Debit vs. Credit Cards

   / Debit vs. Credit Cards #322  
Well, I guess I will just die then. :unsure:


In all seriousness, that happens to people once in a while. There are ways around it. Having cards from different sources is the easiest way.

Identity theft can cause havoc. Having identity theft protections set up before hand usually protects people from that.

And, we haven't gone to a cashless society yet. I don't see it in the near future.

We have lost use of credit and debit cards in the past while on vacation. At the most, it was a temporary inconvenience.

We used to have to call our credit card source and tell them to authorize purchases in the states or countries we would be traveling in before we left. Otherwise, the cards wouldn't work. That system was replaced with fraud detection system that looks and flags suspicious activity on the account. Works pretty well. They've notified us a handful of times of suspicious charges and killed the transactions. Cost us nothing.


Most recent issue we had was last summer. We filled up our Suburban with 30 gallons of gas, paid with our debit card, and headed out towards Oklahoma. 6 hours later, we stopped on the other side of St. Louis and filled it up again, paid with our debit card and kept going. 6 hours after that, we pulled into a gas station in Stillwater, OK, filled it a 3rd time, paid with debit.

Went out to eat the next day, and tried to pay with debit card. It was declined. Why? Because our fraud detection service at our credit union shut it down after seeing three $100+ transactions in a 12 hour period spread across 4 states. Oh no! What are we gonna do?

Paid for food with credit card. Easy peasy.

Called fraud detection service and they released the hold on the debit card immediately.
Imagine if you will, a government entity controlling your cards. Fraud protection is one thing but freezing your account for a political difference is another.
 
   / Debit vs. Credit Cards #323  
Oil companies don't give cash discounts. Those are decisions by independent store owners.
Maybe where you are. One of the major distributors up here is the Irving Oil company, based in Canada. If you use their debit card you will save 10 cents per gallon.

I've already expressed my viewpoints on debit cards, and there is no way I am going to allow them access to my accounts that way.
Tonight I was going to fuel up at a chain which carries their gas; I noticed that it was actually 20 cents less per gallon than if I used their company debit card.
I turned my blinker off and kept driving until the next town where I fueled up at a Shell station. (Same convenience store chain.)
It cost 12 cents more per gallon for 21 gallons... talk about cutting off my nose to spite my face.
I had forgotten that there was a gas war in the first town I was in.
 
   / Debit vs. Credit Cards #324  
Maybe where you are. One of the major distributors up here is the Irving Oil company, based in Canada. If you use their debit card you will save 10 cents per gallon.

I've already expressed my viewpoints on debit cards, and there is no way I am going to allow them access to my accounts that way.
Tonight I was going to fuel up at a chain which carries their gas; I noticed that it was actually 20 cents less per gallon than if I used their company debit card.
I turned my blinker off and kept driving until the next town where I fueled up at a Shell station. (Same convenience store chain.)
It cost 12 cents more per gallon for 21 gallons... talk about cutting off my nose to spite my face.
I had forgotten that there was a gas war in the first town I was in.
I tend to check gas buddy if I know I will need gas...especially with a Tundra w/39 gallon tank.
 
   / Debit vs. Credit Cards #325  
When it comes to fuel, why not just sign up for a card that pays 3% or more back on fuel? Then put all your fuel on that card. Buying 5-10,000 gallons of fuel a year it adds up. I even wrote “FUEL” in sharpie on the front of my fuel card to remind me lol
 
   / Debit vs. Credit Cards #326  
When it comes to fuel, why not just sign up for a card that pays 3% or more back on fuel? Then put all your fuel on that card.
What cards do that? Many cards will do quarterly promotions and give higher cash back (usually 5%) for certain retail categories (ie-fuel, supermarkets, etc.) but those change every 3 mo.
 
   / Debit vs. Credit Cards #327  
What cards do that? Many cards will do quarterly promotions and give higher cash back (usually 5%) for certain retail categories (ie-fuel, supermarkets, etc.) but those change every 3 mo.
The Wells Fargo Active Cash card has 2% cash back, unlimited, on everything, without an annual fee.

“The Wells Fargo Active Cash card boasts a highly competitive flat-rate cash back rewards rate, generous welcome and intro APR offers for no annual fee. Individuals looking to rack up rewards without juggling multiple cards or bonus categories will find this card worth the application process.“
 
   / Debit vs. Credit Cards #328  
The Wells Fargo Active Cash card has 2% cash back, unlimited, on everything, without an annual fee.

“The Wells Fargo Active Cash card boasts a highly competitive flat-rate cash back rewards rate, generous welcome and intro APR offers for no annual fee. Individuals looking to rack up rewards without juggling multiple cards or bonus categories will find this card worth the application process.“
My CitiCard does also... 1% when making a purchase, the rest when I make the payment. I use it for gas and all other purchases for my truck, which offsets the CC fee for gas.
 
   / Debit vs. Credit Cards #329  
Most gas stations around here offer a discount of .10 a gallon if you use their credit card. Rare to see a cash discount.
My card offers me 2% cash back on gas. Not a promotion.
 
   / Debit vs. Credit Cards #330  
About 15 years ago a gas station near me that I used to go to on a regular basis put in new pumps with "pay at the pump" . a few months later they turned that feature off. Once when I went in to pay which ticked me off because after dark it was prepay, I asked why they didn't have it and they said it cost them over $2k of profits/wk on in-store sales. They only lasted a couple of more years because the convenience of not having to go into the store twice at other stations was well worth the penny or so price difference. I would think in gas the increased sales as well as the theft reduction would make "pay at the pump" a requirement because you could pay with a card just no at the pump.

I also found it very interesting on how many cannot control themselves and once they get in the store they have to buy something.
 
 
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