Who has gotten rid of debit cards?

I use CC's for just about all purchases I make but rarely use any debit cards...Certainly for anything over ~$50. It makes on line purchasing super easy and I get 1.5% cash back on everything I buy. To me that's free money and it's a better return rate than I can get on CD's now :LOL:.

I never pay any annual fees for my CC's and I also pay off the balance each month so there's no interest to pay... Everything is done on-line so I don't even need to buy stamps. :)

Another plus, when I buy something off Amazon they "ask" if I'd like to just use the points/credits on the CC that I last used with them.... Almost like getting "things" for free. :) When I first saw this happening I wasn't sure I liked the idea that Amazon knows that much about my CC accounts. Then I realized, that's probably insignificant compared to what they really know and can do...
 
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The only debit cards I've used have been rebate or gift cards. And I don't like those, because sometimes they don't work, especially online. I have a $50.00 Visa card (for a rebate) that failed to work in two different stores.
 
I've have a debit card but have never used it for spending and probably never will. I run everything through a single credit card, which allows me to keep better track of spending and to get the associated points for air travel (assuming we ever get to travel again). I do use it for ATM withdrawals at my bank.
 
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I am part of the "only using debit cards for ATM withdrawals" crowd.

EastWest Gal said:
Only for ATM withdrawals. Does anyone use the HSA Debit card for medical expenses?
Click to expand...

I have one but have yet to use it. I prefer to pay for individual expense transactions and will do a bulk withdrawal as desired from my HSA.
 
Car-Guy said:
Another plus, when I buy something off Amazon they "ask" if I'd like to just use the points/credits on the CC that I last used with them.... Almost like getting "things" for free. :)
Click to expand...
Very minor difference, but I always use my 5% Amazon store card, and have rewards applied to statement credit. If I use my credits at Amazon I miss out on that 5%!:LOL:
 
EastWest Gal said:
.... Does anyone use the HSA Debit card for medical expenses?
Click to expand...

No, I pay them using my regular credit card... or some like Part B and Part D premiums are transfers from our checking account... and then once a year I do a withdrawal from the HSA to reimburse myself.

For me it is easier.. besides it is inevitable that DW would pay some HSA qualifing expense with the regular credit card so I would need to make a withdrawal anyway. This keeps it simple.
 
Never use a debit card. Got an offer to spend $300 and get $100 with a new debit card, that is the only reason I'm using one now.
 
Thanks all.

I have used my debit card in the past for many purchase but, will change that now. I am turning over a new leaf ... like Scrooge on Christmas morning!
CC for all purchases, DC for ATM cash only

God bless us one and all!
 
PaunchyPirate said:
I use my debit cards for ATM transactions only. Never, ever use them to purchase anything.
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Seems like most of us, me included.


I went a step too far, and it gave me trouble.


Had the Visa logo debit for travel ATM cash, worked great, but I didn't want the Visa logo, I wanted "just an ATM card", and my credit union swapped it. The next trip, it didn't work. Even though it said "Cirrus network" or whatever on the card and several ATM's I tried, it never worked. Various matching networks, various ATMs. So when I got home, I ditched the no-logo ATM only card back to the Visa logo card, and the next trip, worked fine.
 
DW and I got rid of our debit cards about 15 years ago due to security concerns. Banks always want to issue them to us and we refuse. Now with Covid I use my credit card for everything and will probably continue that practice after Covid. Get cash back on our credit card.
 
sengsational said:
Seems like most of us, me included.


I went a step too far, and it gave me trouble.


Had the Visa logo debit for travel ATM cash, worked great, but I didn't want the Visa logo, I wanted "just an ATM card", and my credit union swapped it. The next trip, it didn't work. Even though it said "Cirrus network" or whatever on the card and several ATM's I tried, it never worked. Various matching networks, various ATMs. So when I got home, I ditched the no-logo ATM only card back to the Visa logo card, and the next trip, worked fine.
Click to expand...

Yep, gotta have a VISA or MasterCard logo for ATM use in Europe. I had to “upgrade” one of mine.
 
DW worked in a bank and "saw the sausage being made" on debit cards, so we never got one! They tried, even sending them to us multiple times over the last decade, and we never activated them, just shredded them.

Somehow, we still have ATM-only cards. These are not debit cards, they only work in ATMs. Perhaps we're grandfathered? They renew them when they expire. I wonder how long this will last.

BTW, the ATM-only card worked OK in Canada and Europe too.

We love the security of not even having a debit card in our possession.
 
I have two debit cards, one tied to major checking account and the other to a minor (low balance) checking account. We use the major card to withdraw cash and the minor is tied to Apple pay and I use it with my watch as a gas card. On that, if I pull into a gas station and can not use the watch, I move on. (that has only happened twice in three years)
 
JoeWras said:
BTW, the ATM-only card worked OK in Canada and Europe too.

We love the security of not even having a debit card in our possession.
Click to expand...
I was going for that security because I often have largish bucks in the account. Your mileage varied WRT travel. One place I struggled was way out of civilization on the Nicoya peninsula. Ended up with a fee-laden cash advance from a CC.
 
I find it annoying to have to carry both a debit (for the ATM only) card & credit card...I blame banks/credit unions outsourcing their credit card operations for that.

Years ago I was able to get a credit card at a bank with all my account info also encoded so it worked as an ATM card as well...this was with a bank that handled its own credit card operations.
 
Like many of the previous replies, my bank ATM card *can* be used as a debit card, but I never do. Use my Costco Visa for almost all purchases except some small cash transactions. Visa has the cash back reward, debit has none; in addition to the debit being less secure.
 
When I opened the Schwab account to have access to their wonderful no fee including no foreign fees ATM card, I designated their bank account as travel cash only.

I had one concern once because someone was hanging outside a bank ATM and later taking screen pictures while interacting with the machine. We got suspicious, so I got on the phone automated system and changed my PIN just in case.

I also made Schwab turn off the automatic overdraft funding from my brokerage account which is on by default. This required a person via phone call.
 
ATM Only Card

I opened a new BofA account a few years ago and asked them specifically for an ATM only card vs. a debit card. They had no issue with doing this.


My Schwab Bank ATM card is the only one I have that is also a debit card. I have been able to use this card overseas when my credit card was not accepted. (Some places, fewer and fewer, still did not take foreign issued credit cards when I was traveling extensively.) I keep a relatively low amount of cash in this account so do not worry about it too much. (Schwab's customer service has been good whenever I have had an issue, even though the issues were always of my own making.)



JoeWras said:
DW worked in a bank and "saw the sausage being made" on debit cards, so we never got one! They tried, even sending them to us multiple times over the last decade, and we never activated them, just shredded them.

Somehow, we still have ATM-only cards. These are not debit cards, they only work in ATMs. Perhaps we're grandfathered? They renew them when they expire. I wonder how long this will last.

BTW, the ATM-only card worked OK in Canada and Europe too.

We love the security of not even having a debit card in our possession.
Click to expand...
 
sengsational said:
I was going for that security because I often have largish bucks in the account. Your mileage varied WRT travel. One place I struggled was way out of civilization on the Nicoya peninsula. Ended up with a fee-laden cash advance from a CC.
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Well, heck, it is a vacation, right? Blow that dough. :)

Seriously, we have the CC as backup but didn't need it. Of course, in far away places they gotcha. I was talking more about the ATMs in airports or dense urban areas.
 
We NEVER had any, they are or at least were when initiated less secure than Credit cards with none of the benefits. We find them redundant as we pay our CCs monthly and do not hold a balance. IOHO, Debit Cards are for those who do not have decent credit cards or have difficulty managing money. Just our Opinion, we could be wrong.
 
We have a chipped debit card. It has to be used with a pin number.
I have notifications from the bank set on the lowest settings.

We have never had any problems with it.
 
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