Credit or debit? There's more to this question than some of us realize. Writing at the blog Wise Bread, Paul Michael poses a question it hadn't really occured to me to ask: 

Being someone who hates the word “credit” I have always opted for “debit” and proceeded to enter my PIN number. But have I been doing it all wrong?

Michael dissects the difference between the two kinds of cards, which use different networks and offer different levels of security. If you choose credit, it costs the stores more -- but it sends more to banks, which provide incentives like reward points. If you choose debit, there's a less liability protection, but it's cheaper for the stores -- who might, in a charitable view, pass back some of the savings.

He decides that he's going to switch to credit cards from now on, for the security and the incentives.

But whether you choose debit or credit, either method is safer than using cash or writing checks. Lose a check card and you’re covered for almost everything you lose (usually there’s a $50 out-of-pocket cost) and it’s easy to cancel cards and order new ones.  When you lose cash, you’ll probably never see it again. Checks can be easily altered and they’re also time-consuming (just think back to how you felt the last time someone paid by check for a candy bar or bottle of soda).

Here's the full post. And here's another one at Wise Bread that takes on the credit-versus-debit-card question from the angle of fraud and identity protection.

How about you: Credit or debit at the grocery store? Why?

---

---