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A comment on If you didn't cancel the credit card you used for linode.com, now is the time. Parent comment

Re:If you didn't cancel the credit card you used for linode.... by rosser on Thursday June 06, 2013 @02:41PM (#5834352)
By using a credit card you immediately have a debt whether you like it or not.

Credit cards are only debt if you treat them like debt. I use the shit out of mine, but pay the full balance pretty much every month. There's a lot of convenience, I'm fully protected from fraudulent activity, and I have a stupid amount of points/miles/whatever for free (or at least cheap) travel, to boot — I flew to .au a couple years ago for free on that basis, for example.

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Re:If you didn't cancel the credit card you used for linode.... by jalons on Thursday June 06, 2013 @03:11PM (#5834540)
Your balance is irrelevant - your available credit line is debt, as at any moment you can be liable for up to that amount.
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Re:If you didn't cancel the credit card you used for linode.... by doktrin on Thursday June 06, 2013 @03:31PM (#5834646)
Your available credit line is not debt, and I can't recall ever hearing of anyone being held accountable for fraudulent purchases made against their account. Does this happen?
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Re:If you didn't cancel the credit card you used for linode.... by ahonhn on Tuesday June 11, 2013 @05:53AM (#5860723)
Credit card terms vary from country to country.

Here (Singapore) card conditions were recently changed so that you would only be liable for the first $100 of fraudulent transactions (assuming you can prove it wasn't you). I think the bank can still hold you liable for more if they find you were negligent about guarding your card details.

Prior to these condition changes, I remember being told by the bank that you would be liable for all charges incurred before you had reported the card physically stolen or lost.

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Re:If you didn't cancel the credit card you used for linode.... by mikeash on Thursday June 06, 2013 @03:57PM (#5834802)
In the US, you have zero liability for fraudulent charges made on your card without a valid signature, by law.
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Re:If you didn't cancel the credit card you used for linode.... by dllthomas on Friday June 07, 2013 @06:24PM (#5842448)
I wound up being held accountable for a small amount because I missed a deadline in the follow-up paperwork. So yes, it happens, but only when it doesn't matter much.
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Re:If you didn't cancel the credit card you used for linode.... by mikeash on Thursday June 06, 2013 @03:30PM (#5834640)
If I have a $10,000 credit limit and $0 balance, my debt is $10,000? At any moment I can be liable for up to $10,000? How does that work?
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Re:If you didn't cancel the credit card you used for linode.... by rosser on Thursday June 06, 2013 @03:37PM (#5834682)
How does that work?

It doesn't. The GP comment is FUD.

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Re:If you didn't cancel the credit card you used for linode.... by waterlesscloud on Thursday June 06, 2013 @04:04PM (#5834840)
It is, however, an element of your credit score.
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Re:If you didn't cancel the credit card you used for linode.... by caw on Thursday June 06, 2013 @05:05PM (#5835167)
In that your credit score has a factor of actual debt to total credit. Someone with $1000 of debt on $100,000 in credit is much better off than someone with $1000 of debt on $5,000 of credit.

So things like car loans and mortgages could be bad, since they start at 100% and go down.

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Re:If you didn't cancel the credit card you used for linode.... by mkopinsky on Thursday June 06, 2013 @04:41PM (#5835031)
Credit utilization is another element though. It's bad if you have too big a line of credit, but good if you have a historically low ratio of (debt/available credit).
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Re:If you didn't cancel the credit card you used for linode.... by marshray on Thursday June 06, 2013 @04:19PM (#5834904)
If you're uninsured in the US and break your leg, yes, your debt is now $10,000.
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Re:If you didn't cancel the credit card you used for linode.... by rosser on Thursday June 06, 2013 @04:22PM (#5834923)
...which is utterly irrelevant to credit cards.
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Re:If you didn't cancel the credit card you used for linode.... by mikeash on Thursday June 06, 2013 @04:22PM (#5834919)
Or much higher, but this is unrelated to credit cards.
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Re:If you didn't cancel the credit card you used for linode.... by marshray on Thursday June 06, 2013 @04:29PM (#5834962)
"A credit card would give me the ability to instantaneously take on $10,000 in debt. I don't want this." is a responsible and admirable position for someone to take.
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Re:If you didn't cancel the credit card you used for linode.... by mikeash on Thursday June 06, 2013 @04:57PM (#5835128)
Agreed, but once again irrelevant, as that's not what anybody in this thread of conversation has said.
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