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© Copyright 1998, Jim Loy
Conoco recently sent me a credit card application. I don't like credit cards, but I travel three or four times a year, so a gas card would come in handy. So, I filled it out, and sent it in. And, as I expected, I was turned down. It has happened before. I have had credit card companies actually plead with me, over the phone, to apply for a credit card. And then they turn me down.
I have bad credit. And the reason is: "INSUFFICIENT SATISFACTORY CREDIT HISTORY." And, of course, the reason for that is, I pay cash (occasionally a check) for everything. Besides being a month or two late in paying utility bills (because I forget to pay), the only person that I have owed any money to, in the last 25 years, is my brother. I paid him back, OK?
I had a Master Card, once. I had it for a couple of weeks. I decided to use it to order some film for my camera, to see if the card worked. They refused to pay. I never bothered to figure out why. I just cut up the card, and haven't had one since.
Anyway, it has always seemed strange, to me, that I have "bad credit" when I always pay, and have almost never owed money. I used to feel insulted by this. But, I guess it doesn't matter. It is not worth it to establish "good credit." The only thing I could use credit for is a gas card that I would use three or four times a year. Traveller's checks are handy enough for me.
See Exxon and Me.