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In addition to all of the previous comments, there's the advantage of the credit card companies monitoring your card activity, and if they see something fishy, they can shut down the card right away and contact you, the consumer. Some card issuers are more proactive than others, but all of them seem to have a sense of urgency when something is just "not right". You're far more likely to get a phone call from your credit card company than from your credit union or bank for your debit card. This is not to say there's NO protection in using a debit card, and I'm sure there are some CU/Banks that may monitor debit card activity. But the monitoring by the "big boys" is legendary.
@dddewdrop wrote:Also,, for me using credit cards increases the risk that I will go into debt so I mostly use my bank card. I feel it is safer in the long run for me because when I use a credit card I sometimes don't want to pay the bill so I let it go and could end up back in debt. To the person who was saying that "smart people don't use debit cards" I say that is untrue.
You know, there are those who feel using your "own" money will cause you to spend more, while using a CC knowing you have to pay it back will cause you to spend less.
The difference is during a case of fraud, a debit card's funds are credited immediately as a "courtesy" while the Bank investigates. They certainly aren't required by law to do so. Furthermore, if funds are fraudently withdrawn from your bank account, unless you notifiy them within 60 days, you're no longer entitled to recover them.
In the case of credit card, by Federal law, you're only liable up to $50 for fraud period.
I had a friend who was the victim of fraud on his debit card, likely card skimming at a gas station. He had >$20,000 drained from his checking account before fraud detection caught on, and that money was "gone" for almost 2 weeks while they tried to clean up the mess.
Bottom line: ALWAYS USE CREDIT WHEN YOU CAN.
@bribro wrote:I had a friend who was the victim of fraud on his debit card, likely card skimming at a gas station. He had >$20,000 drained from his checking account before fraud detection caught on, and that money was "gone" for almost 2 weeks while they tried to clean up the mess.
Bottom line: ALWAYS USE CREDIT WHEN YOU CAN.
The bank was violating the law when they made your fiend wait until their investigation was finished to credit the account back. Visa requires that the money be put back within five days and the law says it has to be within ten days.
I'm not one to use a debit card except for Capital One's 20 cents on each purchase, but I think people are way too paranoid about the card being skimmed. How many times has the credit card you use been skimmed? A credit card and debit card have the same chance of getting skimmed or hacked into, so you really aren't safer using a credit card over a debit card. I have had credit card information compromised, but never a debit card. It's not really a good idea to keep all money in one account for many reasons. If you are paranoid about it, you could open another bank account and deposit a few dollars in it and keep it for the times when a debit card is needed.
@navigatethis12 wrote:The bank was violating the law when they made your fiend wait until their investigation was finished to credit the account back. Visa requires that the money be put back within five days and the law says it has to be within ten days.
Thanks! Didn't realize this. Will certainly keep it in mind if my debit cards ever become compromised.
can someone explain to me how to just use credit cards primarily? i relied on debit for sooo long and now that i got a credit card i do want to be safer.
so do i just charge everything i do normally to credit card? then transfer funds and pay it off?
@Open123 wrote:
@Commandolam wrote:I never use my debit card for purchases nowadays. The only thing I use it for is depositing money into my checking account at my bank (I don't use direct deposit, I like going to the bank in person.)
These days, I use mobile deposit exclusively. Now, I'm not sure if it's any safer, but I guess we'll find out in the next several years!
I tried using Chase's mobile deposit but every check I had was too large. What's up with that? At this point just ACH me the funds please.
@navigatethis12 wrote:
@bribro wrote:I had a friend who was the victim of fraud on his debit card, likely card skimming at a gas station. He had >$20,000 drained from his checking account before fraud detection caught on, and that money was "gone" for almost 2 weeks while they tried to clean up the mess.
Bottom line: ALWAYS USE CREDIT WHEN YOU CAN.
The bank was violating the law when they made your fiend wait until their investigation was finished to credit the account back. Visa requires that the money be put back within five days and the law says it has to be within ten days.
I'm not one to use a debit card except for Capital One's 20 cents on each purchase, but I think people are way too paranoid about the card being skimmed. How many times has the credit card you use been skimmed? A credit card and debit card have the same chance of getting skimmed or hacked into, so you really aren't safer using a credit card over a debit card. I have had credit card information compromised, but never a debit card. It's not really a good idea to keep all money in one account for many reasons. If you are paranoid about it, you could open another bank account and deposit a few dollars in it and keep it for the times when a debit card is needed.
While that may be true, for some people that span of 5 to 10 days could mean the difference between the mortgage or rent check either clearing or bouncing. By using a credit card, all that you're tying up is your available credit. I'd much rather that be in dispute than my funds that are set aside for paying bills.