Comments on: Are Debit Cards Riskier Than Credit Cards?

By: Frank @ Turn Key Consulting

Frank @ Turn Key Consulting — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 07:08:23 +0000

I will definitely agree that debit card is riskier than the credit card. When it comes to the bigger transactions, itâ€™s better to use our credit card because all credit card purchase is protected by a law known as the Fair Credit Billing Act. The benefit of credit card fraud protection is that we are protected by federal laws as well as more stringent policies by the issuers. Itâ€™s even risky using debit cards for small purchases. Not because those amounts will make a dent in our finances, but each purchase is an opportunity for a scam artist to swindle our account numbersâ€¦

By: LinkStuff For A Saturday Nov 14

LinkStuff For A Saturday Nov 14 — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 01:14:17 +0000

[...] No Debt Plan wonders if debit cards are riskier than credit cards? [...]

By: Investing 101 For Dummies

Investing 101 For Dummies — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 20:45:52 +0000

I totally agree that debit cards are riskier than credit cards. Let’s say that someone makes fraudulent charges using your debit card information. Sure, you can get the charges reversed, but in the meantime, that person has already made off with your money. In the same situation with a credit card, all you have to do is fight charges. With a debit card, you’re also fighting for your money to be reimbursed, and before that happens you might have multiple overdraft charges if recurring bills show up and you don’t have extra money to replenish the depleted account.

By: Abigail

Abigail — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 23:21:03 +0000

I know there are people in this world who have mastered the art of never overdrafting. About 98% of the time, that’s me. But I am a depressive, which has its set of problems sometimes in coping with the outside world. My husband has severe ADD. So there are times when things fall through the cracks. And then overdraft fees hit.

So what did we do? We finally accepted reality and linked our credit card to our checking account. That way, rather than get $30 charges if we took out too much from checking, we get charged $10 and $100 gets transferred into our account. It’s far from ideal, but at least it’s realistic.

By: Jess

Jess — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 17:39:04 +0000

I agree, debit cards are riskier. It’s always good to use someone else money than using your own hard earn money.

There’s big difference between knowing how to save and knowing how to spend.

By: Credit Card Chaser

Credit Card Chaser — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 17:40:11 +0000

Yes, even aside from the cash back rewards I get (which is the primary reason I use a credit card) the other benefit is that once I had my credit card stolen and the thief racked up a lot of charges before I could cancel the card and I didn’t have to pay for anything. The credit card company even sent out a private investigator to find the thief and bring them to justice. I didn’t have to do a thing. – Joel

By: Ashley

Ashley — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 21:15:27 +0000

If you’ve ever gone through the experience of having your debit card information stolen or compromised you’d immediately see the value in using credit cards. I still use both, but rely more heavily on my credit card for the reward points. As long as you pay off the balance on time (and you can make sure you do that with automatic payments through online bill pay) credit cards are worth it. Although I did find out my card will start charging me an annual fee, despite my never keeping a balance, that might change things.

By: Golfing Girl

Golfing Girl — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 15:36:03 +0000

I have the Amex Blue Cash card as well and didn’t realize I had the extra year warranty on electronic items. I’ve just been using it to take advantage of the 5% cashback on gas, groceries, and pharmacy purchases. Good to know!

I remember the days when your debit card could be declined instead of facing giant overdraft fees. I wonder if we’ll ever see a return to that. If it happens, I think those who are challenged by managing their money would be better off with a debit card.

However, that being said, I think it would be pretty tough for someone to get my pin# and get to my cash in my savings account that’s linked. But I still don’t like the idea of someone charging items to my debit card and me being out that money instead of it just being on paper (like with credit cards). So I agree that the credit cards are safer than using debit.

By: Ricky

Ricky — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 19:45:47 +0000

I completely agree with you Kevin. Your point about the potential risk of someone cleaning out my checking account is the initial reason we got rid of our debit cards. Like you said, there is built in protection and stolen money will have to be put back. But how long will it take? I don’t really know, nor do I want to find out. We have since optimized our credit usage and obtained a card paying the highest cash back we can find. We never pay any interest or fees either, and we average $200-$300 per year in cash back rewards. Certainly not enough to make us millionaires, but I am getting paid to spend money that I had already planned to spend! It is a no brainer!

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Thu, 12 Nov 2009 19:42:53 +0000

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