BofA chief: We have a 'right to make a profit'

[fasternyou929]

Originally Posted by Corey

How so? I get rewards for using my debit card, so I'm not missing out there. I'm in school and have a limited budget. I understand that if I had a credit card, I'd be more tempted to live outside my means and have a continuous balance on my card which negates the advantages of using a credit card as my primary means of payment. I understand my spending habits, my income, and my current debt load. In my situation, a credit card doesn't work.

All points below assume since you know your budget, you have the mental capacity to stay within your budget using a credit card just as you do using a debit card. If you're sharper than a marble, you meet this criteria.

1. Your debit card is linked DIRECTLY to YOUR money. If someone gets hold of it, the impact to you is much higher (locked account/missing funds) and lingers longer than it would with a CC (typical turn around is 24 hours to get a new CC and carry on like nothing happened).

2. Rewards are always higher on a CC than DC.

3. Buyer protection is higher on a CC than DC, including benefits like extended warranties, sometimes price protection, etc.

4. You build up a credit history using a CC, not a DC.

The real question is, if you know your budget and monitor your spending, what is the benefit to using a Debit Card?

And the least sensical part of your statement: "If I can't afford a purchase, I don't need it" implies credit cards are ONLY for buying things you can't afford.

[shmike]

Originally Posted by fasternyou929

All points below assume since you know your budget, and you have the mental capacity to stay within your budget using a credit card just as you do using a debit card. If you're sharper than a marble, you meet this criteria.

1. Your debit card is linked DIRECTLY to YOUR money. If someone gets hold of it, the impact to you is much higher (locked account/missing funds) and lingers longer than it would with a CC (typical turn around is 24 hours to get a new CC and carry on like nothing happened).

This to me is one of the biggest issues.

If money is tight, odds are you have a low balance in your account.

Anytime a "hold" is placed on your card (hotel room, rental car, etc.) your money is no longer accessible to you. You could actually be denied access to your own money or bounce a check even though the money is waiting there ready to pay it!

Also, the theft issues. While your liability is the same, it is a much bigger (and longer) battle to get your money back from the bank than the CC companies (personal experience).

Corey,

If your debit still pays rewards, they are one of the few. Most have eliminated them.

Some have started charging fees, others will follow suit.

[Homeslice]

Originally Posted by EpyonXero

I never make debit card purchases (PIN) but I make chack card purchases all the time (VISA/signature).

What's the difference between a debit card and a check card?
I thought that any checking account ATM card is just called a debit card.

[OneSickPsycho]

#3 continued...

Warranties aren't just warranties either... many offer complete product replacement, including returns for buyer's remorse... also emergency roadside assistance is pretty standard...

[Corey]

Originally Posted by fasternyou929

All points below assume since you know your budget, you have the mental capacity to stay within your budget using a credit card just as you do using a debit card. If you're sharper than a marble, you meet this criteria.

1. Your debit card is linked DIRECTLY to YOUR money. If someone gets hold of it, the impact to you is much higher (locked account/missing funds) and lingers longer than it would with a CC (typical turn around is 24 hours to get a new CC and carry on like nothing happened).

2. Rewards are always higher on a CC than DC.

3. Buyer protection is higher on a CC than DC, including benefits like extended warranties, sometimes price protection, etc.

4. You build up a credit history using a CC, not a DC.

The real question is, if you know your budget and monitor your spending, what is the benefit to using a Debit Card?

And the least sensical part of your statement: "If I can't afford a purchase, I don't need it" implies credit cards are ONLY for buying things you can't afford.

Again, my situation is a personal thing that I understand. I know that if I have a credit card, I'll carry a debt with it and spend more than is necessary. I've done it in the past and got in a large debt. So, it's an understanding that the benefits of a credit card would probably be negligible for my situation. The rewards, though very convenient to have, are also negligible. My bills are paid through automatic draft off my bank account. Any expenditure beyond that is minimal. I've paid off my car, bike, and loans (except student loans). I've budgeted everything around being a "poor" college student for the next two years to afford me the opportunity of not having to work and being a full time student. A credit card is a variable that could potentially throw that off, so it's not benefitial for my situation. That will most likely change when I'm out of school and making real money again, but that'll be an adjustment made when necessary.

[shmike]

Originally Posted by Corey

Again, my situation is a personal thing that I understand. I know that if I have a credit card, I'll carry a debt with it and spend more than is necessary. I've done it in the past and got in a large debt. So, it's an understanding that the benefits of a credit card would probably be negligible for my situation. The rewards, though very convenient to have, are also negligible. My bills are paid through automatic draft off my bank account. Any expenditure beyond that is minimal. I've paid off my car, bike, and loans (except student loans). I've budgeted everything around being a "poor" college student for the next two years to afford me the opportunity of not having to work and being a full time student. A credit card is a variable that could potentially throw that off, so it's not benefitial for my situation. That will most likely change when I'm out of school and making real money again, but that'll be an adjustment made when necessary.

Tough to argue with that logic.

I've been there before too.

At this point, I see the debit card as more of a liability than a CC but everyone's situation is different.

[EpyonXero]

Originally Posted by Homeslice

What's the difference between a debit card and a check card?
I thought that any checking account ATM card is just called a debit card.

Now-a-days the cards are one and the same. But before they were just ATM cards, then stores started accepting them as payment so they were called debit cards, finally VISA and MC got onboard and they became check cards.

You can have a debit card thats linked to a savings account that would not be a check card.

[Sixxxxer]

Originally Posted by Smittie61984

They're not charging you for access to your money. they are charging you for a service.

That service being...Holding YOUR Money.

Fuck That shit, My bank charges 2 dollars...and Ive been okay with it for now...but I do have an ING account and may open a USAA one shortly and cut ties with my current bank completely.

[Homeslice]

Originally Posted by Sixxxxer

That service being...Holding YOUR Money.
.

And giving you free checking, free auto-pay, free direct deposit, free ATM card.....

[Smittie61984]

Originally Posted by Sixxxxer

That service being...Holding YOUR Money.

Then why put it in a bank at all? Why not just keep it at your house/apartment/buried in the backyard?

I'm guessing you like the security of your money/wealth being in a bank. Why? If your house burns down and you have all of your money and savings in there then it is gone and nothing left to do except bitch. If the bank burns down or your house burns down then you go to the bank and retrieve your money.

You are also paying for the convienence of not having to run to your bank every day and to get a certain amount of money.

But as stated earlier. If people don't like it then you can get another bank. My bank actually pays my ATM fees back when I use it. I also don't pay monthly and well I don't pay anything ever.