Why Americans love credit cards so much is a mystery. In Europe debit cards have been the way to go for a long time. Most countries in Europe also have direct payments through mobile apps.
On top of that, I get cash back and other benefits/rewards from using a credit card (like extended warranties and insurance on the things I purchase). Yes, these things make purchase prices go up for everyone, but if you don't play the "game", you're leaving money on the table.
Most merchants do not pass credit card fees on to card-using customers (so you don't save by using debit or cash), though that practice has increased over time. Certainly if/when that becomes the norm, I'll have to decide if the benefits of using a credit card are worth the cost.
Really? In what cases can an average credit card user challenge a payment that has not already occurred?
If there is a fraud usually it is quick to get money back if debit cards were used.
When you go to file a fraud claim the bank must provide a provisional credit for the amount of the transaction but they may reverse this if they decide it was not fraud. It depends on what state you're in, if you used a branded (Visa/MC) debit card, the bank, the representative's interpretation of all the applicable rules, your prior chargeback history, etc.
https://www.consumerfinance.gov/rules-policy/regulations/100...
With credit cards the legal maximum is $50. And the fraudulent transactions are drawn on a line of credit (soft money) not the contents of your bank account (hard money). The United States has a powerful oligopoly of payment network operators who lobby to maintain high interchange revenue. This de facto shifts the cost of credit cards onto those who don't have them. Instead of annual membership fees for the actual users, merchants pay about 2% of card transaction volume instead of 0.3% in the EU.
I claimed the cost of the ticket back from the credit card company. Recovering money from the bankrupt festival is then their problem.
And if I have a dispute with a business, I can have the credit card company reverse the charge for me? If it's debit, that money is gone.
I would never use debit if I could use a credit card. The US system is far superior for consumers.
I think that's the same for credit cards in most of Europe. (They exist even if they aren't popular.)
Consumers are also forced to pay for it, though. The transaction fee in the US is routinely 2-3%, while in the EU it's capped at 0.3%. Because of borderline anti-competitive behaviour from VISA and Mastercard, that fee is also not charged separately to creditcard-using consumers but integrated in the price, so everyone pays for it.