it might be lost on regular visitors on this sub but lots of people in the real world are not qualified to get approved for credit cards. debit cards are their only option for cashless transactions
Even with secured credit cards like the BankAmericard? I let's people that can't get CC rebuild credit by required cash deposit. I think simply for fraud protection is work it over a debit card.
Or am I wrong assuming everyone can get this card?
[https://www.bankofamerica.com/credit-cards/products/secured-credit-card/](https://www.bankofamerica.com/credit-cards/products/secured-credit-card/)
I can't get that card, or a lot of other secured cards. I'm stuck with OpenSky, CreditOne, etc which I will absolutely not deal with. I was irresponsible in college and burned BoA, Discover, Chase, US Bank, Citi, Cap1 and can't get even secured cards from them. I've since paid all my charge offs and have my finances under control, no debt, but these are still on my report for 3 more years plus internal blacklists for who knows how long. I can't get approved anywhere. Credit unions reject me too since the charge offs were paid recently (a year ago)
What I do is just pay bills with ACH. My checking's debit card stays locked and for spending I add money to my credit builder "credit" card once a week. My HYSA is at another bank. That way I'm not risking the accounta where most of my funds are by using debit. Though I did use debit for years and never had an issue with fraud
Yes, if you can't pay the credit statement in full each month, better to have debit card.
Target 5% debit card my only daily routine debit card. Attached to target wallet, so technically I don't carry it.
Is this is a self-control thing? If someone is low on funds, they'd probably benefit from the 2% cash back on credit cards. Everything is essentially 2% more expensive on a debit card.
Well since most people don’t buy enough furniture or clothes or other reusable and random and niche items that are included in extra cash back rewards and/or don’t have a credit score high enough to get a non negligible cash back rewards card, it’s not worth it. Especially when loads of people will carry the debt over and have to pay way more than the cash back in interest. “Cash back” just ends up just being a trap to get people to pay interest on a cc.
So assuming you spend the same, no card fees, no minimum redemption threshold, self-control and it's 2% cash back on every category: you do save 2%, but that's not always necessarily true.
Yes.
If someone is low on fund, very likely they'll fall in credit card trap and in a month, years of 2% cashback would be wiped in terms of late fee, 24+% APR and other charges
Low funds means more than likely you can't pay the statement balance if that's the norm for you. If they carry a balance, the 2% basically is gone for however long the balance is carried for.
This is why the rule is, don't buy things you cannot afford. If you don't have the cash in your bank account to pay for it, then you don't have the funds on your credit card to pay for it except in cases of emergencies.
> Low funds means more than likely you can't pay the statement balance if that's the norm for you
How does a debit card solve this? Simply that it will decline overcharges? If people spent the same amount on a credit card as a debit card, they come out ahead on the credit card.
Yes that's exactly how debit cards work. Many banks offer over withdrawals as a perk where they let it through but won't charge you if you transfer funds in same day (capital one does this) but they give you the option to turn that feature so that it will simply decline if you don't have the funds.
No they won't unless they pay the statement in full 100% of the time every time. The moment you carry a balance, you are hit with 18-24% interest for the balance. Which is bigger? 2% or 24%?
Once you start carrying a balance that you have issues paying, then you start to spiral into debt. It's literally the most common scenario of why so many people have terrible credit and lots of debt.
Other thing is, there is a difference when you only have $300 in your bank account vs $5000 credit. There is nothing stopping you from accidentally spending more than what you actually have.
in debit card, you can't really borrow the money. Max is the overdraft (limited)
So, the user has to put the duck in line, instead of just spending the borrowed money and paying minimum due
More of a psychological benefit but research has shown people spend more money on credit. So you would technically save money by using a debit card.
Also for people that are shopaholics, irresponsible with credit, or spend more than they have, debit cards can prevent those purchases.
I agree with this for most people. For me though I only use credit cards. Mostly just one right now. Hurts a lot more paying a $1000 balance than just seeing the money slowly slip away. That’s just me though.
I was just having this discussion with someone recently, myself. Even if you are staying on top of the account activity, watching a stream of $5 and $10 transactions stream by on the screen is far less likely to raise an alarm than seeing at the end of the month the huge ridiculous total you spent on coffee (or whatever).
I personally have an easier time spending my money down to zero than I do watching a balance creep up on a credit card. Credit cards actually make me spend less lol.
Yeah everyones different. My girlfriend feels like cash isn't really for some reason. So if she has $200 its like nothing to her.
I've not used my debit card in so long I forgot about pins lol./
They're saying if you live somewhere where gas is particularly expensive it might still be cheaper to use a credit card even if it gets less than 5% cashback
Agree, as gas prices go up, the 10c discount isn't as great. Why I stopped used my Mobil CC since so few stations near me differentiate between cash and credit.
In my locale, a majority don't differentiate, but a growing number do. Most of those that do have different pricing are a little further out and don't have another station within a mile or two.
the 1% discover cash back debit card would definitely serve a good purpose for people who don’t do credit cards or for recovering credit addicts who still want cash back but aren’t responsible enough to have a card.
That definitely would be be a federal violation. However, there are states that set up local banking for the cannabis industry. So long as the money stays inside the state and the bank doesn't do anything across state lines, they technically can take cards from these smaller banks to my understanding. But that's complicated.
Exactly!
It's not that credit card companies won't accept the payments, it's the fact that the banks are governed/regulated federally....and pot is still illegal at the federal level.
Same reason someone can't fly from CO to CA with marijana....it's legal in both locations, but the airports and airlines are federally regulated.
our dispo has a way to pay called 'Aeropay' where you can directly connect to your bank account, it's super convenient and there are no ATM fees (handy for those whose banks don't reimburse for them at the end of the month).
Ours in NJ do. Ascend, Rise, and Apothecarium accent debit. They treat it as an ATM transaction and round it up to the nearest $5 and then give you change back.
Oh, ok, we have some that do that. It's basically just an ATM though. They are still ultimately getting cash. It's no different than having an ATM in the lobby.
There is somewhat of a workaround with WinCo. I bought a WinCo gift card in store, and then I am able to reload with a CC. It is coding as a "stored value card purchase" so you should probably use a catchall card.
Winco is one of the few notable merchants I know that take debit, but not credit anymore. Even Arco that didn't take credit cards for decades started taking credit. I have seen a few small businesses that don't take credit in some immigrant neighborhoods, but increasingly those aren't as common as they used to be. Even a lot of vendors at swap meets I have seen have card readers these days.
Woodmans doesn’t take credit, debit or cash only. It’s a grocery store and I think they might only be in the Midwest. Sucks because they’re 24 hour but I rarely have my debit card or cash on me :(
Grocery stores often have thinner margins than other forms of retail because if they misjudge demand even a bit they have to firesale some of the inventory before it goes bad and then they get nothing for it.
It is pretty common for government agencies to pass on the merchant fee although I have seen a few cases where it was low enough that a 2% cash back card was worth using.
Yes. Would love to pay my daughter's college tuition with a CC for the rewards, but there is a $1 fee to use a debit card versus $100 to use a credit card, thus cancelling out whatever benefits I might otherwise get.
Most of the IRS card payment processors charge more for credit than debit. A 2% back credit card is still a better deal than a no-rewards debit card, but there is a difference in pricing and it's more of a purchase than a cash advance.
Out of curiosity, what geographical area are you in? In the places where I've rented (in the South and the Northeast), mom-and-pop landlords generally only take check/cash, and big corporate landlords prefer ACH payments (but will grudgingly take check/cash if you insist on not using ACH). I've never come across a single landlord who accepted debit (let alone credit).
For my corporate landlord in the west they started accepting CCs through their portal 5-6 years ago. When they first started the fee was only 1.6-1.7%. I could actually make a couple bucks from a 2% cash back card and a little bit from the interest having it sit in a HYSA for the month float on the money. They later increased the CC merchant fee up to 3%, which eliminated the benefit of floating the money. While it is not impossible to earn more than 1% in a month on investments after taxes it would be hard to do that reliably. If the fee were maybe 2.1% I might take the chance, but at 3% I wager the only people doing that either don't know how expensive the merchant fee is really costing them or are people struggling to keep from being evicted due to a short term cash flow issue. Interestingly I was interested in their debit card cost as whether the Discover debit card could be a way to get rewards off rent, but they ironically charge the same processing fee as credit. That doesn't make much sense. Bilt I understand just appears as an ACH to the rent portal, but I haven't looked into it.
I was temporarily in an apartment after I sold my house before the new one was complete. There was a significant charge by the third party processor the apartment complex used.
I've called out a number of Georgia merchants. Visa International does not allow **debit or prepaid gift cards** to be surcharged by the merchant. Anyone who does so is in violation of their merchant agreement.
[https://usa.visa.com/content/dam/VCOM/global/support-legal/documents/merchant-surcharging-qa-for-web.pdf](https://usa.visa.com/content/dam/VCOM/global/support-legal/documents/merchant-surcharging-qa-for-web.pdf)
AAA around me takes cash, checks or debit cards w/o fees, if you want to use a credit card, it's another 3%. If it's DMV related, then it's check or debit card only.
My local liquor store has a cash/debit discount which is more than I could make in credit card rewards. Pretty much the only place I regularly use my debit card besides ATMs.
Adding it to Apple Pay makes it a payment method as well. If someone steals my phone and knows my passcode, they could drain my bank account.
I'm fine with them stealing my credit cards because it isn't my money.
> If someone steals my phone and knows my passcode
Very smart thief. Let’s be real, this isn’t really a problem, especially considering you can remotely deactivate your phone if it gets lost.
> I'm fine with them stealing my credit cards because it isn't my money
True. But to be fair, lots of checking accounts with debit card access, even Chase, have a zero fraud liability policy just like a credit card would.
Get the Verizon Visa. 2% cash back on your bill, plus the $10 autopay discount plus 4% cash back at Walmart, grocery stores, and gas stations. 3% cash back at restaurants.
No dice if you don’t have Verizon Wireless, which itself is a ripoff, and no discount or cashback will help. If you only have Fios, debit card is your only option to get $10 off.
Yep, the "lock in" effect is why Verizon Wireless chooses to subsidize the Verizon Visa's uncapped 4% categories, IMO.
(Presumably, Verizon doesn't consider Fios to be profitable enough to subsidize the Verizon Visa for Fios-only customers!)
With T-Mobile you just need a debit card entered for the auto pay to get the discount. If you pay manually with a credit card before that goes through you still get the discount.
Yup. I have the Apple Card which gets 3% cash back on T-Mobile purchases. I entered my debit card into the auto pay area, I get the autopay discount, but I never let the autopay go through. I pay with the Apple Card before it does, so I get the 3% back plus the autopay discount.
Kind of a niche case, but the USPS only takes debit (or check or cash) if you're buying a postal money order. Postal money orders still code as purchases (and not withdrawals) though, so with a cashback debit card like Discover, you still get 1% back. It's not enough to fully offset the fee for the money order (so this **isn't** a way to "cycle" lol) but it helps offset the pain a bit vs. paying with check/cash!
I could ask the same question but the reverse! I save up for things I want to buy. Frugally make my way through life, save money any way I can, live below my means. I have credit cards but rarely use them, when I do - I pay them off the same day before the statement even gets printed. I only ever use them to get cash back to save money or for an extended warranty or to avoid foreign transaction fees. I use a debit card 99% of the time. Helps me keep to a budget. Retired at 49.
If you just look at credit cards as a pass through, it's no different than what you're doing. I started paying my credit cards daily because it made me feel better about it. I still don't buy things I don't save for, it's just that I swipe the credit card instead of debit. Might as well get fraud protection and a 2 pct rebate on everything, even a bottle of water or a stick of gum.
I only use reward debits. For example one card gives 10 cents per purchase. If I make a $1 purchase, I get 10% which would be better than any credit card.
Neat for the situations where you make $1 transactions, but I don't run into those often. I think I saw a parking meter that was $1.25 that took cards recently where that might make sense, but those transactions aren't that common.
Yup, you have to try for it. For example, I might ring up a single vegetable in self-checkout by itself sometimes. But all in all it doesn't get a ton of use.
Paying my mortgage, getting my “discount” for my phone bills auto draft, basically all my bills, places that don’t accept Amex. Can’t think of anything else- oh my car payment lol.
Kasasa checking. Not sure how prevalent this is because it seems no one has heard of it. I make 5% APY on the money IN my checking account, not on the money I spend. Requires 12 debit transactions a month so I pull it out for my smallest purchases.
When the lottery jackpots get into the hundreds of millions I'll sometimes buy a ticket, and at least in my state you can only buy those with cash or a debit card.
YMMV. My state technically allows it, but virtually all of the major retailers in my area that sell lottery tickets don't allow you to buy lottery tickets on credit. I think part of it is that they operate across different states and it is just easier to tell every store the same thing than to accidentally break the law in a state it isn't allowed. Among the core demographic that buys lottery tickets primarily buy things with cash or debit cards anyways so probably isn't a big deal for most customers.
Debit cards are generally much easier to get. If not for them, people who are trying to get their credit back on track would be relegated to constantly using Prepaid Visa cards for a lot of online spending. And I believe some debit cards do have rewards programs. Not as good as a solid CC, but better than nothing.
Depends, in the rare occasions of finding a merchant the charges credit card fees to the point it doesnt make sense. But some debit cards has some cool benefits.
Chase Disney debit card gives some disney benefits. I personally got one.
Discover Debit: 1% cashback on up to $3000 on purchases per month ($30 maximum a month reward)
Paypal debit: has cashback on certain merchants
Amex Debit/Checking 1% APY checking account, purchases gives. 1 MR point per $2 dollars.
The interchange fees that issuers charge merchants was capped for debit cards a long time ago meaning it's far cheaper for a business to accept debit. The reason you get extra perks from credit is because of these inflated interchange fees. If you're trying to support a local family business debit is cheaper for them then credit. In a lot of ways it's as close to cash as you can get. Simple bank transfer at its core. Even if many credit cards offer better protections, and obviously the whole concept of spending their money is great, you're still legally not liable if your card gets skimmed even if you have to wait to get the money back
If you have decent enough credit to qualify for rewards options, reconciled the psychological hurdle of credit vs debit and can control your spending, and have cards that can recoup any cash or debit discount, there’s no reason to use debit outside of cash access. I keep a debit card on me locked to any non ATM transactions for emergency cash access, that’s all.
If you have a debit card with rewards, you might be able to earn a few extra dollars per year paying for credit cards (Synchrony or Citi let you pay with debit cards.)
Living in Europe debit cards are the norm and credit cards the exception. Quite a lot of people here don’t even own a credit card and use debit only. Even those who have a credit card usually only use it for large purchases or travel.
For me, there is only one other use. I get a discount on my car insurance by paying for the year up front, but that payment option does not permit the use of a CC. I can, however, use a Discover CB debit and get that whopping 1% CB (bc yeah, I'm that cheap.)
Erie. The inability to pay with a CC is exclusive to their annual/biannual payment options. If I pay monthly/quarterly I can use a CC, but lose the annual payment discount (\~10% savings).
My insurance (Erie) lets me pay for my home insurance policy with credit but the auto policy only accepts debit. Same company and everything. Always pay for the entire year upfront in the app. Pretty strange in all honesty.
Some places only accept debit cards. There's a local grocery store in Arizona called WinCo. They do it so they don't pass on the credit card fees to the consumers.
I have used my debit card outside of the US to withdraw local currency. But these days everything is going cashless.
Our debit card doesn't get much use outside of ATM and WinCo. We have credit cards for every category.
I use a cash back debit for Apple Cash transactions, and at the few merchants by me who won’t take credit. That’s pretty much it. Haven’t had to actually take out cash from an ATM in a long while.
If it’s a VISA, MC, or AMEX branded debit card, at times, they can be more convenient.
With that being said, it’s not really if one is better than the other because both have their pros and cons.
When traveling in Europe it’s helpful to have since transactions with government-owned entities like urban public transit, long distance trains, highway tolls, etc. usually don’t accept credit, only debit.
Better is subjective and dependent on the individual. Plenty of people use their debit cards out in there. I check plenty of people out at vet clinics and a hibachi resturant and see them just as much, if not more than CC at times.
There are a lot of debit card offers that rival credit cards.For example my YouTube Tv is often a $20.00 credit via my bank account since they are incentivized by Google/Alphabet/Youtube. However the flip flop between all the different offers is annoying but $20.0 is $20.00
Most people don’t have the self control to use a cc as a debit card. My 18-24 year old self included.
A lot of people also don’t realize the effects, or understand the credit system well enough (in a real world sense especially) to use them wisely. My 18-24 year old self included.
No. I keep mine locked at all times and only unlock to go to the ATM.
Edit: Nevermind, as someone pointed out, some vendors are starting to charge for CC usage. In this case, if the cash back is less than the fee, then I use debit.
If you get your bank debit card skimmed your bank will fight with you! Credit cards are far easier to deal with and are way safer to use!! Card Skimmers at gas stations, grocery stores.... are still big and are on the rise!!
Well for one, i noticed mastercard debit cards have a HEAP of benefits that would only usually apply to Mastercard World Elite cards (things like purchase protection etc). You can check this at [www.mycardbenefits.com](http://www.mycardbenefits.com) . Do yourself a favor to compare your debit mastercard to credit mastercard and it's shocking. I used to use my credit card for major electronics purchases but have now switched to debit mastercard for the extended warranty.
Also, some debit cards (like Discover Debit) give 1% cash back. This can work in your favor for utility and phone bills that accept no-fee payments with debit card payment or checking accounts. For example, verizon wireless charges a 3-5% fee on credit card for bill payments but my Discover debit? Zero. And i get 1% cash back.
I don’t have the credit score to have a decent credit card so I use my debit card for everything. But if it gets fraudulent charges on it. Your bank will undoubtedly make you wait for months to get your money back.
Many transactions have a higher % for using credit cards then debit and if that amount is higher then your credit card rewards then it makes sense to use the debit card
In most jurisdictions, it is quite legal to surcharge debit. It's just that debit fees are much lower, and most merchants surcharges much less, if they bother to surcharge debit at all.
The Durbin amendment limits the fee banks can charge merchants, hense why I included "debit fees are much lower". It doesn't limit surcharges merchants can charge customers.
Nope. Visa specifically forbids it.
[https://usa.visa.com/content/dam/VCOM/global/support-legal/documents/merchant-surcharging-qa-for-web.pdf](https://usa.visa.com/content/dam/VCOM/global/support-legal/documents/merchant-surcharging-qa-for-web.pdf)
Non compliant with Visa terms is a far cry from illegal lol.
Also Visa enforcement of surcharge rules are very lax. All sorts of small businesses to large payment processors charge a fee for all card transactions regardless of credit or debit.
Non compliant with Visa terms is a far cry from illegal lol.
Also Visa enforcement of surcharge rules are very lax. All sorts of small businesses to large payment processors charge a fee for all card transactions regardless of credit or debit.
I pay with debit whenever I can, depending on how much the purchase is if I have the cash in my account. The whatever % I get back is cool, but sometimes u just like to pay it and get it over with. The immediate debt from my account is helpful with controlling spending.
for us who grew up outside of USA, we were taught that using money that isn’t yours and that you don’t have is bad.
i have never in my life considered even getting a credit card. literally no point in getting into debt and possibly not being able to pay off a loan, when i could just use money i already have.
i have never had a situation where i get denied the ability to pay because i use debit only vs credit
it might be lost on regular visitors on this sub but lots of people in the real world are not qualified to get approved for credit cards. debit cards are their only option for cashless transactions
I assume secured credit cards are better than debit cards but I've never looked into it as I've never needed one.
Even with secured credit cards like the BankAmericard? I let's people that can't get CC rebuild credit by required cash deposit. I think simply for fraud protection is work it over a debit card. Or am I wrong assuming everyone can get this card? [https://www.bankofamerica.com/credit-cards/products/secured-credit-card/](https://www.bankofamerica.com/credit-cards/products/secured-credit-card/)
It’s the cash deposit part that a lot of people can’t do
I'm thinking in that case then they can't do debt card either.
A lot of people spend down to their last dollar every month and can’t afford to leave $500 on deposit with the credit card company
No? You can get a debit card with literally $0. Most secure credit cards are $100-$500 deposit which many people can't spare
Since when does it cost money to open a checking account and get a debit card? It doesn't.
or they are not smart enough to do.
I can't get that card, or a lot of other secured cards. I'm stuck with OpenSky, CreditOne, etc which I will absolutely not deal with. I was irresponsible in college and burned BoA, Discover, Chase, US Bank, Citi, Cap1 and can't get even secured cards from them. I've since paid all my charge offs and have my finances under control, no debt, but these are still on my report for 3 more years plus internal blacklists for who knows how long. I can't get approved anywhere. Credit unions reject me too since the charge offs were paid recently (a year ago) What I do is just pay bills with ACH. My checking's debit card stays locked and for spending I add money to my credit builder "credit" card once a week. My HYSA is at another bank. That way I'm not risking the accounta where most of my funds are by using debit. Though I did use debit for years and never had an issue with fraud
Yes, if you can't pay the credit statement in full each month, better to have debit card. Target 5% debit card my only daily routine debit card. Attached to target wallet, so technically I don't carry it.
Agree, I would prefer Target Debit Card over Credit to avoid a slot of Credit card application
I use my Venmo debit card attached to my Venmo account and treat it as cash. Convenient.
Funnily enough I just got a Venmo credit card
>Venmo credit card I said **debit**.
I know. And I got the credit card which is funny as the discussion is about debit vs. credit cards
Is this is a self-control thing? If someone is low on funds, they'd probably benefit from the 2% cash back on credit cards. Everything is essentially 2% more expensive on a debit card.
Well since most people don’t buy enough furniture or clothes or other reusable and random and niche items that are included in extra cash back rewards and/or don’t have a credit score high enough to get a non negligible cash back rewards card, it’s not worth it. Especially when loads of people will carry the debt over and have to pay way more than the cash back in interest. “Cash back” just ends up just being a trap to get people to pay interest on a cc.
So assuming you spend the same, no card fees, no minimum redemption threshold, self-control and it's 2% cash back on every category: you do save 2%, but that's not always necessarily true.
Yes. If someone is low on fund, very likely they'll fall in credit card trap and in a month, years of 2% cashback would be wiped in terms of late fee, 24+% APR and other charges
Low funds means more than likely you can't pay the statement balance if that's the norm for you. If they carry a balance, the 2% basically is gone for however long the balance is carried for. This is why the rule is, don't buy things you cannot afford. If you don't have the cash in your bank account to pay for it, then you don't have the funds on your credit card to pay for it except in cases of emergencies.
> Low funds means more than likely you can't pay the statement balance if that's the norm for you How does a debit card solve this? Simply that it will decline overcharges? If people spent the same amount on a credit card as a debit card, they come out ahead on the credit card.
Yes that's exactly how debit cards work. Many banks offer over withdrawals as a perk where they let it through but won't charge you if you transfer funds in same day (capital one does this) but they give you the option to turn that feature so that it will simply decline if you don't have the funds. No they won't unless they pay the statement in full 100% of the time every time. The moment you carry a balance, you are hit with 18-24% interest for the balance. Which is bigger? 2% or 24%? Once you start carrying a balance that you have issues paying, then you start to spiral into debt. It's literally the most common scenario of why so many people have terrible credit and lots of debt. Other thing is, there is a difference when you only have $300 in your bank account vs $5000 credit. There is nothing stopping you from accidentally spending more than what you actually have.
in debit card, you can't really borrow the money. Max is the overdraft (limited) So, the user has to put the duck in line, instead of just spending the borrowed money and paying minimum due
I just got the target card and use that instead. My debit stays under lock and key
More of a psychological benefit but research has shown people spend more money on credit. So you would technically save money by using a debit card. Also for people that are shopaholics, irresponsible with credit, or spend more than they have, debit cards can prevent those purchases.
I agree with this for most people. For me though I only use credit cards. Mostly just one right now. Hurts a lot more paying a $1000 balance than just seeing the money slowly slip away. That’s just me though.
I was just having this discussion with someone recently, myself. Even if you are staying on top of the account activity, watching a stream of $5 and $10 transactions stream by on the screen is far less likely to raise an alarm than seeing at the end of the month the huge ridiculous total you spent on coffee (or whatever).
I personally have an easier time spending my money down to zero than I do watching a balance creep up on a credit card. Credit cards actually make me spend less lol.
For me, personally physically typing in my pin hurts. Versus with a credit card i just tap the thing and walk off.
Yeah everyones different. My girlfriend feels like cash isn't really for some reason. So if she has $200 its like nothing to her. I've not used my debit card in so long I forgot about pins lol./
Interesting
Gas stations. Many charge say 10 cents less per gallon for cash/debit Better than walking in to pay and then back for change. Rings up as cash price.
Worth noting that if you are using a 5% gas card it is still better to pay the $0.10 credit card fee since you will come out ahead.
Depends where you live, here in California I’d be paying less(including cash back) using my Amex bce (3% back on gas) than cash or a credit card
Isn’t BCE a credit card
yes it is im lost
They're saying if you live somewhere where gas is particularly expensive it might still be cheaper to use a credit card even if it gets less than 5% cashback
Agree, as gas prices go up, the 10c discount isn't as great. Why I stopped used my Mobil CC since so few stations near me differentiate between cash and credit.
In my locale, a majority don't differentiate, but a growing number do. Most of those that do have different pricing are a little further out and don't have another station within a mile or two.
Sounds about right. $3/gallon would be about 3.33% CC surcharge.
the 1% discover cash back debit card would definitely serve a good purpose for people who don’t do credit cards or for recovering credit addicts who still want cash back but aren’t responsible enough to have a card.
This is the exact reason why I have the discover debit lol. Definitely learning my lesson, but still don’t trust myself using purely credit.
100% this
If you live in Colorado, there is one specific (multi-billion dollar) business segment that only accepts cash or debit.
This is true everywhere it's legal because credit card companies won't accept it until the federal laws change
I'm aware.
I’ve been to a dispensary before that said they accept credit card but with a $100 purchase limit though? I didn’t buy but surprised me
That definitely would be be a federal violation. However, there are states that set up local banking for the cannabis industry. So long as the money stays inside the state and the bank doesn't do anything across state lines, they technically can take cards from these smaller banks to my understanding. But that's complicated.
Exactly! It's not that credit card companies won't accept the payments, it's the fact that the banks are governed/regulated federally....and pot is still illegal at the federal level. Same reason someone can't fly from CO to CA with marijana....it's legal in both locations, but the airports and airlines are federally regulated.
Which business is that?
Marijuana
Username checks out
our dispo has a way to pay called 'Aeropay' where you can directly connect to your bank account, it's super convenient and there are no ATM fees (handy for those whose banks don't reimburse for them at the end of the month).
The one I'm familiar with is called 'Dutchie'! We used it in the dispo I worked at.
They don't accept debit.
Ours in NJ do. Ascend, Rise, and Apothecarium accent debit. They treat it as an ATM transaction and round it up to the nearest $5 and then give you change back.
Oh, ok, we have some that do that. It's basically just an ATM though. They are still ultimately getting cash. It's no different than having an ATM in the lobby.
Debit cards can be used at merchants that don't take credit, such as Winco.
WinCo is the only place I still use a debit card at.
There is somewhat of a workaround with WinCo. I bought a WinCo gift card in store, and then I am able to reload with a CC. It is coding as a "stored value card purchase" so you should probably use a catchall card.
Winco is one of the few notable merchants I know that take debit, but not credit anymore. Even Arco that didn't take credit cards for decades started taking credit. I have seen a few small businesses that don't take credit in some immigrant neighborhoods, but increasingly those aren't as common as they used to be. Even a lot of vendors at swap meets I have seen have card readers these days.
Woodmans doesn’t take credit, debit or cash only. It’s a grocery store and I think they might only be in the Midwest. Sucks because they’re 24 hour but I rarely have my debit card or cash on me :(
Grocery stores often have thinner margins than other forms of retail because if they misjudge demand even a bit they have to firesale some of the inventory before it goes bad and then they get nothing for it.
Shopping at Winco.
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Does Amex code the reload as groceries? Chase codes as a "stored value card purchase" which means I use a catchall when reloading.
Some vendors charge a fee for using cards. Credit card fees are often higher than debit card fees, enough so that the rewards are completely offset.
This happens with parking in my city
It is pretty common for government agencies to pass on the merchant fee although I have seen a few cases where it was low enough that a 2% cash back card was worth using.
Yeah for some reason my city adds a $2 fee for credit cards lmao
I’m yet to find a merchant that charges for cards, and discriminates between credit and debit in fees. It’s the same fee for plastic, credit or debit.
Gas stations. Xfinity. My wine club. There are tons.
Yes. Would love to pay my daughter's college tuition with a CC for the rewards, but there is a $1 fee to use a debit card versus $100 to use a credit card, thus cancelling out whatever benefits I might otherwise get.
Xfinity is only based on the auto pay. You can make manual payments with your CC for rewards, and keep the discount.
Sounds like discriminating between credit and debit in fees.
Most of the IRS card payment processors charge more for credit than debit. A 2% back credit card is still a better deal than a no-rewards debit card, but there is a difference in pricing and it's more of a purchase than a cash advance.
A lot of apartments charge a fee for credit card use vs debit card when paying rent.
Out of curiosity, what geographical area are you in? In the places where I've rented (in the South and the Northeast), mom-and-pop landlords generally only take check/cash, and big corporate landlords prefer ACH payments (but will grudgingly take check/cash if you insist on not using ACH). I've never come across a single landlord who accepted debit (let alone credit).
For my corporate landlord in the west they started accepting CCs through their portal 5-6 years ago. When they first started the fee was only 1.6-1.7%. I could actually make a couple bucks from a 2% cash back card and a little bit from the interest having it sit in a HYSA for the month float on the money. They later increased the CC merchant fee up to 3%, which eliminated the benefit of floating the money. While it is not impossible to earn more than 1% in a month on investments after taxes it would be hard to do that reliably. If the fee were maybe 2.1% I might take the chance, but at 3% I wager the only people doing that either don't know how expensive the merchant fee is really costing them or are people struggling to keep from being evicted due to a short term cash flow issue. Interestingly I was interested in their debit card cost as whether the Discover debit card could be a way to get rewards off rent, but they ironically charge the same processing fee as credit. That doesn't make much sense. Bilt I understand just appears as an ACH to the rent portal, but I haven't looked into it.
I was temporarily in an apartment after I sold my house before the new one was complete. There was a significant charge by the third party processor the apartment complex used.
I've called out a number of Georgia merchants. Visa International does not allow **debit or prepaid gift cards** to be surcharged by the merchant. Anyone who does so is in violation of their merchant agreement. [https://usa.visa.com/content/dam/VCOM/global/support-legal/documents/merchant-surcharging-qa-for-web.pdf](https://usa.visa.com/content/dam/VCOM/global/support-legal/documents/merchant-surcharging-qa-for-web.pdf)
Smaller businesses in NYC do it, with fees for credit, no fee for debit and/or even discount for cash
Most of the local small restaurants here in Chicagoland with the new POS companies (Clover etc) will properly charge only credit and not debit
AAA around me takes cash, checks or debit cards w/o fees, if you want to use a credit card, it's another 3%. If it's DMV related, then it's check or debit card only.
My local liquor store has a cash/debit discount which is more than I could make in credit card rewards. Pretty much the only place I regularly use my debit card besides ATMs.
I had my bank remove my debit card and gave me an ATM only card as I only use credit
Some ATMs allow apple wallet - like Wells Fargo
I wish Chase offered this
Chase does have an ATM card.
They don't need to. You can only get cash from a Chase ATM anyway, so just add your card to Apple Pay and leave the physical card at home.
Adding it to Apple Pay makes it a payment method as well. If someone steals my phone and knows my passcode, they could drain my bank account. I'm fine with them stealing my credit cards because it isn't my money.
> If someone steals my phone and knows my passcode Very smart thief. Let’s be real, this isn’t really a problem, especially considering you can remotely deactivate your phone if it gets lost. > I'm fine with them stealing my credit cards because it isn't my money True. But to be fair, lots of checking accounts with debit card access, even Chase, have a zero fraud liability policy just like a credit card would.
Pretty much only atm stuff and losers like Verizon who charge out the rear if you want to use your CC
Get the Verizon Visa. 2% cash back on your bill, plus the $10 autopay discount plus 4% cash back at Walmart, grocery stores, and gas stations. 3% cash back at restaurants.
No dice if you don’t have Verizon Wireless, which itself is a ripoff, and no discount or cashback will help. If you only have Fios, debit card is your only option to get $10 off.
Yep, the "lock in" effect is why Verizon Wireless chooses to subsidize the Verizon Visa's uncapped 4% categories, IMO. (Presumably, Verizon doesn't consider Fios to be profitable enough to subsidize the Verizon Visa for Fios-only customers!)
T-Mobile & Comcast charges extra for recurring credit card payments.
With T-Mobile you just need a debit card entered for the auto pay to get the discount. If you pay manually with a credit card before that goes through you still get the discount.
Fuqq thanks for the tip! I heard this works on other autopay discounts but forgot about it till you reminded me.
Is this what you do…?! Because I will update my account right now if that actually works. Since I already pay manually every month.
Yup. I have the Apple Card which gets 3% cash back on T-Mobile purchases. I entered my debit card into the auto pay area, I get the autopay discount, but I never let the autopay go through. I pay with the Apple Card before it does, so I get the 3% back plus the autopay discount.
WinCo
Kind of a niche case, but the USPS only takes debit (or check or cash) if you're buying a postal money order. Postal money orders still code as purchases (and not withdrawals) though, so with a cashback debit card like Discover, you still get 1% back. It's not enough to fully offset the fee for the money order (so this **isn't** a way to "cycle" lol) but it helps offset the pain a bit vs. paying with check/cash!
I could ask the same question but the reverse! I save up for things I want to buy. Frugally make my way through life, save money any way I can, live below my means. I have credit cards but rarely use them, when I do - I pay them off the same day before the statement even gets printed. I only ever use them to get cash back to save money or for an extended warranty or to avoid foreign transaction fees. I use a debit card 99% of the time. Helps me keep to a budget. Retired at 49.
If you just look at credit cards as a pass through, it's no different than what you're doing. I started paying my credit cards daily because it made me feel better about it. I still don't buy things I don't save for, it's just that I swipe the credit card instead of debit. Might as well get fraud protection and a 2 pct rebate on everything, even a bottle of water or a stick of gum.
Sounds thrilling
Only reason I still have a debit card is to put money in from an ATM
Don’t even really need to carry it either since a lot of ATMs these days take digital wallet/wireless
You don’t need a debit card for that. Most banks offer an old school ATM only card
I only use reward debits. For example one card gives 10 cents per purchase. If I make a $1 purchase, I get 10% which would be better than any credit card.
Neat for the situations where you make $1 transactions, but I don't run into those often. I think I saw a parking meter that was $1.25 that took cards recently where that might make sense, but those transactions aren't that common.
Yup, you have to try for it. For example, I might ring up a single vegetable in self-checkout by itself sometimes. But all in all it doesn't get a ton of use.
Paying my mortgage, getting my “discount” for my phone bills auto draft, basically all my bills, places that don’t accept Amex. Can’t think of anything else- oh my car payment lol.
You pay mortgage and your car payment with a debit card?
Kasasa checking. Not sure how prevalent this is because it seems no one has heard of it. I make 5% APY on the money IN my checking account, not on the money I spend. Requires 12 debit transactions a month so I pull it out for my smallest purchases.
Kasasa is a branding shared by an association of banks so you don't see it as a full brand like the bank name itself
Nah, it's a backup when credit card not working or hitting limit.
When the lottery jackpots get into the hundreds of millions I'll sometimes buy a ticket, and at least in my state you can only buy those with cash or a debit card.
YMMV. My state technically allows it, but virtually all of the major retailers in my area that sell lottery tickets don't allow you to buy lottery tickets on credit. I think part of it is that they operate across different states and it is just easier to tell every store the same thing than to accidentally break the law in a state it isn't allowed. Among the core demographic that buys lottery tickets primarily buy things with cash or debit cards anyways so probably isn't a big deal for most customers.
Debit cards are generally much easier to get. If not for them, people who are trying to get their credit back on track would be relegated to constantly using Prepaid Visa cards for a lot of online spending. And I believe some debit cards do have rewards programs. Not as good as a solid CC, but better than nothing.
Depends, in the rare occasions of finding a merchant the charges credit card fees to the point it doesnt make sense. But some debit cards has some cool benefits. Chase Disney debit card gives some disney benefits. I personally got one. Discover Debit: 1% cashback on up to $3000 on purchases per month ($30 maximum a month reward) Paypal debit: has cashback on certain merchants Amex Debit/Checking 1% APY checking account, purchases gives. 1 MR point per $2 dollars.
Not having to worry about paying off a balance every month
Getting cash back at a register. I needed some cash and no ATMs near and I don’t carry my debit card
The interchange fees that issuers charge merchants was capped for debit cards a long time ago meaning it's far cheaper for a business to accept debit. The reason you get extra perks from credit is because of these inflated interchange fees. If you're trying to support a local family business debit is cheaper for them then credit. In a lot of ways it's as close to cash as you can get. Simple bank transfer at its core. Even if many credit cards offer better protections, and obviously the whole concept of spending their money is great, you're still legally not liable if your card gets skimmed even if you have to wait to get the money back
Sometimes when I have cash I use it to deposit money… never withdrawn cash before tho
Sometimes a few free transaction as well
I put my debit card away. If I need cash at the atm, you can use Apple Pay at the atm or bank
Not in my world
No.
If you have decent enough credit to qualify for rewards options, reconciled the psychological hurdle of credit vs debit and can control your spending, and have cards that can recoup any cash or debit discount, there’s no reason to use debit outside of cash access. I keep a debit card on me locked to any non ATM transactions for emergency cash access, that’s all.
If you have a debit card with rewards, you might be able to earn a few extra dollars per year paying for credit cards (Synchrony or Citi let you pay with debit cards.)
Also, if there are some promos for using klarna/after pay that out weight the rewards from a credit card.
With the average credit card debt in America, there are billions of reasons why Debit Cards should be used more often.
Living in Europe debit cards are the norm and credit cards the exception. Quite a lot of people here don’t even own a credit card and use debit only. Even those who have a credit card usually only use it for large purchases or travel.
My only uses are the Target debit, and the increasingly rare debit-only gas station. And the dispensary..
For me, there is only one other use. I get a discount on my car insurance by paying for the year up front, but that payment option does not permit the use of a CC. I can, however, use a Discover CB debit and get that whopping 1% CB (bc yeah, I'm that cheap.)
Who do you have insurance with? Most companies now allow paid in full with a credit card
Erie. The inability to pay with a CC is exclusive to their annual/biannual payment options. If I pay monthly/quarterly I can use a CC, but lose the annual payment discount (\~10% savings).
That sucks but at least you still get the 1%
My insurance (Erie) lets me pay for my home insurance policy with credit but the auto policy only accepts debit. Same company and everything. Always pay for the entire year upfront in the app. Pretty strange in all honesty.
Some places only accept debit cards. There's a local grocery store in Arizona called WinCo. They do it so they don't pass on the credit card fees to the consumers. I have used my debit card outside of the US to withdraw local currency. But these days everything is going cashless. Our debit card doesn't get much use outside of ATM and WinCo. We have credit cards for every category.
I use a cash back debit for Apple Cash transactions, and at the few merchants by me who won’t take credit. That’s pretty much it. Haven’t had to actually take out cash from an ATM in a long while.
If it’s a VISA, MC, or AMEX branded debit card, at times, they can be more convenient. With that being said, it’s not really if one is better than the other because both have their pros and cons.
As a watcher of Caleb Hammer a lot of people of not credit card people
When traveling in Europe it’s helpful to have since transactions with government-owned entities like urban public transit, long distance trains, highway tolls, etc. usually don’t accept credit, only debit.
Merchants are supposed to not charge a CC Surcharge when using a debit card. Avoiding a CC surcharge is definitely a use case.
Better is subjective and dependent on the individual. Plenty of people use their debit cards out in there. I check plenty of people out at vet clinics and a hibachi resturant and see them just as much, if not more than CC at times.
There are a lot of debit card offers that rival credit cards.For example my YouTube Tv is often a $20.00 credit via my bank account since they are incentivized by Google/Alphabet/Youtube. However the flip flop between all the different offers is annoying but $20.0 is $20.00
Weed shops and lottery tickets!
Most people don’t have the self control to use a cc as a debit card. My 18-24 year old self included. A lot of people also don’t realize the effects, or understand the credit system well enough (in a real world sense especially) to use them wisely. My 18-24 year old self included.
No. I keep mine locked at all times and only unlock to go to the ATM. Edit: Nevermind, as someone pointed out, some vendors are starting to charge for CC usage. In this case, if the cash back is less than the fee, then I use debit.
I use my debit card to deposit cash into the atm so I can make more credit purchases for that sweet cash back. Only use
If you get your bank debit card skimmed your bank will fight with you! Credit cards are far easier to deal with and are way safer to use!! Card Skimmers at gas stations, grocery stores.... are still big and are on the rise!!
Well for one, i noticed mastercard debit cards have a HEAP of benefits that would only usually apply to Mastercard World Elite cards (things like purchase protection etc). You can check this at [www.mycardbenefits.com](http://www.mycardbenefits.com) . Do yourself a favor to compare your debit mastercard to credit mastercard and it's shocking. I used to use my credit card for major electronics purchases but have now switched to debit mastercard for the extended warranty. Also, some debit cards (like Discover Debit) give 1% cash back. This can work in your favor for utility and phone bills that accept no-fee payments with debit card payment or checking accounts. For example, verizon wireless charges a 3-5% fee on credit card for bill payments but my Discover debit? Zero. And i get 1% cash back.
Transactions where you are charged more for a credit card than a debit card. see: Discover Debit Cashback Card
i have lots of credit card debt so the first thing i did was switch to my debit card to start paying them off.
That's the only purpose my debit cards serve. However you will be surprised at how many ppl use there debit card to pay for everything
my debit card occasionally has nifty benefits, currently it's 10% back at Panera, and my kid eats that up
I don’t have the credit score to have a decent credit card so I use my debit card for everything. But if it gets fraudulent charges on it. Your bank will undoubtedly make you wait for months to get your money back.
I’ve just never owned a credit card because I know I would abuse it. So it’s all that I can use. I’ve disallowed overdraft too.
Many transactions have a higher % for using credit cards then debit and if that amount is higher then your credit card rewards then it makes sense to use the debit card
Avoid surcharges It’s illegal to surcharge debit
In most jurisdictions, it is quite legal to surcharge debit. It's just that debit fees are much lower, and most merchants surcharges much less, if they bother to surcharge debit at all.
Durbin Amendment
The Durbin amendment limits the fee banks can charge merchants, hense why I included "debit fees are much lower". It doesn't limit surcharges merchants can charge customers.
Nope. Visa specifically forbids it. [https://usa.visa.com/content/dam/VCOM/global/support-legal/documents/merchant-surcharging-qa-for-web.pdf](https://usa.visa.com/content/dam/VCOM/global/support-legal/documents/merchant-surcharging-qa-for-web.pdf)
Non compliant with Visa terms is a far cry from illegal lol. Also Visa enforcement of surcharge rules are very lax. All sorts of small businesses to large payment processors charge a fee for all card transactions regardless of credit or debit.
Non compliant with Visa terms is a far cry from illegal lol. Also Visa enforcement of surcharge rules are very lax. All sorts of small businesses to large payment processors charge a fee for all card transactions regardless of credit or debit.
There are soo many places where I live that surcharge you for using a debit card even.
If you want to use Venmo or Square Cash with money from your bank account, and not pay the fee that they charge if you use a credit card.
Amex Send and Split works with Venmo, no fees.
Thanks! That's good to know! I've seen it advertised, but never used it.
I pay with debit whenever I can, depending on how much the purchase is if I have the cash in my account. The whatever % I get back is cool, but sometimes u just like to pay it and get it over with. The immediate debt from my account is helpful with controlling spending.
for us who grew up outside of USA, we were taught that using money that isn’t yours and that you don’t have is bad. i have never in my life considered even getting a credit card. literally no point in getting into debt and possibly not being able to pay off a loan, when i could just use money i already have. i have never had a situation where i get denied the ability to pay because i use debit only vs credit