, even legally. For the most part, banks are not allowed to accept or give financial services to marijuana companies. It’s still a federally banned substance, but now the doors are opening. Washington state and Colorado are just a few places that have legalized marijuana sales through use of a credit card.
