Credit card vs. Debit card

[dmccarty]

Since this thread has pretty much run it's primary gamut, I have a bit of a hijack question. How many of you remember or ever had an ATM card that was not a credit card format? I remember having just an ATM-only card for many years. Then, one day, a debit card showed up in the mail. I wasn't really happy about that because I had to learn a new PIN. Also, many/most businesses couldn't do debit card transactions.

My ATM card has always looked like a CC. At first it could only be used at the ATM. Then debit payments showed up but the card size/shape stayed the same. My PIN has been the same for decades.

Later,
dan

 

[Western]

I won't give it to waiter/waitress at a restaurant. If I don't pay at the register where I can see my card at all times, I will pay cash. It's a bit of a pain to make sure I have the cash, but it's just what I do.

Ditto here
3 years ago, my business debit card # was stolen. My banker calls me and ask me "whens the last time you where in Chicago?" I said around 1991 at O'Hare AP.
He said " OK, seems you went shopping at a WalMart and a gas station" I laughed until he told me I spent over 2k!!!. The bank covered me on the debit card. (I had to file a police report). The bank investigator said the # was likely stolen at a restaurant when I took the crew. They use "skimmers" I beleive he said, but small enough to keep in a purse , less likely option was a "skimmer" at a fuel pump.

 

[Bird]

Since this thread has pretty much run it's primary gamut, I have a bit of a hijack question. How many of you remember or ever had an ATM card that was not a credit card format? I remember having just an ATM-only card for many years. Then, one day, a debit card showed up in the mail. I wasn't really happy about that because I had to learn a new PIN. Also, many/most businesses couldn't do debit card transactions.

Yep, I had one of those ATM only cards, and like you, I received the Visa debit card in the mail and I'd rather they had stayed with the old ATM only card. However, I didn't have to learn a new PIN. The new card uses the same old PIN that I'd had for years.

 

[grsthegreat]

I still pay all my bills by post office..... i like the service i get here in the boonies from them, so i still use stamps.

But i pay all bills the day they arrive, and i get email confirmations that they were received. so its all good.

 

[chopped]

I enjoy charging everything.. and I mean everything... I then get home and write the purchase into a smlla book so I can check it off when they come in. Never had an issue.I then account for the amount in another book, and 'deduct' it from my checking account (so its like paying cash for me)
The benefits are. I can make large purchase after the card coloses for the month and dont get billed for at least a month,the I pay the bill entirely .
I get paid to do this.(casshback).I get Home Depot cards mostly,This last year I got close to 250 dollars of them..Not a bad perk. I pay online to avoid a stamp also. And as others have said you get some ''protection''
The key here is control I make sure I ahve the cash to backup each purchase at the time.....

 

[SPYDERLK]

Someone explain to me how a debit card can get someone in trouble like a credit card? As mentioned, it's nothing more than a check without the paper. If you don't have the money, it doesn't go through. I think most people have them backed up by a savings account.

By not having access to pocket credit when you really need it. A credit card does not get you in trouble. Not being able to control use of a credit card to stay within your means is a personal problem.
larry

 

[Robert_in_NY]

I like my debit card because for the most part I don't have to carry cash on me anymore. Most anything I would have normally paid cash for before is now just paid with the debit card. The money comes from the same place but I don't have to worry about going to the bank to get more money or making sure I have enough cash on me. And if I am not sure about how much money I have in my account all I do is pull out my phone and all my information is accessed through there (as far as account balance and purchase history).

I do use credit cards for certain things where I don't want to shrink my bank account but need a particular item. I have a couple cards where I get 0% for 6 months on purchases over $200 so I just use them and pay things off before any interest gets charged.

 

[grsthegreat]

The thing about always paying in cash is.....you think twice if you really NEED that item as your counting out the $20's.

easier to spend on any sort of plastic.

Heck, at times i ask the wife how much she spent at the store, she says. Dont know, i put it on the debit card,.....eaaaaaaauu

 

[Bird]

I still pay all my bills by post office..... i like the service i get here in the boonies from them, so i still use stamps.

But i pay all bills the day they arrive, and i get email confirmations that they were received. so its all good.

Percentage wise, the Post Office gets most of it right, but when they don't, it may be a minor thing, or it may not be too minor.:laughing: In addition to the mess I told about in a previous post, I was treasurer for our volunteer fire department when I lived out in the country. We built a new fire station and after the foundation was done, I mailed a check to company that was building the station. That check was never found. When they sent a late notice, and i checked with the bank to make sure the check hadn't cleared, I sent them another check. The original never turned up.

Now the minor things . . . yesterday evening, next door neighbor on the north side gave me an envelope clearly addessed to me, but delivered to him. Once last year, the postman put a letter in our mailbox that belonged to the neighbor on the south side of us, and once I got a letter that belonged to the same house number on the parallel street west of us.

We keep stamps on hand for my wife to send greeting cards.:laughing:

 

[Rfisher7381]

We use a debit card only and have been for at least the past 15 years. I guess I like the fact that you have to have the cash up front to make the purchase. Our bank offers to link your savings account to the checking account so if you run short they automatically transfer from the savings. I DISABLED THIS FEATURE. My concern is that if my debit card is stolen they can clean out my checking AND my savings. I usually keep only a 1,000 or so in checking and transfer from savings as needed.