I traded our debit cards in for ATM cards. LOL

what was the reasoning??

so you are forced to go to the ATM to get cash??

Whats a debit card?

It's a little plastic card cleverly designed to look and act like a Mastercard or Visa. According to some here, it's usage will cause your bank balance to magically change to -$256.75, make your hair fall out and give you herpes.

I'm thinking of doing the same. More security, cannot be used without PIN. Can still be used at point of sale with PIN and get cash back at the register.

Debit cards are much more of a nightmare than credit cards if compromised.

MAC

how many credit cards do you have?

25-30

So.... You can purchase sex with this 'debit card'?

Not unless you want the bank's fraud division to make a "random call" to your house asking if the $260 charge to "Wanda's no-tell massage & stuff" was legit.
hypothetically speaking.

Debit cards and ATM cards are the same thing here.

What's the difference between the two in the U.S.?

A debit card is swipeable, usually carries a visa logo. An atm card is not swipeable for purchases.

I have an ATM card and it is swipeable, but must use a PIN. The other card that has the VISA logo, can be signed for or a PIN can be used.

I went the other way, just traded in ATM card from a local CU, for CCCU debit card - and LOVE it.

Top reasons why my ATM card sucked:

-my ATM cards lost their "swipability" years before their expiration date.

-my CU repeatedly sent ATM card replacements that do not work and require further replacements, all by snail mail.

-my ATM cards would not work at all gas stations etc that "accept debit", and explaining the difference between an ATM card vs a debit to cashiers/attendants at various stores, is exasperating.

-more than once, I or my husband has gone dyslexic on the PIN on a Friday night -and locked ourselves out of our own account. Doh!! No way to buy food or gas till Monday when the CU opened.

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Top reasons to LOVE my debit card:

-I can pay bills with it, from my checking, even if checks aren't accepted! Without having to charge a real credit card! And I can pay by phone or on the web just like a CC!

-it WORKS - therefore:

-I can pay for STUFF.

Debit cards have their bad side - read little bit and you'll see some things to look out for. I'm not trying to be negative, but if you know what can happen, you can protect yourself. They tell you you're only responsible for $50 if there are fraudulent charges, but they don't tell you how long it takes to get the money back into your account. You could have your account cleaned out.

When you make certain kinds of purchases, like at a gas station or car rental where you don't know what the total charges will be when you first swipe, they are allowed to "block" a large amount of money. Sometimes it takes days for the block to "fall off", even after the actual charges have gone through. We have had people who ended up on Chex Systems because of this type of blocking. All their checks bounced.

I always suggest, if you are using debit cards, do not put all your money into that account - have money in another account, and only move it into this account when you know you are going to use it, and be aware that your funds can be blocked if you have to pre-swipe for the product.

At a gas station, pump, then pay with your card inside, to avoid having large amounts blocked for days.

I would never risk my own money on the web. using a debit card online is not smart IMHO. More generally, debit cards suck for consumers.

sage advice.

I do agree with breeze in general. However, remember that it also card/bank specific. I was not liable for the $50 when my debit card was compromised. They gave me back ALL my money.

Also, my BofA debit card does not block off large amounts of money at gas stations. It's runs it through as $1, then when it posts to the account it becomes the actual amount I purchased.

That part is gas station specific. Some stations pre-authorize for $1, some pre-authorize for $20, etc.

I've NEVER encountered anything other than the $1 pre-authorizations.

But I can see where you're right in that the gas station would have to be the one to do it. I guess I should have said situation-specific instead.

A word of advice to all: IME, credit unions take the appropriate (authorized) amount very quickly. The only places I think you would run into problems is with hotel rooms and car rental companies. Also, for any of you who are concerned about the checks bouncing, if you can prove to your bank that the amount authorized by the merchant was greater than the purchase price you agreed to, and thus, you wouldn't have been negative if they hadn't authorized so much for such a long period, those NSF/overdraft fees can be reversed. This happened to me several times when I was using US Bank (because they suck).

That was my experience too. They put it all back into my account, and did it before I hung up the phone. I've never seen a pre-auth for more than $1.

Some folk are comfortable using credit cards for everyday stuff and that's absolutely fine. I prefer to use a debit card and not worry about making multiple CC payments.
I don't have limits high enough to carry a month's worth of spending without some really nasty utilization, I'd have to use two or three cards to make it work. At this point that's just too much hassle for the limited benefit and minimal rewards I'd see. If I had a good rewards card with a high enough limit, that might be a different story- but I'm not there yet.
I don't think debit cards are inherently evil. They have their pitfalls, just as credit cards, cash or checks all do. You have to know the rules for each of them and protect yourself accordingly.

One of the best tricks out there is to use 2 checking accounts at different banks and just ACH money into the account your debit card is tied to as needed. Can't get cleaned out that way. With USAA the money I ACH in is available immediately, even though it takes 3 days to transfer in the background.

I'm not sure if I am allowed to link to this story, but just saw this on the local news, another case where a credit card would have caused much less stress.


DURHAM (WTVD) -- : It was supposed to be a $5.00 purchase, instead it turned into a more than $1,100 dollar bill.

It's started with something we all have done, walk into a convenience store and buy a quick snack. But for Kenjuan Nichols it didn't go so smooth.

He tells Troubleshooter Diane Wilson, "My life changed January 16, 2008." Kenjuan bought a juice and a bag of chips from a Durham Buy Quick gas station. He paid with his debit card. He adds, "When I put my pin number in I was shown $5.10 total and by the time I pressed pin code and got receipt I was actually charged $1,167.42. You heard right, $1, 167.42 for a drink and chips." Kenjuan says, "I ended up paying for the most expensive bag of chips ever."
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Kenjuan says he immediately pointed out the mistake to the cashiers at the Buy Quick, but says they didn't know how to reverse the charge. He adds, "I offered to come back next day and have transaction reversed." But when Kenjuan returned to the store the next day he says the owner was no help. He adds, "When I got back and talked to the owner he acted as if he had no knowledge of the incident."

In the meantime, since Kenjuan didn't have the $1,167.42 in his account, overdraft fees piled up. He had more than $300.00 worth. Kenjuan did dispute the charge with his bank and they did work with him and did not make him pay the overdraft fees. They also started their own investigation, but that investigation could take up to 45 days.

Not able to wait that long for his bank to take action and since the Buy Quick was not returning his money from the mistake Kenjuan turned to Troubleshooter Diane Wilson. He tells her to tell the owners of the store, "Refund me the money and they won't have to worry about me anymore. I will not go buy another $1,000 bag of chips and drinks again."

Troubleshooter Diane Wilson went to the Buy Quick to get answers. She asked the man behind the counter, "Are you the manager?" Buy Quick employee: "Uh I'm working here, but he's out." The gentleman, who wouldn't give us his name, said at first he didn't know anything about Kenjuan's $1,167.42 transaction. The worker said he didn't know how to get a hold of the owner, as he said the owner's out of the country. But Kenjuan insists the man Troubleshooter Diane Wilson talked to is the owner since it's the man he dealt with and he claimed he was the owner.

After Troubleshooter Diane Wilson asked more questions, this man did seem to know what I was talking about and he insisted the owner would take care of Kenjuan. Within hours of Troubleshooter Diane Wilson's visit, Kenjuan had the money back in his account. Kenjuan tells Troubleshooter Diane Wilson, "Thank you, thank you guys. I got my money back."

Kenjuan says he'll think twice about using his debit card again, instead opt for credit. The best advice, if this ever happens to you or there's a questionable charge, dispute it right away with your bank, which Kenjuan did.

I've had debit cards for almost 15 years but have never used them for a purchase. I've seen banks offer various promotions to increase debit use..... to little avail......

same here. Debit cards are subprime.

I only use my debit card at the main grocery store (chain) that I shop at. But that's about it. I no longer it at gas pumps, restaurants etc.

I am slowly weaning myself ...

There is a subset of folks who definitely CAN benefit from use of debit cards. We all know that there are "spendaholics" who simply can't adequately control their use of credit cards. Use of a debit card helps provide them with mandated control over their spending; they can only purchase goods.........with available cash.

Oh the debit card can make that even worse, because they'll continue to let the payments clear and then charge you a $30 overdraft fee each time. At least if you go overlimit on a CC they'll typically stop letting you use it after just one overlimit fee.

Abby is correct that credit cards take a certain mindset and level of discipline that not everyone has developed. They are only wonderful if you use them properly, in the wrong hands they can be devastating. Even something as logical as having a backup or two (or ten) if you plan on carrying a balance- look at how many folk incorrectly believe having just a single card or two at most is better for their credit. They carry a large balance, the rate jack comes and they suddenly can't pay the minimums.

Fees really aren't the larger problem. I'm unaware of a single bankruptcy rooted in debit card debt.