Community Chat

[beckyb1012]

Never had a debit card and never will.

[songbird]

My first and only civilian job (non academic) was with a bank.  They were introducing Debit cards.  I was put in that section.  I even made the cards.  At first I liked it.  It was like shopping with cash, but a card.  Later on I realized it's not great to use in stores. It's linked to your checking account.  I still have my card, but I only use it on the ATM, never stores. 

[Stray]

I use credit cards only.  I see no advantage to a debit card.  We pay our credit cards in full monthly.   My husband and I use one bank credit card & I have my QVC Card, AE & Nordstrom.   I prefer AE for travel as it's seamless to get reimbursement in the event of cancellation which happened during the pandemic.   Our bank picked up a fraud attempt immediately & put safeguards on our accounts.  We get considerable cash back from points accumulated with card use; we use our bank credit card for almost all purchases.   We travel a lot & many countries do not accept debit cards & there are safeguards when you use your card abroad.  

I also get notifications for purchases over a certain amount or when I hit a certain balance which helps me keep track of expenditures.  I don't care for the idea of an outside connection to our savings/checking accounts. 

For us, we have no reason to use a debit card as ccs have served our purpose 

[We rescue cats]

We use both, but use a credit card more often. My debit card was compromised years ago and my hubby's was just a few weeks ago but he is an accountant, he checks our accounts daily.

[jackiejenny]

Credit card only~~~

[sunshine45]

i use both.

my debit card has a visa symbol and is tied to a checking account that i dont keep tons of money in and is not connected to any savings account. anytime it has been compromised it took me less than 24 hours for them to put the money back into the account. i also receive fraud alerts if the purchase/charge is over a certain amount of money that i have set on that card.

i prefer to use a credit card because i want all the mileage, cash back, travel rewards, gifts, and points for my expenditures. every little bit that i get back helps! i especially LOVE getting free airline tickets and hotel room stays. of course, it also offers me purchase protection and fraud alerts.

[Magicrat]

If you use your debit card as a credit card , by not using your pin number,  you have the same protection as a credit card.  If hacked, your money will be refunded.

[Sage04]

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@Magicrat wrote:

If you use your debit card as a credit card , by not using your pin number,  you have the same protection as a credit card.  If hacked, your money will be refunded.

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It's also protected if you use the pin. I've read here a few times that a Debit Card isn't protected but those of us who use our Debit Cards know better.

[shoptilyadropagain]

I have both cards.  I only use my debit card at the ATM but, occasionally, I will use it at my local grocery store for small purchases.  I run it as a credit card.  I'm not sure why I pull it out rather than my credit card but I've got to remember to stop doing it.

[occasionalrain]

I use my Amazon Chase cc only for Amazon purchases because I get 5% cash back.

To me, not using ccs that give me cash back is throwing  money away.

Also, having multiple ccs and paying them off every month increases my credit score and having an excellent credit rating lowers interest rates when taking out a mortgage or any other loan. As far as I know, using debit cards has no effect on credit ratings.