Using credit card as opposed to debit card

[Deleted User]

A friend mentioned that she had been advised at a police talk that it was safer to use a credit card as opposed to a debit card when paying for anything.  Is this true?  I have always used my credit card for purchases over £100 and paid off the bill in full.

DullGreyGuy

Yes, I am sure the police get vast amounts of training on the ins and outs of financial service products, InfoSec etc.

There is the line of thinking that if someone is going to raid your account then its better that they max out your credit card than drain your bank account as that means you can still pay all your critical bills like your mortgage/rent, council tax etc whilst its getting sorted. 

One card type is not intrinsically safer or more risky than the next.

Personally put everything I can on a charge card, just to be different, because then I get airmiles on everything I spend and so its something for nothing for me given I was going to buy that round of beers in a pub no matter what payment method I used.

eskbanker

'Safer' in what sense?

It's true that you benefit from section 75 protection when buying items over £100 (although chargeback erodes that difference), and there are other benefits too, such as the cashflow advantage of deferring payments and the fact that it's not your own money tied up in scenarios such as hotel or car hire pre-authorisations, but it seems to be stretching a point to characterise those as being 'safer'.

Ebe_Scrooge

Yep, Section 75 protection is a useful added bonus, and is ever so slightly "better" than a chargeback in that a credit card company has to honour it (subject to meeting the required conditions for S75 to be invoked).  But I agree with the previous posters - "safer" is probably pushing the definitions a bit.

Certainly if your credit cards offers some kind or rewards - airmiles, cashback, Nectar points, Clubcard points, whatever - that's a nice little bonus.  And a credit card is certainly handy when booking hotels and hire cars (some hire car companies, in particular, insist on a credit card so that they can ring-fence a deposit).

Andy7856

[Deleted User] said:

A friend mentioned that she had been advised at a police talk that it was safer to use a credit card as opposed to a debit card when paying for anything.  Is this true?  I have always used my credit card for purchases over £100 and paid off the bill in full.

I do a lot of internet shopping and have a "sacrifice credit card" Basically a card I use just for online.  If the details are stolen, it would only affect usage of that card. For example the issuer blocks it due to possible fraud just as I am doing my shopping in ASDA I wont find myself unable to pay.  Its pretty much a disposable card. 

born_again

Mistybird said:

A friend mentioned that she had been advised at a police talk that it was safer to use a credit card as opposed to a debit card when paying for anything.  Is this true?  I have always used my credit card for purchases over £100 and paid off the bill in full.

Not the 1st time I have heard that. As safe from a police perspective would really only be if card stolen. In which case there is no difference.
Now if you are talking safer from a consumer perspective, then that is a different matter that has been covered in the posts above.