I use credit for the rewards. I pay all my bills on credit minus student loans, rent, car insurance, credit card bills, car payments, and some small recurring purchases that are on autopay through my checking account. I use my CC for gas, groceries, and sometimes when I buy fun things that are large purchases, I will split the bill half debit and half credit. I have 2 debit cards: one tied to my income at a credit union and one for Target (for 5% cash back!). I also use my debit for fast food purchases sometimes. But another goal of using CC is to free up cash flow. My pay checks just sit nicely in my account until it is time to pay off my CC usage for the month and the other things listed. Trying to get a high limit card (5K vs 2.5K) to use sparingly to keep the account active and then use for a vacation down the road to purchase airline tickets, rental car and hotel. Then pay it off with the money I saved for the vacation.
I went through bad credit drama 5-7 years ago and all I had was a debit card and had to use it for everything. Now it sits in my wallet most of the time unused and I have built up almost $100 in cash from Cap1 by using their card. I get nothing when I use my debit card. Occasionally, the CU will have cash back offers on things I plan to purchase that is better than 1% cash back and I use it under those circumstances too.
I went through bad credit drama 5-7 years ago and all I had was a debit card and had to use it for everything. Now it sits in my wallet most of the time unused and I have built up almost $100 in cash from Cap1 by using their card. I get nothing when I use my debit card. Occasionally, the CU will have cash back offers on things I plan to purchase that is better than 1% cash back and I use it under those circumstances too.
Cards: Orchard Bank ($1100) | Cap1 Cash Rewards ($2500) | Chase Freedom ($1000) | Best Buy ($2500) | Discover It ($1000) | Barclay Rewards ($2500) | Current scores: EX FAKO: 684, CK TU: 649, FICO EQ: 680, FICO TU: 698, FICO EX: 658 Happy Homeowner Since 2/6/13!
@MovingForward_2012 wrote:
Occasionally, the CU will have cash back offers on things I plan to purchase that is better than 1% cash back and I use it under those circumstances too.
Don't forget that credit cards not only offer cash back but also provide a lot of worthy benefits such as warranty extension and purchase protection. If I ever use my debit card for purchases, it'd be for food and drinks primarily. 
Yes I do the same thing. Sometimes the CU offers cash back on food and I use it for that. I did use it once for a Netflix free trial for $10 cash back. DH liked Amazon Prime better so we cancelled before being charged and I earned $10 just for trying it! That was nice 
I use credit for the following reasons:
1. It's a lot easier to buy something. Checks are more problematic these days and close to useless for phone or internet purchases/
2. Wiring money is a PITA and can take overnight or, even if you are lucky, a few hours. While I've authorized the bank to do wires based on a verbal it still takes time.
3. Buying something expensive in person with cash is getting harder. Virtually no biz wants to file an IRS cash transaction report which is required for >10k. I don't care that the info is reported but it still requires giving someone your ss#. Some biz's simply refuse to take large amounts of cash. One can use a debit card if you have set the daily limit high enough but that also increases the general risk from debit card id theft.
4. Renting cars is complicated and sometimes not possible with cash or even a debit card. CCs also usually provide supplimental insurance.
5. Protecting my bank account from getting drained due to id theft.
Less than 4 years ago I had to do one or more of the above. It was a motivating factor to address my lack of credit.
As far as using credit to acquire debt, I haven't done that in 30 years and am not about to start now.
Oh, and the perks are nice. Airport lounges and various rewards but these are secondary to the reasons above. My first secured CC accomplished about 90% of what I needed but it's nice to have good credit and the frills it brings.
For large purchases with a debit card, you can have them run it as credit instead of debit and it will go through. Had to do that several years ago when I bought a laptop on my debit card as the limit is $500 per single debit transaction (I think). Not sure if all debit cards have the credit feature or not.
@MovingForward_2012 wrote:
For large purchases with a debit card, you can have them run it as credit instead of debit and it will go through. Had to do that several years ago when I bought a laptop on my debit card as the limit is $500 per single debit transaction (I think). Not sure if all debit cards have the credit feature or not.
The daily limit applies to credit type transactions, not just pin based debit ones. At the time I had a daily ATM limit of $600 but transaction limit of 10k. However, 2 or 3 times a year I would need to buy something exceeding that and would have to arrange a wire or wait for a check to clear. Not annoying enough to fix my credit earlier but I haven't had to do that since. I also had the bank reduce my debit card limit to 2k for safety. I still use it on occasion for ATM cash.
@kekrre wrote:
@ccnewcc wrote:
@Repo-ed wrote:To protect my bank account from identiy theft.
Do you have a bank account from 1968??
In 2012, my bank accounts are fully protected from id theft and i am ZERO % responsible.
Time to fix your time machine, heh?
Are you also protected if your rent or mortgage bounces because somebody skimmed your debit card and tried to buy a TV, thus triggering an account lockdown? Are you willing to put the time and effort in to remove late fees for payments outside the bank, potentially remove negative information from your credit report, etc.?
http://www.npr.org/2012/10/24/163572774/crooks-target-barnes-and-nobles-pin-pad-devices
This happened in stores I had visited. It's not worth it to expose your checking account (i.e. your money) to the world of skimming/fraud if you can help it, just because your bank promises you that they'll look out for you. I do 99.9% of all my banking electronically, I keep my accounts as secure as possible with strong PW, 2-factor authentication where offered, alerts, etc. I take advantage of my banks' 1-time/fixed limit temporary number generators when offered and I have completely stopped using my primary debit card. I have a second checking account with a bank where I make cash deposits, and that money is a) limited and b) isolated from my main checking account.
Some may think it's excessive, but I promise myself I won't get taken advantage of.
Anyway, end of soapbox. I use CC exclusively for shopping protection, fraud/theft protection, rewards for spending and for the fact that CC spending (when handled responsibly) builds credit, while debit card spending does nothing but finance other people's CC rewards (through inflated prices).
If you say that cash is king, remember that your cash is going to finance my 3% swipe fee
+1
Is there even one advantage of using a debit card?