You know that ATM card you received from [insert bank name here] that doubles as a debit card? Don’t use it like a credit card - use it like an ATM card. See, debit cards are not your friends. They are not your friends because many don’t give you any sort of cash back benefit (Bank of America does have a Keep The Change program), most will charge you high fees if you over charge your balance, and in general the protections in place aren’t as good as credit cards.

No Cashback

Cashback is the number one financial reason you should be using a credit card whether it’s a mundane 1% back on everything of a lucrative 5% cash back on gasoline and supermarket purchases, a percentage back is better than getting absolutely nothing for swiping. Most debit cards don’t have a cash back benefit and so in this arena a debit card loses to a credit card.

Protections

In the past, debit cards didn’t have the same level of limited fraud liability ($50) and their fraud prevention resources were far weaker than credit cards, that has since changed but there still is a disparity, especially if you have a small regional bank. Not only that but if someone steals your card, they have access to all of your money, not an illusory “credit limit.” Lastly, because of the limited fraud resources, problems take much longer to solve and instead of that illusory “credit limit” being frozen, we’re talking your everyday funds are frozen. It’s a raw deal but unavoidable.

Take the cash back, take the fraud protection, use that debit card as an ATM card, nothing more.