How do you use your cards?

[navigatethis12]

---

@Jazzzy wrote:

I just don't feel I've got the same protections with a debit card....and I know I don't have the same protections with cash or check.

---

This is a common misconception. Debit cards have the same protections. Banks are required to credit the funds back to you within a certain time period (ten days?) when you dispute a transaction. With PNC it was instant both times, the first they needed more information and I had to sign something they sent me agreeing that the dispute was finished. The second time it was closed as soon as the credit was issued and no more about it. With Citi it took a little longer because I had to ring and fax things in but the credit was issued within a few days. I also won that dispute and did not lose out on any money.

It is true someone could clone your card and use it to drain your account, but most cards have a limit on how much you can purchase in one day. Most banks also have fraud measures in place. When I used a PNC debit card, multiple times they would ring to make sure large purchases were mine, or if I went a few days without using it and then charged to it. It got to be kind of annoying but I was glad they had such measures in place.

[GeneralCucumbre]

---

@squirrely2005 wrote:

See I plan on using it for everything and not even using my debit card. Is this something that a lot of people do?

---

I used to use my Chase debit card for EVERYTHING (except for online/phone purchases...NEVER use a debit card online or over the phone).  But when the federal government came in and axed the rewards that you could get for using your debit card, I switched over to using my Visa (Chase Sapphire) for everything and I just pay that card in full every month.  That way, I do not get charged interest and I still get a couple of rewards points along the way.

I also have a Citi Dividend MasterCard which the only thing I put on that is my Netflix subscription every month and I will use it here and there from month to month...and I of course pay this in full every month.  

I guess the only card that I actually consider a "credit card" is my USAA MasterCard.  When I say "credit card" I mean that my USAA MasterCard is the card I go to when I have an unexpected expense (auto repair, etc.) and I put it on that because it is my lowest rate card (13.9%).  When I do put something on my USAA I do generally pay it off every month but just in case I need to carry a balance, I do it on that card.

It is all about balancing your budget and spending responsibly.  DO NOT BUY THINGS YOU CANNOT AFFORD!!  (I wish somebody would tell our politicians this...haha!)  I, for example, have a spreadsheet with all of my account balances (credit card, checking, etc) and I have it set up to where all of my credit card account balances are deducted from my checking account balance so I am careful not to get too low in the bank to where I cannot pay in full then I will have to pay interest on top of that.

This was something I had to really get used to because, like I said, I used my debit card for EVERYTHING and I never worried about deducting credit card account balances from my checking account because I never used them.  All I had to do was log on and see if I had enough money in the bank and I would just slide away.  It does take some time to get used to but it really isn't that difficult.  Again, it is all about RESPONSIBLE SPENDING.

[Roarmeister]

I use my Interac debit card for most of my transactions except cafeteria meals where they only take cash or other low value transactions.  (Canadians have the highest use of Interac debit in the world.)  I haven't had a true debit card in years (I got it back in 1982 shortly after they were introduced in Canada with my credit union).  When I changed institutions, I dropped the debit card (actually a combination of bank card/Interac debit and Mastercard).  Since I am carrying a balance I am not charging to the CCs at the moment.  Cheques are used very rarely.

I will use CCs for any number and kind of transactions - gas, groceries, small amounts, large amounts, on the road and locally and on-line purchases.  I collect AirMiles on 2 of the CCs.  I use the them for purchases of electronics to increase my effective product warranty.  Use the business CC for meals, hotels and travel.  When my new reward cards come in the mail, I plan to transact my utility bills through them and PIF before billing date (or occasionally pay on the due date).

[Open123]

These days, I pretty much use my credit card for everything, even the $1.50 purchase at the Supermarket.

I carry cash for tipping and for those few "cash" only small restaurants and stores.  I can't even remember the last time I used a debit card.  Even when I need cash, I'll just use Discover's cash over feature after making a purchase.

What you might try is to designate a card for purchases reward you the highest.  

For example:

1.  Use Ink Bold for all 5X office purchases.

2.  Use CSP for 2X restaurant and travel.

3.  Use PRG for 3X airfare.

4.  Use a 1.5% card for all non bonus spending.

5.  Use BCE/BCP for all grocery related spending

6.  Use 5% rotating category cards for their categories ONLY.

Categorize and maximize your spending with the cards you have based on rewards.  Really an infinite amount of combinations, but a rule of thumb is to never use a card unless you derive more than 1% reward on spending.

[iMacDrew]

BCP- Supermarket/groceries

Discover more/ Chase Freedom- 5% rotating categories

Navy Fed Flagship/ Everything else

Zync- Phone/Cable/internet all other bills

[jsucool76]

---

@navigatethis12 wrote:

---

@Jazzzy wrote:

I just don't feel I've got the same protections with a debit card....and I know I don't have the same protections with cash or check.

---

This is a common misconception. Debit cards have the same protections. Banks are required to credit the funds back to you within a certain time period (ten days?) when you dispute a transaction. With PNC it was instant both times, the first they needed more information and I had to sign something they sent me agreeing that the dispute was finished. The second time it was closed as soon as the credit was issued and no more about it. With Citi it took a little longer because I had to ring and fax things in but the credit was issued within a few days. I also won that dispute and did not lose out on any money.

It is true someone could clone your card and use it to drain your account, but most cards have a limit on how much you can purchase in one day. Most banks also have fraud measures in place. When I used a PNC debit card, multiple times they would ring to make sure large purchases were mine, or if I went a few days without using it and then charged to it. It got to be kind of annoying but I was glad they had such measures in place.

---

I used to get phone calls and text messages from both Chase and ally anytime I made a large purchase over the internet (from store websites and amazon and stuff) asking me if it was really me who did it and to verify some info before they allowed it to clear my account. 

[cashnocredit]

The daily limit on debit cards is another reason to prefer CCs. Debit cards typically have much lower daily limits so even if you have 50k in your bank if your daily limit is 3k you are limited to what you can purchase in a single day.  I ran across this problem with WF back when I had a daily limit of 10k on my debit. There were occassional purchases that exceeded that and I had to arrange for alternate payment or stagger payments.

Even so I had my account drained of 6k from a cloned card. I was damned lucky to have caught this within hours of it happening because I logged on to check the progress of an incoming wire. Back then it wasn't uncommon for me to check my account only every 60 days or so. That experience changed my whole pattern to much more frequent checking of my accounts. I shutter to think what might have happened if a couple weeks went by before it was caught.

So now I can charge well over 20k on either of two cards and not worry.  As a further prophylactic, I had the bank drop my daily limit on the debit to 2k. I may drop it futher.