My Recent Vacation Showed Why Having a Good Credit Card Is More Important Than Ever

You may run into trouble if you don't have a card in your wallet.

A few weeks ago, my family and I took a trip to Legoland for my son's third birthday. Upon arrival, we discovered something unusual. Legoland had gone cashless. There was no way to purchase anything at the entire park with cash. In fact, when we made a purchase of under $1, we still had to charge the $0.42 on our card.

This trip just underscored to me why having a good credit card is more important than ever.

Our credit card helped us make sure our trip was enjoyable

When we discovered that Legoland had gone cashless, we were lucky that we had a card with us we could use to make all of our purchases -- and that we could earn rewards with as well. 

If we didn’t have our card available to us, we would have been unable to buy anything on the trip unless we'd gone to a store and purchased gift cards -- which would have been a huge hassle and which could have meant we ended up with too much or too little money on the gift cards. 

Since we had a credit card we could use, this wasn't an issue for us. Our trip continued uninterrupted and we were able to buy food, souvenirs, and a birthday gift while enjoying our days there. 

A good credit card will be important at a growing number of businesses 

Legoland is not the only business that has gone cashless. A growing number of retailers are doing the same for many reasons.

Using credit cards only can help speed up transactions. It can also reduce the risk of the store being robbed or missing money because of cashiers making improper change. Stores don't have to make sure they have coins and small bills available either. And cashless businesses began to take off during COVID-19 because germs can travel along with money when it changes hands. 

Since more and more companies are transitioning to accepting only credit cards, it will become more important than ever to have a card in your wallet that you can use. And while you could use a debit card rather than a credit card at these cashless establishments, credit cards can provide better fraud protection than debit cards, they offer rewards that debit cards don't, and you don't have to worry about overdrafting your bank account -- especially if you're going on a trip and the hotel places a deposit on your card in case of incidental spending. 

The good news is, there are plenty of awesome credit cards to choose from -- so if you don't already have a card you like, it may be time to start looking for one. Ideally, you'll find a card that offers bonus rewards well matched to your spending, so you'll be able to earn rewards while you shop with it at all the newly cashless establishments that are cropping up everywhere. 

By getting a card now, you'll be ready the next time you encounter a place that no longer accepts cash.