You need one to rent a car. I haven't had one for 3 years, but when I went on vacation & couldn't rent a car I almost went into melt down.
A car is essential in many parts of the US.

Get one & keep it just in case.

I've linked my SBB mobile account to a credit card so I can purchase tickets on my mobile phone.
And also for a little bit (... ) of online shopping

For everything else there is Mastercard...
... For JD Sports Minority Card is Priceless

Attached Thumbnails

 

my existing CC is now cancelled. now just need to decide if i will apply for the new one or not. right now, i can't be bothered, but i figure i might curse myself later on

More like 1% (for Mastercard and Visa, I believe Amex are more) and in the EU and Switzerland this can be passed on - try buying something from Digitec and you'll see.

Of course this is then abused by companies like Ryanair who charge vastly more than the credit card fee as their charge for CC payment.

Hotels, restaurants, Italian highway tolls, Italian supermarkets, internet shopping...

Tom

Sigh...and here I am without a credit card. PostFinance just refused my application, I still wonder why!

Merchant fees are much higher than 1% for sure! Whether Mastercard or Visa get just the 1% is entirely possible as they have to pay the rest of people in the pyramid scheme to get that 1%.

Well this is likely to vanish or be included in the price just like airport surcharges, I think they still quote flight tickets without airport fees and taxes in north america!

hit my first credit card snafu today - tried to buy an android app - credit card was refused (not surprising since i cancelled it) and google doesn't offer an option other than credit cards to buy apps.

rrrright... and you don't think someone has thought of doing that before?

paying a CC bill with another is treated as a cash advance. usually attracts a 5% fee. how do you think banks get rich??

For those without credit cards, how do you purchase airline tickets? Is Maestro accepted by some airlines/websites? Do you use paypal?

for business travel, i get work to arrange it. for personal travel, i fly swiss and they accept postfinance as a payment method.

for online shopping pay pal is a good alternative
for car rentals, hotels, etc a CC is usually needed as guarantee

I have a Coop Mastercard and a Coop Visa card. No annual charges. Credit charged at 9% per annum.

Essential in my opinion if you intend to travel. Just don't buy anything you can't afford to repay within a few days.

I was looking at the Coop card - I was wondering what kind of limits they give, however. Could I, for example, buy 2 international plane tickets with a bit of room to spare (almost the only reason I want a CH credit card)? We have a US credit card that's fine (no international transaction fees), but paying it is a pain (transferring money to our US bank account, etc.)

The limit/acceptance depends on your income and possible debts, but on the Coop card you typically get a rather low limit (2000 CHF or so) esp. if it is not your only credit card. However if you call them and ask for a higher limit, it's not a problem (as long as your financial situation allows it).

For getting your money back when the merchant goes bankrupt without providing the goods.

I have a miles and more cornercard creditcard. I pay most of my bills with it, petrol, groceries, booking anything onnline (hotel reservations, flights etc all require credit card) and try to have the "swiss mentality" of only purchasing things when needed (as opposed to living on credit). My husband and I have already been on 2 long haul trips with those miles. Not only that, but when you fly with the same airline, they also give you miles. So it's almost like double. So instead of credit card companies using you, you can also use them! I even know of someone who bought land with theirs. Got plenty of air miles! It's a handy tool if you're planning on using it sensibly, and you travel frequently.

Umm you did not mention Debit Card, that can be used in most instances as opposed to Credit Card when cash is not an option, on-line etc, but from comments here believe CC is necessary for Car-hire, I personally would not like to be without a CC for back up, but if your partner has ones then ok.

you definetly need it to book the hotels so you can show the hotel booking and get the Visa. Doesn't matter if you cancel the booking later or pay in cash when you arrive at the hotel.
Also some time to buy stuff from Amazon when they are shipping it to Switzerland.
And many other cases ... mostly when you do buy things outside switzerland i.e. online .