Debit vs. Credit Cards

[zzvyb6]

There must be a certain thrill in paying for a $.99 + tax burger with any kind of a card that's not maxed out. Don't have to carry the $.94 in change around from your 2 bucks that will ultimately foul up the laundry.

 

[MossRoad]

Why would anyone use a debit card instead of a credit card? There seems to be no advantage to a debit card. And if you pay it off monthly, several advantages to a credit card.

RSKY

We have both a credit card and a debit card.

The debit card is paid off immediately because it draws directly from the account, so there's no bill to pay at the end of the month. We get a nice, itemized statement that we can see what we bought. Plugs directly into our financial software electronically. Here's some of the benefits we get with the debit card:
Cash back
Travel miles
Zero Liability on unauthorized purchases
24/7 emergency services.
ID theft protection
ID theft alerts
Satisfaction Guarantee up to 60 days if a store won't accept a return
Extended warranty (doubles original warranty)
Purchase Assurance (90 day coverage on damaged or stolen purchases)

For all intents and purposes, it's a Mastercard without the loan, and a plastic check book in one. You have to have the money in your account before you use it. That instills discipline (not that we need it at this stage in our life).

The credit card is tied to a home equity line of credit that we can borrow against if needed. We rarely use it, but have purchased large items, like cars, building materials for a garage addition, vacation rentals, etc. We almost always pay it off before it's due, but have taken a couple/three months to pay it off once in a while on really large purchases so we don't drain the bank account all at once.

The advantage to the home equity line of credit for us is that it is considered a mortgage. We have a mortgage exemption that saves on property taxes. So long as we never spend more in interest payments on that card than we'd have payed in the property taxes saved, we're ahead. In the 25 years that we've had it, we never paid more than a few hundred dollars in interest per year.

We see no advantage to a credit card over our debit card other than the ability/temptation to take out a loan on the spot.

 

[MossRoad]

It's mind boggling to me how few businesses will offer a cash discount anymore.

We're seeing a lot of small businesses that do offer cash discount, AND some that ONLY accept cash. Especially restaurants.

 

[MossRoad]

...And the seller pays the trnasaction fee not the buyer, hope this helps

Kinda but probably not. They have the cost of the transaction fee built into the price of the item/service. If someone pays cash, they just make more profit for themselves. No smart business is going to take a loss on credit card purchases. They're going to pass it along to the consumer by building it into the price up front.

 

[bnold]

Credit card for everything unless a discount can be recovered by paying cash/debit that outweighs the credit card rewards. (Rare).


The most protection and the most reward.

AMEX if possible.

 

[scootr]

AMEX !

You should know AMEX is the only major credit card company that requires merchants to sign a waver allowing AMEX to use the customers purchase history information for profit.
I wouldn't let my dog carry this card. And we banned it's use in protest at our business.

 

[Snobdds]

This thread is funny...we have reached peak over saturation of ambiguity when one does not understand the difference between cash and credit.

 

[Snobdds]

What if one does not qualify for a credit card, what do they use...

A debit card.

A debit card allows for people with no credit to function in a digital society. I can't wait for the thread about prepaid debit cards. Minds are going to be blown.

 

[NoTrespassing]

I use debit cards exclusively. No high interest credit cards for me. The debit card accesses cash I hold without having to carry cash. I earn 2% on each purchase. Yes earn 2%, have for years. And the seller pays the trnasaction fee not the buyer, hope this helps

At what institution do you get 2% on debit card purchases?

 

[Snobdds]

I have never seen a debit card offer cash back or incentives to use it. Just because I have never seen it does not mean it dosen't exist.

I have seen a credit card off lots of incentives to use the card more.