Why You Need an Emergency Credit Card

So often you see articles written about building good credit, having a credit card and paying your bill on time to build good credit. I couldn’t agree more, but one thing that is often overlooked is how helpful a credit card can be when you have an emergency.

We recently wrote a post about bank holds and what can happen when banks place a hold on your paycheck. Obviously this isn’t a problem if you have a healthy savings, but not everyone does. And there are a million other things that could happen besides a bank hold that could leave you in a tough position.

In the spirit of “hope for the best, plan for the worst” one of the best solutions is to have an emergency credit card that you keep in case of emergency.

Isn’t that why I have a savings?

Part of having a savings is to allow you to “weather the storm” but having a good credit card to help in these situations can be a huge advantage for you. You may want to try and conserve cash by using the credit card first, or put specific purchases on your credit card and pay other things in cash. Having as many tools available to you when things are tough is always better than not having enough.

What are good emergency credit cards?

Different credit cards do different things and have different features so some make more sense than others. When thinking about a good emergency card consider something with low interest, cash back and flexible repayment options.