Credit card or debit card?

[andyandsue]

We always "gift" ourselves a little OBC to make life (and the end bill) a little easier. We do this at the same time that we purchase the soda cards for the kids. It helps to spread out the cost of a vacation and that's one way to do it.

 

We always use a credit card for on board charging, just to make life less stressful; we don't have to make sure money is in our checking before we go for any holds or big charges, and it's easier if there is some sort of dispute that our actual money isn't in play (what if it was a charge for more than a thousand dollars while we were away? Annoying!). But I will say we use our debit card everywhere rather than a credit card and the one time someone got a hold of our lost card before we knew it was lost they charged up a ton of stuff at Macy's in NYC. Because the debit card is a visa logo card it carried all the protection of a regular visa. Within 48 hours we had our money back in our account and the bank took care of the rest, there was no hassle or extended period.

Edited March 11, 2015 by andyandsue

[sfken1977]

I'll be using by debit as back up (after gifting OBC/drink packages to my self; because I deserve it ). I have an account that isn't connected to my "rent/bill pay" account so ill use that

[DebJ14]

Both very good points and so true, that didn't come to mind in my original post....we have been lucky when it comes to our bank accounts (knock wood:p) -but just 2 weeks ago my Citi credit card was some how duplicated (an actual card used) and a $550 charge @ Bloomingdales in Chicago hit my card (I live in SC...no I was not visiting there;))

I downloaded a fraudulent charge form & emailed it in after having my card cancelled & new reissued...two days later Citi removed the charge and are investigating....I doubt it would have been that easy with the bank....:rolleyes:

 

Of course an actual card was used. Vermin out there are using scanners to electronically pick your pocket. Then, they download the data and sell it and other vermin make the credit cards up with the information that they got off your cards. Better to have this happen to a credit card than to a debit card so that they don't empty your bank account.

I cringe when people say they have unlimited daily purchase limits on a debit card- good way to get wiped out fast! Our personal banker said the average time to investigate fraud on a debit card and return the money to the client is about 3 weeks. Give me a credit card every time.

 

We had to get our Discover Card replaced 3 times last year because of this electronic pick pocketing. The last time, the thieves were so brazen they asked the merchant to call for an authorization after the electronic authorization was denied. The merchant was told to "Pick Up the Card". The thieves fled when they were told they couldn't have the card back. Discover immediately contacted us and asked us if our cards were in our possession. They were in our wallets here in Texas and the thieves were trying to use the card in Seattle.

 

The credit card company suggested that we get RFID wallets. The data on the cards in the wallet is protected by the RFID technology. Since getting new wallets we have not had any suspicious activity on any of our accounts. They sell them at Travel Smith and also QVC carries some nice leather RFID wallets for both men and women.

 

Another reason to have a credit card is that some hotel will not accept a debit card. We stayed at a resort hotel in NJ over the holidays and there was a sign at the front desk stating that they would accept a debit card for the initial deposit in advance of arrival, but the final bill would have to be settled by a Credit card or cash. Also, the rental car agency had a notice to debit card holders that an amount higher than the estimated rental would be held until the car was returned. I checked my credit card and for a 2 day rental that was estimated to be $300 including insurance, they held $750.

Edited March 12, 2015 by DebJ14

[Tedferg]

http://www.snopes.com/fraud/identity/pickpocket.asp

 

It is worth reading the Snopes article on RFID cards - which by the way are not plentiful in US. It seems the RFID cards are generally more secure and are not easily reproduced as basic magnetic credit cards are.

[rdsqrl]

Debt cards were invented to benefit banks and increase the banks profit. They are unsafe to use in any out of country travel. The locking of funds, the lack of security and the zero benefit you get is more than enough reason to avoid them. Debt cards are how banks get you to give them a interest free loan and that they can use your money before and after you deposit it or charge it ( many times a merchant will not get payment from the bank for 45-60 days after they submit a bill(

 

Credit cards like Marriott and UAL through Chase have the following benefits that debt cards DO NOT. 1 they do not charge% for foreign transactions.

 

2 if you charge your trip on the card then you get $10,000 worth of trip insurance for no cost.

3. Credit cards have fraud and purchase protection... if someone uses your card, or a purchase product fails or you get cheated the credit card will reimburse you.

4. ( and this is huge) you get tangible miles or points to use for future hotel , cruise or air travel.

5. they are accepted world wide...............

DEBT CARDS DO NONE OF THESE

It's called a DEBIT card, not a debt card. If you can't even get the name of it correct, why would we give any credibility to the rest of your screed? Which sounds like a sales pitch for Chase. You should get dinged for spamming us with advertising. Between you and the obsessive hand sanitizer pushers, it's like reading Advertising Week magazine.

[candigirl41]

Thank you for this info! I use a debit card from my "travel account" and always notify my bank of my travels beforehand. If hold time is the only effect, I'll still use this method.;)

 

Thanks again!

 

Janie

 

Janie, last time I used a credit card on ship the time before I used my debit card. I really think it depends on the bank. I had no problem using debit card. Hope to see you on board.

 

Candi

[tjcletsgo]

Janie, last time I used a credit card on ship the time before I used my debit card. I really think it depends on the bank. I had no problem using debit card. Hope to see you on board.

 

Candi

 

Candigirl, until December 5th! :D

[caribill]

In the seven cruises I've taken since 2010 not having a credit card, and still purchasing things while in the Caribbean, hasn't been a problem for me either. I rarely take shore excursions (if I do it's through the cruise line) and I'm not a big spender - I don't go off on cruises to buy lots of expensive exotic stuff (crap) I don't need or want, so using my Chase Bank Visa debit card at little gift shops from St. Martin to Nassau to Cozumel has worked for me without ever being victimized. Now, if I was traveling to Europe or Asia etc. I'd be more cautious, or recommend a credit card over a debit card, but so far, for me, no problems.

 

 

Of course the problem with credit card or debit card fraud will only hit a very small percentage of travelers. You just do not want the one to be hit.

 

I used a credit card for a small purchase (less than $9 Canadian) in a small shop in a small town in Canada on a Princess cruise. The next day there were charges from a restaurant and a movie theater in Toronto. So it is not only Europe or Asia that this can happen to you.

 

I use CASH ONLY off the ship! Always!:eek:

 

You must travel with a good supply of Euros, Yen, Singapore $, Canadian $, English Pounds, Australian $ or whatever currency is used when you travel to foreign lands.

[Hawaiidan]

It's called a DEBIT card, not a debt card. If you can't even get the name of it correct, why would we give any credibility to the rest of your screed? Which sounds like a sales pitch for Chase. You should get dinged for spamming us with advertising. Between you and the obsessive hand sanitizer pushers, it's like reading Advertising Week magazine.

 

Gee I miss spelled Debit card.... that must invalidate everything!!

I saddens me to see people throwing away money thinking they are doing the right thing Spending in cash, check debit card, travelers check is a serious waste of your money. Its very sad you cant take my point and understand this is not an ad but an awareness post to save people real money...their money that they are currently flushing down the toilet.

 

Aside from the total lack of security in most cases the BIGGEST loss is that you earn nothing in in return. Getting an affinity credit card from a hotel chain or specific airlines earns you credits that can be used to get free air fare, free hotel rooms, and free travel insurance. You would be surprised how fast it adds up !!!

I use my credit card for every thing I buy from auto insurance to Potato chips and pay it off at the end of the month... over a few years time you can easily earn hundreds of thousands of miles... So the next cruise you take you can have in your points/miles account more than enough to get free rt air and free hotels before or after....

One person said they would never have a card that that charges. Great if I offered you a 4 star hotel room costing $250 a night for the price of $95 would you consider that a good deal? I would , and that's why I gladly fork over $95 for my hotel chains card... that's like a 75% discount!!!

 

I just booked a flight for next year, using airline miles that I earned by spending about $30,000 a year buying beans bacon and regular household stuff that would have cost $16,500.00... for free... well I had to pay $56 taxes.... so it wasn't totally free...

Hey, I am not rich, I am on a fixed income and long ago learned that one needs to work smarter not harder.... start thinking out of the box... its your money

[jak378]

Gee I miss spelled Debit card.... that must invalidate everything!!

I saddens me to see people throwing away money thinking they are doing the right thing Spending in cash, check debit card, travelers check is a serious waste of your money. Its very sad you cant take my point and understand this is not an ad but an awareness post to save people real money...their money that they are currently flushing down the toilet.

 

Aside from the total lack of security in most cases the BIGGEST loss is that you earn nothing in in return. Getting an affinity credit card from a hotel chain or specific airlines earns you credits that can be used to get free air fare, free hotel rooms, and free travel insurance. You would be surprised how fast it adds up !!!

I use my credit card for every thing I buy from auto insurance to Potato chips and pay it off at the end of the month... over a few years time you can easily earn hundreds of thousands of miles... So the next cruise you take you can have in your points/miles account more than enough to get free rt air and free hotels before or after....

One person said they would never have a card that that charges. Great if I offered you a 4 star hotel room costing $250 a night for the price of $95 would you consider that a good deal? I would , and that's why I gladly fork over $95 for my hotel chains card... that's like a 75% discount!!!

 

I just booked a flight for next year, using airline miles that I earned by spending about $30,000 a year buying beans bacon and regular household stuff that would have cost $16,500.00... for free... well I had to pay $56 taxes.... so it wasn't totally free...

Hey, I am not rich, I am on a fixed income and long ago learned that one needs to work smarter not harder.... start thinking out of the box... its your money

 

I am in 100 percent agreement here. I too use my credit card for everything I spend money on and it totals usually around 4 to 5000 per month, that is 60,000 dollars a year, and since I get 2 for 1 credit from Capital that comes to 120,000 in miles every year. It adds quickly. Naturally it is paid completely every month so that there are never any interest charges. The annual fee is easily wiped out by the mileage. I use the miles mostly for travel and it enables me to fly First or Business Class for free or for small payments. I also have a Chase Marriott Affinity card that gives me a free night every anniversary, which more than pays the annual fee. I don't understand why anyone would travel carrying sufficient cash with all the risk that entails. I do carry a debit card, but not from my home bank. I keep 2500 dollars in an Ally Bank account and I use their debit card for an ATM transaction. If there is a fee, Ally refunds it at the end of the month. I replenish the Ally account from my home bank account every month.

 

Works for me.

[mek]

I have a credit card that I pay off each month. I also have a debit card. If I stick the credit card in the ATM there can be fees for a cash advance. If I stick the debit card in the ATM it just comes straight out of my checking account with no fees.

 

For cruising (and other travel as well) I use the credit card that gets paid off monthly. I really hate fees and interest. I won't even have a credit card with an annual fee attached.

 

Well, I haven't used an ATM in over 30 years and travel all over the world. I do pay an annual fee for my AMEX, but I don't have a limit on the card, so I feel it's worth it. If I ever got into a sticky situation when traveling, I know I can get out of Dodge even if the price is outrageous. Just gives me peace of mind.

[possum52]

When using a debit card, the "holds" placed on your account can take time (in some cases a week or so) to be released by your bank....if you have plenty of $$$ in that account to cover bills or auto-drafts, no worries but if not your "real" money is being "held-up"....plus for us, we like the points or miles we get from using our credit card.

Credit cards as well may also have holds placed on them. We stayed at a hotel at the weekend where a hold was placed on my credit card. There are plenty of threads on CC about credit card holds/authorisations where fellow CC members have been caught unprepared.

 

This if from my bank talking about my Visa debit card- 'NAB will reimburse you 100% of any amount fraudulently removed from your account if, despite our defences, you are a victim of fraud. Of course your responsibilities when operating your account still apply.

So, even in the unlikely event that you do become a victim of fraud despite these measures, we will refund your money 100%. That’s 100% peace of mind.'

 

Leigh

[caribill]

Holds will be placed on credit cards and debit cards at gas stations when you run the card through before pumping gas.

 

The notice on the pump at one station near us says the credit card hold will be $150 and the debit card hold will be $100. The notice also says it is up to the bank how long to keep the hold and it is usually gone in 2 or three days.

 

Take a driving vacation and fill up the car four times over two days using a credit card and the hold will be $600 total even if the actual gas charges came out to be less than $100.

 

At least Princess only places a hold for the actual amount of money you owe them.

[icat2000]

I have both a debit card and credit card. I use both when travelling. I never had any problem.

 

The only problem I had was in Uzbekistan and the ATM machine wouldn't give me any cash out of my credit card. Debit card no problems. I think its because my credit card was "Citibank card" and my debit card was ANZ visa type card. Mostly I use the debit card. Its not linked to anything.

 

That saying, i prepay as much as possible and whack cash down on my account as soon as I board the ship.

Edited March 23, 2015 by icat2000

[TomCruises]

What's the difference and why is it better to use a credit card?:o

 

Thanks!

 

Janie

 

 

 

Please, contact your financial institutions for information that explains your personal banking benefits if any!:rolleyes:

[TomCruises]

Just make your life easier and use a credit card. It's always advisable to let the card issuer know in advance that you will be traveling out of the country so they don't freeze the account thinking the charges are fraudulent. Also, make sure you understand that they may charge a 3% or so "out of country" fee on any transactions you make while traveling. Some cards don't charge the fee but many do. Getting a 1% bonus on charges isn't really that great when being charged 3%. :eek:

 

Note: I use my Discover card. There is no fee for using it out of the country.

 

It is referred to as a 'Foreign Transaction Fee' and some banks charge this 3% fee and some do not.

[TomCruises]

Just make your life easier and use a credit card. It's always advisable to let the card issuer know in advance that you will be traveling out of the country so they don't freeze the account thinking the charges are fraudulent. Also, make sure you understand that they may charge a 3% or so "out of country" fee on any transactions you make while traveling. Some cards don't charge the fee but many do. Getting a 1% bonus on charges isn't really that great when being charged 3%. :eek:

 

Note: I use my Discover card. There is no fee for using it out of the country.

 

 

 

Note: Discover Card for a fact, is not nearly as widely accepted as Visa, MC or Amex. This may create disappointment and inconvenience for the cardholder.

[UpcountryTravelers]

I use my debit card ONLY for ATM withdrawals (it helps that the onboard ATMs on Princess are my home bank - no ATM fee) and for local purchases.

 

For my shipboard account I use a credit card that has no limit. Therefore no problem. Same for travel purchases.

[Tedferg]

Have seen to many people get into financial trouble with debit cards and automatic payments from bank accounts. Before they knew it they were overdrawn and paying all sorts of late fees. Debit cards are just a way to get over extended fast.

I do not use debit cards or allow ANY automatic withdrawals from my bank accounts and tell the banks to never allow them. I also use cash whenever possible so far have not had a problem and have a great credit rating.

 

I agree with most of what you say but wonder about Debit versus Credit. I thought Credit allows you to spend money you do not have but Debit is limited to the amount in your Checking Account. Will a Debit be accepted if there are no funds in the account ?

[Tedferg]

 

We had to get our Discover Card replaced 3 times last year because of this electronic pick pocketing. .

 

Does the Discover have RFID ? I thought the 'electronic pickpocketing' worked by activating the chip. Did not think this would work with Magnetic Stripe card. I do think RFID is a better process just curious about the pickpocket aspect.

[caribill]

Does the Discover have RFID ? I thought the 'electronic pickpocketing' worked by activating the chip. Did not think this would work with Magnetic Stripe card. I do think RFID is a better process just curious about the pickpocket aspect.

 

A card with a chip does not mean the card has RFID.

[caribill]

I agree with most of what you say but wonder about Debit versus Credit. I thought Credit allows you to spend money you do not have but Debit is limited to the amount in your Checking Account. Will a Debit be accepted if there are no funds in the account ?

 

Correct about the debit card being limited.

 

If a debit card is what you gave Princess to use, they will call you to the Purser's desk if the account does not have enough money for the hold they are trying to place.

 

If a credit card is used, you would get that same call if all of your credit is used up when they try to place the hold.

[caribill]

Note: Discover Card for a fact, is not nearly as widely accepted as Visa, MC or Amex. This may create disappointment and inconvenience for the cardholder.

 

Per the Discover Card web site:

 

Where is my Discover Card accepted outside of the U.S.?

 

Discover cards are currently accepted in multiple countries around the world through the Discover Network and our Network partnerships:

 

• China Union Pay
  
• JCB
  
• Diners Club International
  

[RocketMan275]

Something to consider if you insist on using a debit card. Establish a second bank account for travel purposes and only keep as much money in it as you plan to spend. Get a debit card linked to this account. Keep the main part of your money in an entirely separate account. Do not cross link the accounts. If some one does hit your travel account, your main account is protected. BTW, get a credit card even if only for emergencies. For example, you are in Aruba and have to, absolutely have to, fly home.

[Tedferg]

A card with a chip does not mean the card has RFID.

 

Thanks, did some searching and see several types of 'chip' card - chip & pin, chip & sign etc. Also the contactless card where you tap rather than slide. I guess the latter is handy for mass transit, tube trains etc.

 

Also saw comments that RFID might have a transaction limit - which would make sense if primary benefit of this technology is for high traffic turnstiles. Where the 'purchase' is a small dollar amount.

 

Consumer Reports had this comment on protective sleeves:

Our reporter offered her own homemade shield constructed of duct tape and lined with aluminum foil. It provided better protection than eight of the 10 commercial products, including a stainless-steel “RFID blocking” wallet selling online for about $60.