How we make money: This page has no affiliate, referral, or paid links. We earn nothing if you open, keep, or close any card named here. If we ever add a paid link, it will be labeled "Paid link" right next to it, and this box will change. Card terms change often, so check the issuer's site before you apply.

Independent site: PointFam is an independent site for families who use cards and points for travel. It is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by Ramsey Solutions, the U.S. Department of Defense, or any branch of the U.S. military. Views are the author's own.

Not advice: Nothing on this page is legal, tax, or financial advice. If your household relies on military fee relief, that treatment is issuer policy, not a legal guarantee.

If you carry a balance, fix that first. If you paid any credit card interest in the last few months, the rest of this page is not for you yet, and neither are our card guides. On that point we agree with Ramsey completely. Pay the balance down, stop adding to it, and come back when every statement is paid in full. No reward, lounge, or travel credit on any card we write about is worth paying interest to get.

Last verified: October 5, 2026. Every Ramsey quote links to the page it came from, and every card benefit links to the issuer page we checked that day.

Plenty of families got out of debt by following Dave Ramsey's plan, and plenty of them still follow it. That deserves respect. His company's position on credit cards is clear and consistent: you do not need one, and you should not use one, even if you pay it off.

We see it a little differently, but only for one kind of reader: a family that already budgets, already has its debt handled, and already pays every statement in full. For that household, a card used inside the budget can add real travel value. For everyone else, Ramsey's hard line is a good line.

This page tries to be fair to both sides. We quote Ramsey Solutions' own published pages, not social media posts or secondhand summaries. We use government data on interest and balances, not guesses. And we point to issuer pages for every card benefit we mention.

The short version:

  • Carrying a balance? Follow Ramsey's rule. We agree with him on that completely.
  • Where he is right: interest, fees, and extra spending can outweigh rewards, and a card should never be your emergency fund.
  • Where we disagree: only the absolute "no," and only for households that budget first and pay every statement in full.
  • What a card can add for those households: rewards on spending you were already doing, travel protections, and credits on travel you would book anyway (minus the annual fee).

Where Ramsey is right

Start with the parts we agree with, because they matter most.

Debt is dangerous, and interest can erase rewards. Ramsey Solutions' article "Do I Need to Use a Credit Card?" by Jade Warshaw (last updated Aug 11, 2026) puts it plainly: "Credit card rewards may sound like free money, but interest, fees and extra spending can quickly outweigh the points, miles or cash back you earn" (Ramsey Solutions, Do I Need to Use a Credit Card?). We agree. A rewards card that carries a balance is almost always a losing trade.

A card is a loan. In "How Do Credit Cards Work?" (Jade Warshaw, last updated Aug 14, 2026), the page says: "A credit card is a high-interest loan from a bank that lets you spend money you don't have" (Ramsey Solutions, How Do Credit Cards Work?). That framing is useful. Every swipe is borrowed money until the statement is paid.

The numbers back him up. This is not a small problem:

  • The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's 2025 credit card market report found that consumers were assessed $160 billion in interest charges in 2024, up from $105 billion in 2022, and that the share of accounts that revolve a balance was around 50 percent (CFPB report landing page; CFPB 2025 report PDF).
  • The Federal Reserve's consumer credit release (dated September 8, 2026) shows an average APR of 22.15% on credit card accounts that were assessed interest, in its most recent quarterly reading (May 2026) (Federal Reserve G.19).

Ramsey Solutions' own article cites the same two figures, "22.15% for accounts carrying a balance" and "$160 billion in 2024, up from $105 billion just two years earlier," through its own footnotes (Ramsey Solutions, Do I Need to Use a Credit Card?). We link the government sources directly so you can read them yourself.

Put those together: roughly half of card accounts carry a balance, and those that do pay interest at rates above 20%. No 1% or 2% reward comes close to covering that.

People who overspend should not chase points. "Paying your balance in full every month doesn't eliminate the risk of overspending with a credit card," says Ramsey Solutions' "The Truth About Credit Card Rewards" (last updated Aug 28, 2026) (Ramsey Solutions, The Truth About Credit Card Rewards). That is true. Paying in full stops interest. It does not stop you from buying things you did not plan to buy.

An emergency fund beats a credit line for real emergencies. Ramsey's Warshaw article says you don't need a credit card, "not for fraud protection, emergencies, building credit or rewards" (Ramsey Solutions, Do I Need to Use a Credit Card?). On emergencies specifically, we agree with the direction. Cash you have saved is a better plan than a balance you hope to pay off later. A card should never be your emergency fund.

The pay-in-full line (our house rule)

Every card guide on PointFam assumes one thing: you pay the full statement balance by the due date, every month. Not the minimum. Not "most of it." The full statement balance.

In our household, we pay every statement in full, every month. Every card is on autopay for the full statement balance. That is how we never carry a balance.

The credits we actually use most years are the Platinum airline fee credit, the Platinum hotel credit, Uber Cash, the Sapphire Reserve travel credit, and the Aspire resort credit. We skip CLEAR+ and Global Entry most years. Those credits only count for us because every statement is already paid in full. We are not claiming a household savings total from them.

If that is not true for your family right now, please do not use our card guides to justify more spending. Use Ramsey's plan, or any plan that gets you to zero, and come back later. The cards will still be there.

Here is how we would keep the line in practice:

  1. Budget first, card second. The card pays for things already in the budget. It does not decide what goes in the budget.
  2. Turn on autopay for the full statement balance. A forgotten due date is the fastest way to turn a rewards card into an interest bill.
  3. Watch your categories, not just your balance. If dining or shopping creeps up after you start using a rewards card, that is the overspending risk Ramsey describes. Take it seriously.
  4. One interest charge means stop and reset. If you ever pay interest, pause the points game until you are back to paying in full.

On the behavior question, Ramsey Solutions points readers to research on how cards affect spending (Ramsey Solutions, The Truth About Credit Card Rewards). We are not going to add a number of our own. The honest version is simple. The risk is real, it is bigger for some people than others, and you are the only one who can see it in your own statements.

Where we disagree: the absolute no

This is where we part ways, and we want to be precise about how far.

Ramsey Solutions does not say "be careful with cards." It says no, even for people who pay in full. From the Warshaw article on whether you need a card:

"Is It Okay to Have a Credit Card if You Pay It Off Every Month? No. Even if you pay your balance every month, you're still playing a dangerous game with a company that's betting on you to fail." (Ramsey Solutions, Do I Need to Use a Credit Card?, Jade Warshaw, updated Aug 11, 2026)

From the rewards article:

"Credit card rewards aren't a tool. They're. A. Trap." (Ramsey Solutions, The Truth About Credit Card Rewards, updated Aug 28, 2026)

And from "How Do Credit Cards Work?":

"I'll be honest with you: The best credit card is no credit card." (Ramsey Solutions, How Do Credit Cards Work?, Jade Warshaw, updated Aug 14, 2026)

That page also says: "Even if you pay off your balance every month, you're still more likely to overspend than if you'd used cash" (Ramsey Solutions, How Do Credit Cards Work?).

What we disagree with is the "nobody" part. "More likely to overspend" describes a risk across a lot of people. It is not a prediction about every household. A family that budgets, tracks spending, and pays in full can check its own statements and see whether the card changed its behavior. If it did, Ramsey is right for that family. If it did not, an absolute rule leaves real value on the table.

What that value looks like, honestly. We are not going to tell you a family "saves $X a year." We do not have a number that would be true for your household, and we will not invent one. What we can say is that for a pay-in-full household, the value comes from three places, and only when no interest is ever paid and spending stays inside the budget:

  1. Rewards on spending you were already doing.
  2. Travel protections that come with paying for a trip on certain cards, such as trip cancellation coverage and rental car coverage.
  3. Statement credits on travel you would have booked anyway.

Subtract the annual fee, and subtract anything you bought only to earn points. Whatever is left is your real number. For some families it is positive. For some it is not. A blanket no treats every family as if it were the second kind.

Who pays for rewards? Ramsey Solutions makes another point worth taking seriously: "The 45% of people who don't pay off their balances each month and get slapped with interest payments are the ones paying for your rewards" (Ramsey Solutions, The Truth About Credit Card Rewards). The 45% is their cited figure; the CFPB's own count is about half of accounts revolving (CFPB 2025 report PDF).

This is a fair question about how the card market works, and we do not dismiss it. It is a reason to be humble about rewards. It is not, by itself, a reason a pay-in-full family should pay more for the same travel.

Agree vs disagree, side by side

Every cell links to a primary source: a Ramsey Solutions page, the CFPB, the Federal Reserve, or an issuer page.

We agree with Ramsey We disagree, for pay-in-full households only
Interest, fees, and extra spending can outweigh rewards (Ramsey, Source A). Consumers were assessed $160 billion in interest in 2024 (CFPB). If no interest is ever paid, the interest side of that math is zero. What remains is the annual fee and your own spending discipline.
A credit card is a high-interest loan (Ramsey, Source C). The average APR on accounts assessed interest was 22.15% in May 2026 (Fed G.19). Paying the full statement balance by the due date means that APR is never applied to your purchases.
Paying in full does not remove the risk of overspending (Ramsey, Source B). The risk is real but not universal. A household can check its own category spending and decide based on evidence.
You should not rely on a card for emergencies (Ramsey, Source A). Agreed. Our only disagreement is about planned, budgeted spending, not emergencies.
About half of card accounts revolve a balance (CFPB). That means about half do not. Our card guides are written only for that group.
"The best credit card is no credit card" (Ramsey, Source C). Some cards list trip cancellation and interruption coverage and rental car coverage on the issuer's page (Chase Sapphire Reserve; Amex Platinum). Check whether your debit card offers anything similar. For a family that travels, those can matter.

What a card can add when it is paid in full

These are the benefits that make the difference for a traveling family. All of them come from the issuers' own pages, checked October 5, 2026. None of them are worth anything if you pay interest.

Trip cancellation and interruption coverage

  • Chase Sapphire Reserve: lists trip cancellation and interruption coverage of up to $10,000 per covered traveler and $20,000 per trip (Chase Sapphire Reserve page). Chase's Guide to Benefits defines a Covered Traveler as you and your Family Member, which includes a spouse or domestic partner and children (CSR Guide to Benefits).
  • Amex Platinum: lists up to $10,000 per trip and $20,000 per card per 12 months (Amex Platinum page).

Rental car coverage

  • Chase Sapphire Reserve: lists primary rental car coverage up to $75,000 (secondary inside the U.S. for New York residents) (Chase Sapphire Reserve page).
  • Amex Platinum: lists secondary rental coverage with no liability coverage, and it excludes Australia, Italy, and New Zealand (Amex Platinum page).

Primary versus secondary matters: it decides whether your own auto insurance is involved first.

Travel credits

  • Chase Sapphire Reserve: a travel credit of up to $300 each account anniversary year. Chase says the statement credit is applied automatically to purchases in the travel category, with no enrollment or activation (Chase Sapphire Reserve page; Chase travel credit explainer).
  • Amex Platinum: up to $600 per year in hotel credit ($300 semi-annually) on prepaid Fine Hotels + Resorts or The Hotel Collection bookings, and up to $200 per calendar year in airline fee credit with one selected airline (Amex Platinum page).

Lounge access

  • Amex Platinum: lists the Amex Global Lounge Collection, including Centurion Lounges, 10 Delta Sky Club visits on eligible Delta flights, and Priority Pass (enrollment required) (Amex Platinum page).
  • Chase Sapphire Reserve: lists Priority Pass Select and Chase Sapphire Lounges, with up to two guests (Chase Sapphire Reserve page).

If your family flies often, that can change what a long travel day feels like. Guest rules for kids differ by card and lounge, so read our comparison (linked below) before counting on it.

The fees are real, too. The Platinum's annual fee is $895, and the Sapphire Reserve's is $795 (Amex Platinum page; Chase Sapphire Reserve page). Credits only offset that if you would have spent the money anyway. A credit you chase just to "use it" is the same overspending risk Ramsey warns about, wearing a nicer outfit.

For the full family comparison, including lounge guest rules with kids and which credits are worth the hassle, see our Amex Platinum vs Chase Sapphire Reserve guide. For credit deadlines and what resets on December 31, see our credits expiring calendar.

Military families: fee relief changes the fee side of the math, not the debt rule.

  • The law does not require a $0 annual fee. The Military Lending Act caps the Military Annual Percentage Rate at 36%, but lets issuers leave bona fide, reasonable card fees out of that cap. The rule's own example says "a $400 fee nevertheless may be reasonable" (32 CFR 232.4(d)). Fee waivers are issuer policy.
  • Amex: MLA relief is applied at account opening, and Amex says enrollment is not required (Amex SCRA and MLA FAQ). The FAQ does not use the words "$0" or "fee waived." Some outside reviews describe the Platinum as $0 out of pocket on active duty (based on reports, not an official issuer page) (The Points Guy).
  • Chase: Chase's public SCRA page lists its protections and a Military Services line, 1-877-469-0110, but does not mention an MLA annual fee waiver (Chase SCRA page). Third-party sites report that Chase waives the fee on cards opened during active duty (based on reports, not an official issuer page) (Military Money Manual).
  • Hilton Aspire and other Amex co-brands: Amex's FAQ covers consumer Amex accounts generally; matching the Platinum is not stated on an Aspire-only page (Amex SCRA and MLA FAQ).
  • The debt rule does not change. Having no annual fee is not a license to carry a balance. Interest wipes out fee relief just as fast as it wipes out rewards.

Confirm before you count on it

  • Chase MLA annual fee waiver: based on reports, not an official issuer page. Call Chase Military Services at 1-877-469-0110 and get the answer in writing.
  • Hilton Aspire / Amex co-brand fee relief matching Platinum: not confirmed on the issuer's site. Call 1-866-391-1460.
  • Amex "$0 out of pocket" wording: the Amex FAQ does not say "$0"; that phrasing is based on reports, not an official issuer page (The Points Guy).

More in our military families section: leaving active duty card checklist and military spouse cards.

How to read Ramsey (and us) without picking a team

You do not have to choose a side forever. Here is how we would use both:

  • Use Ramsey if you need a hard stop on debt. If you are carrying a balance, or you know cards make you spend more, his rule is simple, strict, and it works. Cut the cards and follow the plan.
  • Use PointFam only after the debt stop is solid. Our guides assume no balance, a budget, and an emergency fund. If any of those is missing, we are the wrong resource for now.
  • Revisit honestly. A family that pays in full for a year and sees no creep in its spending has learned something real. A family that sees creep has learned something real, too. Both answers are fine. Pretending is not.
  • Judge advice by the evidence, not the messenger. We quote Ramsey Solutions' own pages so you can read their reasoning in full. We link issuer pages so you can check ours.

Reasonable people who care about families' money can disagree on this. The point we agree on, and the one that matters most, is that nobody should pay interest to earn points.

FAQ

Is it okay to have a credit card if I pay it off every month? Ramsey Solutions says no: "Even if you pay your balance every month, you're still playing a dangerous game with a company that's betting on you to fail" (Ramsey Solutions, Do I Need to Use a Credit Card?). Our view is that it can be okay for a household that budgets first, pays the full statement balance every month, and checks that its spending has not crept up. If any of those is shaky, follow Ramsey's rule.

Do rewards make people overspend? They can. Ramsey Solutions says paying in full "doesn't eliminate the risk of overspending with a credit card" (Ramsey Solutions, The Truth About Credit Card Rewards). We agree the risk is real. We do not have a reliable number for how much, and we will not make one up. Your own statements are the best test.

What about using a debit card for hotels and rental cars? Debit works for many bookings, though some hotels and rental counters place holds on your account, so read the policy before you book. The bigger difference for us is coverage. Trip cancellation, trip interruption, and rental car coverage are card benefits listed on the issuers' pages, such as the Chase Sapphire Reserve and Amex Platinum. Check each card's guide for what must be charged to the card for coverage to apply.

Is a card with a big annual fee ever worth it? Only if you would use the benefits without changing your spending, and only if you never pay interest. See our Platinum vs Reserve comparison for a family-by-family way to decide.

Are you affiliated with Ramsey Solutions or any card issuer? No. PointFam is independent. This page has no affiliate, referral, or paid links, and we earn nothing from any card mentioned here.

I am in the military. Does the law make my annual fee $0? No. Fee waivers on cards opened during active duty are issuer policy. The MLA lets issuers exclude bona fide, reasonable fees from its 36% cap (32 CFR 232.4(d)). See the military callout above.

Sources

All checked October 5, 2026. Primary sources first, then outside reports we name in the text.

Ramsey Solutions (quoted pages)

Government

Issuers

Outside reports (not issuer pages; named in the military callout)