Mentioned this before. I drove from the Cal Bay Area to Seattle and tried to get a motel room. My card was denied and I had to call B/A.
Their system did not show airfare, gas, meals or any purchases that day during my ‘trip’
Their computer did not consider that I might drive and use gas CC’s.
Had the same issue with both BOA and also Citi bank. Made 2 or 3 purchases within a short period of time[purchases were on the small side]. Like you said, triggers some kind of alarm.
Before any longer trip, go into your CC account and set up a “Travel alert”. You tell it what states or countries you will be traveling through. Works for me.
Exactly my experience with Discover Card - I bought something much larger than customary spending and they called me to confirm it. Two separate occasions I had my card compromised-once by loss, once by theft. One call got a reissued card with new number each time and no liability for interim charges. They have been very much on the ball.
I prefer credit cards as rates there are much lower. I recently switched to direct express card service that I found here and I’m pretty satisfied with its work and terms.
Years ago, my bank issued me a debit card, which I didn’t want, because it’s not secured with a PIN. They insisted it was. I walked to a Hallmark store and made a purchase with the debit card – no PIN needed.
I asked for and received an ATM card.
I also prefer to keep my purchases separated on a credit card, and other payments on my bank account. That’s just me and how I organize things!
plus most of my credit cards have alerts I can put for purchases, etc., which is really helpful.
Using Your Debit Card
Read Clark’s article today about the dangers of using a debit card and he suggested if you must use a debit card get a second checking account and not use your main checking for debit purchases. My question is, should the second checking account be with another bank entirely?
I believe Clark has often said that it should be at a different bank/CU because they could transfer money from another account if one account is overdrawn. I asked my CU about this and there was a setting that could be changed to not allow automatic transfers from one account to another in the case of insufficient funds. With that in place, I could probably have another checking account with a debit card and be pretty safe. But, this seems too complicated and I just don’t use the debit card anymore except for ATM withdrawals. I also got rid of ACH for paying utilities and such as none of mine charge a fee for using a CC. I do use ACH to pay the CC off every month.
It is recommended that if your primary account is at a traditional bank, then your second account is at a credit union or online bank. If your primary account is already at a credit union, then open your second account at an online bank.
There isn’t a problem with opening your 2nd account at the same financial institution, as long as they aren’t linked for any sort of overdraft protection.
When I started a new checking account at my current bank I requested an ATM-only card and they issued me one, no problem. A few years later they sent me a debit card. I cancelled it and still use the ATM-only card.
I’m in the minority here with an unpopular opinion. But I still do not understand it.
1-My debit card has a 6 digit passcode. Foolproof? No, it does add security.
2-My debit card has a $300 per day shopping or ATM limit.
3-I get an email immediately when it’s used.
4-According to my bank, worst case would be $50 loss and no more.
[I know there is a time limit, but I know the instant it’s used.
Meanwhile…
1-My CC has an $18,000 credit limit.
2-It does not have a PIN code.
3-Anyone could rack up thousands of purchases in no time.
[which is why it never leaves the house\
My bank proudly says it’s safe because I won’t lose anything.
The debit PIN is a prevention, but fixing the theft of my CC is done after.
In my mind, I prefer prevention rather than correction.
Yes, this topic has been beat to death.
I don’t disagree, but I had bought something online with a debit card once where I received the wrong item. I tried to dispute it with my CU and they said that I had to work with the retailer to get this fixed. The retailer never responded and the CU said they couldn’t help. They said something about the debit card being a “promise to pay”. That was the last time I used it to buy anything online and have slowly stopped using it since.
I never use my debit card online. It’s my “walk around” card for groceries, small items, and the rare occasion when I eat out.
My CC is the ‘go-to’ method for anything bought online.
Go with what works for you @robertpri, but I would rather be dealing with an erroneous charge on my CC than one that has already removed funds from my bank account thru the Debit Card. BTW, the PIN code on your Debit Card is worthless for CNP transactions.
Good plan. I’ve had my Debit card number compromised a couple of times and my CU caught the transactions and shut it down both times. One of them was kind of obvious where someone was trying to buy luggage on the other side of the country, but one of them seemed like it could have been something I would have done and they still stopped it. Their fraud algorithms seem to be pretty good in general.
Noted this before. Years ago, drove 850 miles to Seattle, and my CC was denied at the motel. Called fraud dept and they were surprised I could travel 850 miles without airfare, any charges, not even gas. [have a gas CC]
This is the best way to get consumer protections with your debit card!
How do Apple Pay or GPay compare with something like Pay Pal ?
I never use my debit card online. It’s my “walk around” card for groceries, small items, and the rare occasion when I eat out.
My CC is the ‘go-to’ method for anything bought online.
Whenever my bank(s) issued me a debit card, I wouldn’t use it and requested an ATM-only card, which I got.
I just don’t trust debit cards – the bank insisted that it was PIN-protected. I went nextdoor and purchased something from the Hallmark store using my debit, no pin. The charge went onto my checking account. So, no, I never liked them.
Plus, having to balance my checking account…arghhh! I don’t want to do that for every purchase I make!!
So, I have a couple of credit cards – one for groceries/gas, one for online, etc.
I like to keep my purchases and my checking account separate – I can organize better that way!