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Credit card or Debit card?

F

Ferocious

Diamond Member
Of these two options, which do you prefer using to pay for typical things like groceries, gas, books, restaurants, etc.

Credit card for me.
 
Credit card - if stolen by an employee they can only run up a bill, not empty out your bank account and cause all your checks to bounce.
 
debit card. No unnecessary bills at the end of the month.

However, for large purchases, I use the credit card as long as I know I have at least that amount of money in my checking account.

Edit: although with ease of electronic billing today, my argument is pretty moot. I guess it comes down to me being comfortable using my debit card often. Eventually, Ill just shift to using credit card once I set up a checking account with my credit card company so that the bills are automatically paid for.
 
Debit card. But the only reason is that with a debit card I don't have a CC company just waiting for me to make a mistake.
 
Originally posted by: Greenman
Debit card. But the only reason is that with a debit card I don't have a CC company just waiting for me to make a mistake.
Click to expand...

There are plenty of banks that will let you go over on your account amount by default within a margin, if you aren't careful.
 
Credit Card. I use it responsibly as an "extension" or 30 day pay delay of my actual funds, so no problem on that end. I feel especially good using it at my College's bookstore while most others are using debits...
 
Credit card and here's why:

--

I pay for everything on my credit card except for small purchases (under $5) and rent.

Why?

  • Rewards, perks, incentives, no annual fees, etc.
    Would you turn away free money?
  • The usual card benefits including but not limited to free 1 year extended warranty, 90 day returns, 90 day damage and theft protection, Car Rental Loss and Damage Insurance, Travel Accident Insurance and more!
  • I get a nice itemized statement every month and one payment to make per cc.
  • Credit (and debit) cards offer no liability protection against unauthorized transactions.
  • It helps establish and maintain an active and healthy credit history.
  • Again would you turn away free money?

Off the top of my head I charge car insurance, utilities, cell phone, internet, magazine subscriptions, lots of web hosting, etc. all to my credit cards.

How much do all these benefits and rewards cost me? $0

Make sure you have a credit card which has no annual fee and pay off your balance in full every month.

Last night I took my wife out for dinner which was charged on my Amex TrueEarnings earning a 3% cash rebate 🙂
 
I use a credit card. It gives me more rewards compared to my Citi debit card and I know how much money I have. I don't buy something unless I could have afforded to pay for it in cash right then and there.

My Citi Dividend card gives 5% back at grocery stores, gas stations, and drugstores (but it will probably drop to 2% when it comes up for renewal next year, at which point I'll change it to some other card since I don't spend enough a year to really get $50 in cash back at their 2% rate). And I use my AMEX Blue card for other purchases, either to build up rewards points for travel or something else (like ticketmaster).
 
Originally posted by: HardcoreRobot
credit, for all the reasons listed above

Debit card... I only spend money I have at that exact moment
Click to expand...

me too, except with a credit card...
Click to expand...

ha, me too. It's amusing that people think they are being smart with statements like that, but I've never spent a penny I didn't have and the only thing, literally, that I buy on my debit card is food from Sams because they won't take my credit card. That's it. In almost 4 years, I've paid $0.00 in interest and earned a little over $1,500 in rewards for money I had to spend anyway.

It makes no sense to use a debit card unless you absolutely have to like I mentioned above. No sense at all.
 
Debit card.
I haven't used my CC in 5 years (aside from car rentals which they wont let you use debit).
Too many years of being young and stupid with a CC weigh heavily on my now mature mind. 🙂
 
Originally posted by: RossMAN
Credit card and here's why:

--

I pay for everything on my credit card except for small purchases (under $5) and rent.

Why?

  • Rewards, perks, incentives, no annual fees, etc.
    Would you turn away free money?
  • The usual card benefits including but not limited to free 1 year extended warranty, 90 day returns, 90 day damage and theft protection, Car Rental Loss and Damage Insurance, Travel Accident Insurance and more!
  • I get a nice itemized statement every month and one payment to make per cc.
  • Credit (and debit) cards offer no liability protection against unauthorized transactions.
  • It helps establish and maintain an active and healthy credit history.
  • Again would you turn away free money?

Off the top of my head I charge car insurance, utilities, cell phone, internet, magazine subscriptions, lots of web hosting, etc. all to my credit cards.

How much do all these benefits and rewards cost me? $0

Make sure you have a credit card which has no annual fee and pay off your balance in full every month.

Last night I took my wife out for dinner which was charged on my Amex TrueEarnings earning a 3% cash rebate 🙂
Click to expand...

You can add to the list getting an interest free loan for thirty days, keeping your hard earned cash in a savings account or checking account earning interest until the bill for the credit card is due. 😉
 
I use my credit card for my purchases as it offers 1% cash back, a nice incentive. And I have a frequent flyer card that gives me bonus miles. Anything under $4.00 I use cash if I have it, otherwise I use my credit card.

I always pay off my balances in full every month.
 
Originally posted by: ThePresence
Debit card.
I haven't used my CC in 5 years (aside from car rentals which they wont let you use debit).
Too many years of being young and stupid with a CC weigh heavily on my now mature mind. 🙂
Click to expand...

The only thing I have to say is that you missed out on a lot of free money by thinking you have a clue, when you don't. Your "mature mind" doesn't fully grasp the concept of "no interest charged if paid on time and in full".
 
Originally posted by: MrDudeMan
Originally posted by: HardcoreRobot
credit, for all the reasons listed above

Debit card... I only spend money I have at that exact moment
Click to expand...

me too, except with a credit card...
Click to expand...

ha, me too. It's amusing that people think they are being smart with statements like that, but I've never spent a penny I didn't have and the only thing, literally, that I buy on my debit card is food from Sams because they won't take my credit card. That's it. In almost 4 years, I've paid $0.00 in interest and earned a little over $1,500 in rewards for money I had to spend anyway.

It makes no sense to use a debit card unless you absolutely have to like I mentioned above. No sense at all.
Click to expand...

Well the difference is that you pay a bill at the end of the month. I pay for what I purchased at that exact moment.

The end.
 
I pay for basically everything except rent on my credit cards and that's only because there's a $25 fee to pay rent with a card. I don't carry any cash anymore because everywhere takes credit cards. There's no cost to me to do it since I pay my cards off at the end of every month.
 
Originally posted by: Doctor Nyse
Originally posted by: MrDudeMan
Originally posted by: HardcoreRobot
credit, for all the reasons listed above

Debit card... I only spend money I have at that exact moment
Click to expand...

me too, except with a credit card...
Click to expand...

ha, me too. It's amusing that people think they are being smart with statements like that, but I've never spent a penny I didn't have and the only thing, literally, that I buy on my debit card is food from Sams because they won't take my credit card. That's it. In almost 4 years, I've paid $0.00 in interest and earned a little over $1,500 in rewards for money I had to spend anyway.

It makes no sense to use a debit card unless you absolutely have to like I mentioned above. No sense at all.
Click to expand...

Well the difference is that you pay a bill at the end of the month. I pay for what I purchased at that exact moment.

The end.
Click to expand...


The difference is you get 0% off your purchase at that exact moment. I on the other hand, get anywhere from 1-5% each purchase at that exact moment. It adds up.
 
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