Credit Card Shopping
This weekend, I used my GAP credit card for the first time in months, which was fantastic, especially since I’ve been carrying around a $10 rewards card for the same amount of time. I bought some baby clothes for friends who are expecting and other friends who just had their second.
I also went to Wal-Mart and Urban Outfitters, netting me a total spending of about $160 or so, all on my GAP and Visa cards. When I was checking out, I got to thinking about how the credit card system works. As I’ve said before, I rely on my Visa debit/credit card, but I always, always run it through on credit. Anyone who has a bank debit/credit card knows about how you have to hit “Cancel” then “Credit” then get the cashier to hit something before you sign.
When I was at Urban, the cashier looked at my card before swiping it and said, “Debit?” I told her no, actually, credit, and she looked surprised.
I run it through as credit because I was told that my bank would charge me for using it as debit too often (true? untrue?) and also because I’m too lazy to punch in my PIN.
Does anyone know if it makes any difference one way or the other?
Filed under credit cards |
9 Responses to “Credit Card Shopping”
Leave a Reply
The bank wants you to run it as credit because they make money off of it. So, to get you to run it as credit, they charge you if you choose debit. (just a tidbit I picked up working as a teller)
Great blog! I love reading it.
I’ve never been charged to run my card as a debit card. But I have heard that you get the protection from Visa as far as unauthorized charges if you run it as credit that you don’t have when it’s run as debit. I don’t have any sources to back that up, just something I recall hearing somewhere along the line.
I think the other difference is how quickly the money is debited from your account. If you use your pin and do a debit transaction, its more immediate than if you do credit (with most banks, some are faster than others.)
I agree with R.A. When I run something as a credit it takes at least two days longer to show up on my online banking statement then if it is run as a debit.
My bank doesn’t charge for my debit transactions, but that maybe exclusive to them.
My bank doesn’t charge for debit transactions either. I haven’t paid attention to how quickly transactions show up when I run them as credit versus debit… but what R.A. and Teresa mentioned makes sense.
Keep up the fun blog!
Last I checked, I think I get charged $1.00 per month if I use my debit card even once as debit. For a while, I decided to just use it as credit (hey, that’s $12 a year) but would inevitably forget and get charged the $1.00 for the month anyway. That’s my story.
I always run my debit card and never had additional charges for it. I was wondering the same thing as you if I should stick with one over the other. Usually I go with debit, but it’s just my preference.
Craig
http://www.budgetpulse.com
Wow–you guys really know your stuff when it comes to the debit vs. credit dilemma! Kara, since you got the info from working a bank directly, I’m going to assume that’s the same way my bank works. The reason you gave makes sense, too.
Thanks everyone for the other points brought out, too: the protection Visa gives, the delay in processing the money, etc.
What this means for me is that I will keep going with credit on my credit/debit Visa!
Thanks!
I think that every time you use your card, someone has to pay a transaction fee. If you choose debit, the bank pays it. If you choose credit, the store pays it. This is why the banks are always having promotions that you only qualify for if you “skip the PIN, sign and win!”, and stores always try to get you to use debit (ever notice that when you tell them it doesn’t matter, the next thing out of their mouth is, “Please enter your PIN here”?)