Credit Or Debit?

Is there a difference when using a debit card?

Whenever I use my Paypal Debit Card I'm always asked if it should be charged as credit or debit. I change my mind sometimes, depending on the weather but it made me wonder. shrug

I'm not sure about paypal in particular...

however, in general, credit protects you more. you can dispute a charge if it was on your credit card (since this is something you pay later). you can't dispute something on your debit card (funds taken out from your bank). I always use credit. I think there's a law that says you are protected when you use your credit card for charges not made or authorized by you (up to a certain amount)... but not for debit card.

i remember just this December, my boyfriend bought me an AF jacket from ebay. he paid through paypal using his debit card. Well it turned out the AF jacket was fake! So, we had to try to fight it with the seller by dealing with ebay and paypal. We were told that he wasn't protected (could not ask for dispute or money back) because he used a debit card.

also, get a rewards card. depending on how much u charge, the ones with fees may or may not be better. we use a citibank diamond rewards cards. i had two airline tix that were not bought by us on our card 3 years a go and citi took care of them no problem. in terms of rewards they have a great programs, can even get money towards student loans and stuff

A debit credit card works like a creditcard but will not take out money you don't have so you can't spend like a $10,000 limit like creditcards you can only spend what is in your bank.

ThreatNet, he's talking about using a check card as credit or debit at POS.

Always use credit, as was mentioned you have more protection. Plus my bank's check card is a VISA brand and earns VISA reward points, which I've cashed in a few times since I use my check card everywhere and really rake in the points.

Also, I don't know about all banks and debit/check cards, but with mine a debit withdraws money from your account immediately, like an ATM. When used as credit, however, it is sometimes 3-4 days before the money is withdrawn. Not a big deal, but I do have an interest bearing account so I get to hold on to my money for a few extra days. )

dmorris is right. However, be aware that the merchant's fees are much lower for debit transactions; if it's a cup of coffee at a small, independent coffee shop, I usually go for a debit transaction because I don't need the protection and consider the merchant fees for credit card transactions grossly unfair.

[quote722898a19c="KeithA"]dmorris is right. However, be aware that the merchant's fees are much lower for debit transactions; if it's a cup of coffee at a small, independent coffee shop, I usually go for a debit transaction because I don't need the protection and consider the merchant fees for credit card transactions grossly unfair.[/quote722898a19c]
That is true, and occassionally I will use debit for the same reason. That is also why many self-service POS terminals default you to enter a PIN when using a debit card. ) You have to go out of your way to hit cancel and choose credit.

But at big stores like Wal-Mart, I don't care if I'm buying a pack of gum. I'll use credit just BECAUSE it costs them more. ;)

Also, with the paypal card in particular, you only get the cashback if you charge it as credit. Probably because they want more fees from the charger.

Hmm.....thanks for the info.

With my Paypal Debit Card, there are never any extra fees, whether I choose Credit or Debit, at least I haven't noticed any.

I'm never paying for more than cigarettes, Twix's, bread, milk or squirrels socks so I don't really need the protection, but I'll keep it in mind if I ever do buy something of some signifigance. +karma to all.

I always use debit because it shows up on my online statement right away and credit floats around for a while. This way I don't lose track of my money.

PayPal's Cashback Rate is 1% for every purchase you run as credit.

Running credit on a debit's only purpose is certain 'rewards' or if you want to know what stores your card has been used at.. for record purposes.

Also, you can't use whatever you want out of your debit card in one shot.. Most (if not all) banks have a Daily Spending Limit of a certain amount... So let's say you got $10,000 in there and you want to buy a $5,000 TV, but your daily spending limit is only $1,000... Well, you can see what would happen in a situation like that.

[quotef635da2e76="theysayjump"]Hmm.....thanks for the info.

With my Paypal Debit Card, there are never any extra fees, whether I choose Credit or Debit, at least I haven't noticed any.

I'm never paying for more than cigarettes, Twix's, bread, milk or squirrels socks so I don't really need the protection, but I'll keep it in mind if I ever do buy something of some signifigance. +karma to all.[/quotef635da2e76]

remember the rewards do add up, though. 5% on gas pays for tax in some states )

[quoted141de202e="theysayjump"]With my Paypal Debit Card, there are never any extra fees, whether I choose Credit or Debit, at least I haven't noticed any.[/quoted141de202e]
There should never be any fees for the buyer, no matter how you use it. The fees being discussed here are those paid by the retailer. The retailer pays a fee for every transaction, and they pay quite a bit more for credit than debit transactions. A couple years ago Wal-Mart started this policy where they wouldn't accept Mastercard debit cards as credit transactions anymore, because they didn't want to pay MC's fees. They got sued and MC threatened to kill their CC merchant account until WM relented and let people do it again.

AMEX has the highest fees of anybody, which is why so many places won't take AMEX (although that's gotten better in recent years).

oh one other thing. if u have trouble NOT spending money that you do not have then a credit card is not a good idea and interest rates will kill u more than rewards will help

[quote0572e33323="jy3"]oh one other thing. if u have trouble NOT spending money that you do not have then a credit card is not a good idea and interest rates will kill u more than rewards will help[/quote0572e33323]
We're not talking about credit cards, we're talking about debit cards with VISA/MC brands that can be run as either credit or debit.