Where Not to Use Your Debit Card

Debit cards come in handy for everything including making online purchases, buying big ticket items, paying at a restaurant and holding a room at a hotel. However, before you pull out the debit card next time, you should know about some places you shouldn't use your debit card and why.

Using the debit card online can be a dangerous practice because the card is linked to your bank account. If the card number is falls into the wrong hands, you risk being wiped out. If your credit card has fraudulent charges, you have recourse whereas with a debit card, the money in your bank account is gone and you need to enlist
the help of the bank to get the money back, which is not always easy or accomplished.

Purchasing high priced items on a debit card offers little protection whereas a credit card allows you to dispute the charge if something is wrong with the product. A debit card is the same as paying with a check. Once you make the purchase and something goes wrong with the item, you have no recourse except to hope you can have a refund or an exchange. With a credit card, you can dispute the charge.

Avoid using the debit card at restaurants. The debit card in most cases will leave your sight to pay the bill. There are many different people that can get their hands on your card number and the number alone with the 3 digit number on the back of the card will allow a thief to use the card anywhere by offering the number.

If you are dealing with a new company, you should use a credit card instead of a debit card. Until you totally trust the company, you should use a credit card which offers more protection than the debit card.

Using the debit card for recurring payments can be a dangerous practice especially if you want to cancel the payments ahead of time and the payment still goes through. At least with a credit card, you don't lose any money in your bank account, which could take awhile to get back.

The bottom line is that a debit card is nice to have, but it can be a tragedy if the card number falls into the wrong hands or you don't have the protection as you do with a credit card.