Hey, Lay off of my Debit Card!!

[mmscfdcsu]

I have never used a debit card. My financial advisor says they are unsafe and have fewer protections than a credit card. Um...you can't get into credit card debt if you pay the bill in full every month.

[attyfan]

I have never used a debit card. My financial advisor says they are unsafe and have fewer protections than a credit card. Um...you can't get into credit card debt if you pay the bill in full every month.

I heard the same thing ... apparently the 50 limit that you can get hit with if your credit card is lost or stolen doesn't apply to debit cards. I'm another who uses only a credit card -- that is paid off in full each month, so no debt.

[Skate Talker]

I also never use debit. I use credit card 99.99% of the time except for purchases under about $7.00. Like Anita18, I pay off the card in full each month, (in fact it is automatically paid from my chequing account on the due date), and find this is absolutely the best method for me to keep track of my expenses each month. And I too have been in the habit of only transferring enough money into my chequing account just before that date so that I can maximize any interest in my savings account. In addition I have a cash-back credit card. When my mother re-furnished her living room we used my card for the transactions. The due date on it always worked out really great compared to her own credit card. We were able to keep her money in her savings account for almost an additional month and she was definitely getting a good interest rate there, so both of us were winning on these transactions.

On the other hand, I seem to recall a recent news story up here in Canada, that merchants were trying to encourage consumers to use their debit cards instead of their credit cards because the bank fee to the merchant is significantly LESS for the debit card. Of course, if at all possible they would prefer the consumers to use cash rather than any type of card, but although the odd merchant was offering reduced charges for cash transactions, not too many were going that far. Merchants were basically telling consumers that the more they use credit cards the more everyone will be paying for their purchases because of course the merchants couldn't possibly absorb these costs. (When have they ever been willing to do that?)

[canbelto]

I don't use debit either except to get money out of the ATM. I use my credit card, but pay off my balance in full each month so they don't make money off of me.

[nubka]

I like to use my debit card, because it's easier for me to hang onto the receipts and keep track of how much money I'm spending (I deduct them from my check ledger every week.) I don't use on-line banking because I feel like it doesn't always give a totally acurate picture of how much money I really have at any given time. Also, computers can be testy, so I like knowing that I can pick up my checking register and always know what my balance is.

If I used my credit card all month long, I would be in for a very nasty suprise everytime the bill came in...

[milanessa]

I like to use my debit card, because it's easier for me to hang onto the receipts and keep track of how much money I'm spending (I deduct them from my check ledger every week.) I don't use on-line banking because I feel like it doesn't always give a totally acurate picture of how much money I really have at any given time. Also, computers can be testy, so I like knowing that I can pick up my checking register and always know what my balance is.

If I used my credit card all month long, I would be in for a very nasty suprise everytime the bill came in...

You do what's comfortable for you and that's good. But can't you keep the credit card receipts and achieve the same result? You can subtract them from your register just like a debit card receipt knowing that that money is spent. Doesn't really matter, like I said whatever is comfortable for you as long as you know you're losing a lot of benefit and protection.

[nubka]

You do what's comfortable for you and that's good. But can't you keep the credit card receipts and achieve the same result? You can subtract them from your register just like a debit card receipt knowing that that money is spent. Doesn't really matter, like I said whatever is comfortable for you as long as you know you're losing a lot of benefit and protection.

Yes, I thought about that as I was typing that post, lol! I guess I'm just a creature of habit and luuuuuv my debit card...

[Rex]

I food shop around once or twice a month and I can easily put more than these puny amounts on my debit card! .

Don't be gittin' all stoopid, Mr. Greedy Bank Executives; you will get stomped!

[skaternum]

The problem with this is, it will only hurt the customer. I use my debit card a lot, and often it's more than $50. It's a great way to stay out of debt and not have to carry cash. If they cap it, what option does that give me? I now have to use credit, putting me into debt.

Well, if you pay the bill at the end of the month, it's not really "debt" to me. Technically you have a credit card, but you're never going to carry a balance on it.

[Polymer Bob]

I have a Dividend Mastercard. I only use my debit card for the ATM.

[danceronice]

Does anyone still use cards that DON'T have a Visa/MasterCard logo on them? Even my credit union debit/check card is a Visa. I can run it however I want.

[Spareoom]

I don't know if this counts, but Target offers store credit and debit cards that aren't Visa.

[NancyNC]

I use my debit card (which is also a Visa card) for 75% of my transactions. My bank (Wachovia, now part of Wells Fargo) has a fantastic fraud unit. They have contacted me a few times to make sure it was me making a purchase. My husband's card number was obtained and used in Tennessee while we were on vacation in Florida. Wachovia called him and when he confirmed that he wasn't in Tennessee using it, they canceled the card number. He wasn't liable for any of the fraud in Tennessee (it was a few hundred dollars).

[WindSpirit]

Another fan of credit unions here, although I only use credit unions for savings right now, so I've never used a debit card for one. But I belong to 2 credit unions that are giving me between 6-7.25% on my cash.

For a regular savings account? If yes, I obviously belong to the wrong credit union.

The dinky saving account attached to my main checking account (which I just keep for more liquid cash) is something like .5%

I get 0.35% And it always makes me laugh when in some months I get less than in previous ones even though the amount in my savings account is always increasing. I need to think about putting my money somewhere else.

As for debit cards, I use mine all the time (always as credit, have never used it as a debit card, don't even remember my PIN) It would suck big time if I had to go back to checks or start carrying cash with me all the time.

I have never used a debit card. My financial advisor says they are unsafe and have fewer protections than a credit card.

I heard leaving one's home is quite dangerous, too.

I've never had a problem with a debit card. The difference in protection doesn't wary much from a credit card. Usually you have less time to notify them about a suspicious transaction/theft.

I can't imagine paying for groceries, etc. with a credit card. I use my credit card online or for stuff like renting cars/paying for hotels/etc. But mostly online.

[KikiSashaFan]

I don't know anyone who has a combination credit/debit card. I use my debit card for everything, and I track it all through my online banking.

[Skittl1321]

I get 0.35%

I only use a debit card to get a deal with my credit union. If there are a certain number of charges a month (12? At an average of $5 a charge, and you have to run it as credit, no PIN) then you get 5% (annual) interest up to $25,000 in the account. After that it's about the rate you mentioned.

I use my debit card until my husband and I hit 12 transactions, and then we put it away. I think it has the same fraud protections as a credit card (it is VISA branded) but with the direct link to the account, I prefer to use a regular credit card (and then we get rewards points from them).

But I use the debit card, because it's a lot of money to give up otherwise!


I'd love to hear what credit unions offer 6-7.25% rates on normal accounts! It's hard to find CDs that even offer any sort of decent rate anymore.

[Karina1974]

I don't know anyone who has a combination credit/debit card.

I have one, through my (local) bank. It's a Mastercard. When I use it, I always select "credit" instead of 'debit" otherwise I will get charged with a $1.00 Point of Sale Purchase charge.

[Wiery]

I just use my credit card and pay the balance every month.

[genevieve]

For a regular savings account? If yes, I obviously belong to the wrong credit union.

Both for saving and checking accounts - but only on the first $500 (which is kind of an important detail). Amounts over that are the regular rate. So I deposit a portion of each paycheck into each of the 3 accounts that earn that high rate. When I get over $500 I either open a CD (not now since CD rates are so crappy), use the $$ to pay something off, or just leave it because even the regular interest rate is higher than what I get at Bank of America.

[numbers123]

I prefer to use the credit card as the credit card protection is a wonderful thing to have. Several years ago when my husband and sons were on a sailing trip, I got a phone call about someone using the credit card in Key West. I veified that my sons used it to rent several movies (whichis where the charge was done) and let the card company know that it was a legit use. Apparently people will do small charges on a stolen card first before using it big time.

My parents gave out some bank information/credit card information about 3 years ago. Immediately after hanging up, they realized that it was most likely a scam and called the card company. Within the time of the scammers getting numbers and parents calling the card company, probably 20 minutes, the card had been used in Little Rock. They were not responsible for the charges.

We had a credit card stolen about 9 years ago. My husband downloads charges on a weekly basis so it was discovered rather quickly. The account was closed and a new card was issued. It was a headache for at least 18 months because we have some annual things, like journal subscription renewals, on an automatic renenwal and had to submit new card information. I can not imagine the headaches associated with a debit card cancelation and new card issued because of the monthly, quarterly and annual things that automatically are deducted.

So for me, using a credit card and paying it off each month makes more sense. As I posted earlier - I use the debit card to withdraw cash. I haven't written a check for at least 2 years, probably more.