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You shouldn't use debit cards, only CC's. There is NO protections with a debit card. If someone drains your account that's it. You can fight it but in the meantime your money is gone gone gone. If someone makes fraudulent charges on a CC you dispute it and aren't out anything in the meantime. It's personal finance 101.
Your personal finance 101 is incorrect. Any card with the Visa or Mastercard logo DOES HAVE protection, you are wrong telling people it doesn't. You may be liable for the first $50 but after that you are covered.
I agree with your overall sentiment though. A loss on an ATM card you are out that cash for up to 45 days, with a credit card any loss is on paper only
I agree with your overall sentiment though. A loss on an ATM card you are out that cash for up to 45 days, with a credit card any loss is on paper only
Depends on the bank. With our credit union and the payroll data hack, people were getting money refunded within 24 hours of them letting the CU know that a withdrawl was fraudulent.
I haven't lost a debit card before traveling, but my card was deactivated before travel due to some national security breach (I used to bank with BoA for checking account needs). Thankfully, I still had my credit card to get me through my trip, though. I would have liked to have been able to run into the local bank branch and withdraw funds from the teller window, but this happened at a period where banking center operations were closed.
Your personal finance 101 is incorrect. Any card with the Visa or Mastercard logo DOES HAVE protection, you are wrong telling people it doesn't. You may be liable for the first $50 but after that you are covered.
I agree with your overall sentiment though. A loss on an ATM card you are out that cash for up to 45 days, with a credit card any loss is on paper only
Anyone who believes that you are only liable for the first $50 on a MC or Visa credit card is a candidate to buy the Brooklyn Bridge. If your credit card is lost or stolen, you are only liable for the first $50 AFTER you informed the issuing bank of its loss. As for any charges made before you informed them of the loss, they are up for grabs; good luck disputing those with the bank. However, if the bank thinks that the cardholder, anyone in the cardholder's household, or anyone related to the cardholder made those disputed charges, regardless if they were made before or after the cardholder informed them of the loss, the bank will hold the cardholder responsible, and if necessary will sue the cardholder to get the money legally owed to them. This happens more often than one can imagine. Don't ask me how I know.
Lol, I don't know how anyone can say with a straight face not to use your debit card ever while on vacation. Where exactly are you supposed to get your money from? My paychecks go directly into my checking account, that's what my debit card is for. My credit card has a limited balance & I only want one credit card. I'm not about to pay fees to take cash out of my credit card. I use my debit card for everything because.....that's where my money is. One time I had my bag stolen while in Malaysia. Do I still use my debit card? Yep. I just do not understand that "tip".
Lol, I don't know how anyone can say with a straight face not to use your debit card ever while on vacation. Where exactly are you supposed to get your money from? My paychecks go directly into my checking account, that's what my debit card is for. My credit card has a limited balance & I only want one credit card. I'm not about to pay fees to take cash out of my credit card. I use my debit card for everything because.....that's where my money is. One time I had my bag stolen while in Malaysia. Do I still use my debit card? Yep. I just do not understand that "tip".
It's really not that difficult to understand. Seriously? Many people, myself included, will take out cash before traveling. That, in short, is where they get cash from if they need it and aren't relying on credit cards. While I used my debit card in Australia and China, I did not use it when traveling in India, Turkey, the UK, Norway, or France.
It's really not that difficult to understand. Seriously? Many people, myself included, will take out cash before traveling. That, in short, is where they get cash from if they need it and aren't relying on credit cards. While I used my debit card in Australia and China, I did not use it when traveling in India, Turkey, the UK, Norway, or France.
Yeah, take cash out beforehand. And you'll need money while you're there too. I use my debit card. One problem in all my years. It is of course your prerogative to not use a debit card & only use a credit card, I use both AND bring cash. I guess it's not really something to argue about on a forum.
It's really not that difficult to understand. Seriously? Many people, myself included, will take out cash before traveling. That, in short, is where they get cash from if they need it and aren't relying on credit cards. While I used my debit card in Australia and China, I did not use it when traveling in India, Turkey, the UK, Norway, or France.
However you need to balance carrying a large amount of irreplaceable cash with using a debit card at an ATM when traveling. I'll take my chances with the latter. Just got back from the UK and France, went through about 1500 pounds and 150 Euro as we paid cash for everything not prepaid, including our hotel room the final night. Not an amount I'd want to be carrying around. We simply went to a Barclays branch during banking hours a few times and took 350 pounds or so. We used the credit card to pay for a bottle of wine to drink on the Eurostar at Duty Free in Paris, as I was out of Euros. That was it.
I don't use the debit card for anything other than ATM's at home, and I'm certainly not going to do so while traveling. I will use a credit card while traveling for hotels, rental cars, and expensive purchases where I want some additional protections.
I use mostly cash when traveling abroad, and use my debit card to withdraw cash every few days as needed. I don't use my debit card for any point-of-service transactions. I have a credit card that is specifically tailored for international travel, including having a chip for chip-and-PIN/signature transactions, and I use that when needed (especially helpful for kiosk transactions). Sure, there are risks associated with using a debit card, but there are also risks associated with carrying around enough cash for a week or two in Europe. IMO, the debit card risks are pretty minimal when debit card use is limited to ATM withdrawals. Plus, the conversion fees for ATM withdrawals are usually cheaper than exchanging cash in a transaction that requires assistance from another person.
So yes, I use my debit card while overseas. If I happened to lose my card immediately before a trip, I guess I would just have to withdraw cash at home before leaving, and exchange as needed. I can always get an ATM cash advance with a credit card, but the fees are pretty steep. I don't think it would ruin a trip to go without a debit card, but it would definitely change my behavior as I would be constantly worried about running out of cash.
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It's really not that difficult to understand. Seriously? Many people, myself included, will take out cash before traveling. That, in short, is where they get cash from if they need it and aren't relying on credit cards. While I used my debit card in Australia and China, I did not use it when traveling in India, Turkey, the UK, Norway, or France.
