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why would you ever use a credit card if you have funds available for purchase on your debit card? especially for small purchases like gas, seems like an unneces

• blitzar 2y ago
  I do 99% of my daily spending on credit cards and have never once in 40 years paid interest on a credit card. Buying something with a credit card does not mean you never pay it back.
• rqtwteye 2y ago
  I pay off my credit card every month so no debt. Can you do chargebacks on a debit card?
  • bluGill 2y ago
    You can charge back on a debit card, but the money doesn't get back into your account right away, and of course until you realize what is up your bank account is down that money (or even negative) and you thus don't have that money to spend. If your account is negative you are charged bank fees - I'm not sure if they will refund them, but at the very least until the investigation completes you are out that money as well. which is to say if there is fraud a debit card will eventually fix you, but while things work through the system you have no money for day to day life. With a credit card you don't pay that part of the bill and so your money is still there for day to day life.
    • kstrauser 2y ago
      All that’s true and you should always prepare for the worst case. That said, I’ve had a couple fraud events over the last few years before insulating layers like Apple Pay were widely available. I’d pay for dinner at some sketchy restaurant, then a month later someone’s using my card to buy gas in Tijuana (real story). My credit union was amazing each time. They’d immediately issue provisional refunds for the fraudulent amounts, waive any fees, and have a new card in the mail a day later. It was inconvenient to be sure, but the credit union made it as painless as possible.
• j-bos 2y ago
  For me it's very convenient to have all purchases listed in the same account, also saves me time in decision making. As for debt, that's what budgets are for.
• mmaniac 2y ago
  I only ever use my debit card for cash withdrawals, and I purchase exclusively on my credit card. Why wouldn't I? My direct debit clears the balance every month so I never pay interest, and I enjoy a couple quid of cashback and better consumer protections.
• pilotneko 2y ago
  It shields you from getting your debit card skimmed. The credit card is also easier to contest if there is an issue. If you pay your credit card balance off every month, you never end up paying interest either. Finally, you can accrue points and rewards spending money you already planned to spend.
• Bluecobra 2y ago
  If you are responsible and pay your statement in full each month, it’s free money. My particular Amex card gives me 5% cash back on gas and groceries and has no fees. This translates to ~$1,200 per year.
  • TMWNN 2y ago
    Which Amex card? The ones I've seen cap the total purchase amount for rewards for gas/groceries at a low enough level that the rewards max out at a few hundred a year. (Cash Magnet's cashback is universal and unlimited, but the 1.5% rate is less than Wells Fargo Active Cash's 2%.)
    • Bluecobra 2y ago
      It's just called "Blue Cash", not "Blue Cash Everyday" or "Blue Cash Preferred". It seems like they don't offer it to new applicants anymore. The only downside is that you have to spend $6,500 before the 5% cash back kicks in for groceries/drug stores/gas stations, though I usually hit that in a couple of months anyways. edit: more info here https://www.reddit.com/r/amex/comments/12r91y4/what_happened_to_the_blue_cash_card/ https://www.reddit.com/r/amex/comments/12r91y4/what_happened...
      • xp84 2y ago
        I had that card almost 20 years ago, until Amex abruptly closed both that and my "Student" Amex Blue that had very few benefits. Their letter referenced that "something on my credit report" and apparently the one forgotten payment I'd had recently, to Macy's for $60 (forgot I had used the card) was an unforgivable sin, surely portending a bankruptcy filing in their view, I guess. I harbored a grudge over that for about 15 years, but finally got back on the Amex bandwagon with a Gold card a few years ago. 4 points per dollar on dining and groceries works out really well for me.
• EForEndeavour 2y ago
  Treat the credit card as a middleman between your actual cash (e.g., a checking account) and spending. Spend as if it's cash. Pay balance weekly to avoid ever paying interest. Enjoy far superior fraud protection, and an effective discount of roughly 1–10% depending on credit card perks.
  • Dalewyn 2y ago
    >Pay balance weekly to avoid ever paying interest. Perhaps counterintuitively, that is bad behaviour. If you pay before the billing cycle comes due, the banks will first insist you don't need a high credit limit and they will also insist you're a financial risk. The best way to pay credit cards statements is to wait for the cycle to close and then pay the statement balance in full. You should only make a payment in the middle of a cycle if you need more room in your card's credit limit for an upcoming purchase(s).
    • nemomarx 2y ago
      Do you need a very high limit? I pay every other week and my limit is already higher than my paycheck usually is, so I'm not sure what I'd use an even higher ones for?
      • jjav 2y ago
        Part of your credit score is the percentage utilization of your available credit. So you want higher limits that you'll never use in order to make that percentage smaller and thus your credit score higher. Silly game but might as well play it.
      • arccy 2y ago
        for the times when you actually want to put something on the card, like plane tickets and hotels
      • Dalewyn 2y ago
        Higher credit limits mean many good things: * The bank is confident you will pay back your debts. * Your credit utilization will be lower relatively speaking, which banks really like. * You can put more spend on your card if and when you really need to. It's always worth waiting for the billing cycle to close before paying the statement balance if it is practical to do so.
• ourguile 2y ago
  I also had my debit card skimmed. Contacted the bank the same day but funds were locked. So, I ended up just using my credit card for purchases in the long run until the dispute was resolved. FWIW I am hyper vigilant looking for card skimmers at gas stations, etc. but somehow I still was targeted.
  • inquirerGeneral 2y ago
    [dead]
• xnyan 2y ago
  I get an average of 2.5% cash back on all purchases made with my credit card. I pay the balance in full each month and have never paid an interest charge. Why on earth would I not take the free money?
• jt2190 2y ago
  On the surface it seems like we’re comparing two similar pieces of plastic that provide mechanisms for transferring cash from a purchaser to a vendor, but I think it’s more useful to think about the contract terms that you, the purchaser, agree to when you transact using one or the other. For example, the ability to “claw back” funds transferred by credit card gives the purchaser much more confidence when dealing with an unknown vendor. Debit cards introduce more risk that funds can’t be recovered if the purchase has not been fulfilled or otherwise gone bad.
• thereddaikon 2y ago
  You know how you get an 800+ credit rating? Put all of your normal expenses on your credit card and pay it off monthly. You only accrue interest on a card if you have a balance on it that carries over. If you pay it off every month you don't. I almost never use my debit card. Its inherently more risky because it's directly connected to your checking account. A credit card isn't. If its compromised, it's much less damaging financially and easier to reverse.
  • arccy 2y ago
    still have to be careful about going over credit utilization...
    • Spivak 2y ago
      Yes and no, high utilization dings your score for the month you made the big purchase but returns to normal once it's paid off. If you routinely have high utilization CCs will just increase your limit so your normal spending is in the ideal range.
  • JumpCrisscross 2y ago
    > You know how you get an 800+ credit rating? You can also game it by repeatedly running up large balances and then paying them down to zero right before the next reporting cycle.
• sneed_chucker 2y ago
  It's really good to have a level of indirection between your purchases and the account where your hard-earned money sits. If you have to dispute a charge it's much nicer to dispute it when it's on a credit card bill than when the money is already out of your bank account. Think of it like a bastion host for your money.
• have_faith 2y ago
  I get British Airways avios points and flight companion vouchers with mine. I only purchase things I would have otherwise already brought without it, like food shopping and fuel etc, and pay the balance to zero at the end of every month. I have no interest in using it for "genuine" credit, like buying something you can't afford and paying it back in chunks later.
• giancarlostoro 2y ago
  The main reason is because in the US if someone skims your card at a gas station and charges money to your account, it is next to impossible to get your money back from the bank. A credit card company is more likely to refund the transaction on the other hand.
  • kube-system 2y ago
    That's not true. Debit cards have fraud protection similar to credit cards. But the big difference is that you have a smaller window to report the issue, and while it is being resolved, you're out of the money instead of the bank. And it may be a bigger PITA if you need to close the account.
    • jjav 2y ago
      > That's not true. Debit cards have fraud protection similar to credit cards. Similar being the key word. Yes they are somewhat similar, but credit cards have better protection by regulation, so they are not the same. https://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-experian/are-credit-cards-safer-than-debit-cards/ https://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-experian/are-credit-cards... The two day reporting on debit cards is particularly risky. I very actively review every transaction, but only about every two weeks at best or once a month at worst. With credit cards this is not an issue.
      • kube-system 2y ago
        That's 2 days if you physically lose your card. Otherwise you have 60 days after you receive your statement. If you know where your wallet it, and you review statements once per month, you're fine. I still use a credit card instead, though, because I'd rather the lost money be the bank's problem to resolve.
• pkaye 2y ago
  Credit cards often have extended warranties in the US. Once two of our Android phones failed due to a defect a few months after warranty expired. I called up the credit card company and they returned the full amount for both phones with minimal fuss. The % cash back we accumulate to buy fun stuff for the family. Like a new laptop or video game system. Also we pay off our credit cards monthly so there is no debt buildup but the activity helps maintain a good credit score. Some people fall into the mindset that a credit card is an extra source of money.
• joshuaissac 2y ago
  In the UK, the credit card company is jointly liable with the retailer for breach of contract for purchases in the £100-£30,000 range. This is called Section 75 protection (from the section number of the Consumer Protection Act) and offers much more protection than the chargeback offered by debit card providers.
• coin 2y ago
  Fraudulent transactions. Debit card - you are out the money until you sort it out with the bank. Credit card - you’re not the out the money, it’s the bank’s money.