Which method do you use to pay monthly bills?

[radioguy]

Guess I'm in a different place. Security is more important than perks/points/ fees interest rates. We have 2 credit cards. One is a Costco Visa, the other is a Discover. The Costco gets used all the time, the Discover is just around in case of a problem with the other. Been meaning to dump the Discover but have not pulled the trigger, they just got bought by Capital One, things haven't changed just not too impressed with Discover.
All our bills are paid online, most are still done manually, not auto-pay, some auto-pay on those were we save &&.
We use Privacy all the time to pay those one off online transactions and our monthly subscriptions. Offered by Wells Fargo Bank, its directly connected to my checking account. A virtual credit card number is created for each need. You can lock it to a vendor, one time use, limit transaction amount. For subscriptions I'll set the amount just above what it costs, if price increases then transaction is declined. Its pretty handy and not too bad to track. Direct withdrawal from the checking, no perks but peace of mind.

Most of the risk with credit card transactions is with the vendor / supplier. Your info is sitting on someone else's system, there is nothing you can do to prevent them from being hack and info stolen. I have had transactions blocked on Privacy cards due to it being the wrong name, wrong amount. Been on Privacy for 4 years and have had things hacked 5 or 6 times.

If you deal with things online you will get compromised just trying to limit my exposure.

RG

 

[normanaj]

You can disagree all you want. It doesn't change the facts.

Visa Debit/Visa credit card have the same protections.

Mastercard debit/Mastercard Credit Card have the same protections.

Except for one major difference a debit card is exactly what it says it is..it debits your checking account plain and simple.

@Hijack73 is right on the "money" with his response to you.And to add to that you also have state laws that may or may not add extra protection but in the end a DC debits your checking account and a CC does not and that is a fact.

If you wish to continue to believe that a DC is safer that is your prerogative but I hope nothing untoward happens to you because of a bad purchase or scam and you have to wait even a day to have your checking account replenished.You would hope that your "purchase" through bbqguys would raise a red flag for you and give you pause to think.

All it takes is one bad purchase through a skimmer or scam and BANG! your checking account is wiped out,that can't happen with a CC.Again I have 13,500 reasons to know that's true.

And before you bring up Navy Federal they have to follow all federal and state regs/laws just like any other banking institution.Veteran here and was a member for many years but the 20 mile drive wasn't worth the aggravation and few extra perks when I can go to the bank at the bottom of my street.I use my CC for all my purchases and have all the same protections and know that my checking account can't be accessed through my CC.

Done.

 

[stewiejp]

Very interesting thread - thanks to all that have put in some interesting information! Very interesting to see what is available stateside vs Australia. (Sidenote - sorry for the absence of posts of late - have moved house and still in the process of finishing a new BBQ/Smoking/Grilling area).

The perspective down under is a LOT different unfortunately. With only 4 "Big Banks" and quite a few small ones that are owned, influenced or controlled by these big 4 - for decades they have basically been ripping of their customer base until a Royal Commission (fancy name for a government enquiry at the highest level) was performed in about 2017. The RC stopped a lot of these bad practices but it is still very easy here to lose a significant amount of $ to unnecessary bank fees and interest rates - avoiding these fees etc has been a hobby of mine since the 90s!

When I started work in the 90's there were banks everywhere and people put their money in / took it out with relative ease. Slowly the ATMs replaced the banks like they probably did everywhere and at about this time the banks invented bank fees for everyday stuff - like withdrawing money, paying bills, monthly fees - things that just should not exist IMO. Not something I accepted - the way I saw it was they were saving millions by not opening branches or paying staff - but charged customers to use the ATMS ($2-5 per transaction at times). They also added monthly fees ($5 to 30 monthly) and are now charging a % of every cashless transaction. Every single one. Credit Card or Debit. They are also discussing charging fees for paying in cash - since there is a lot less cash floating around the cost to transport it is seen as no longer worth while. Bank specific ATMs are also closing now (to save costs) - privately owned ATMs are popping up - and the fees are higher.... in general you can use your own bank's ATMs fee free. . . if you can find one.

There were ways to avoid some fees - eg if you had a mortgage they would often dismiss every day fees - but I once paid off a mortgage and the fees returned - when I queried - that said that I had paid off the house - Hi5 - welcome back to fee land!
Since the RC it is nowhere near as bad but paying to buy stuff, withdraw cash, and simply have an account is not something I can accept so my process is as follows:

Normal Everyday fee free account (ING - non Aussie bank) - wages go in, cash comes out if I use the correct ATM - cash is used for food like butchers, bakers, fruit and veg, small business including builders (doing a lot of renovations at the moment in the new place). This account also has a fee free higher % savings account attached.
Online and places that don't accept cash - Credit Card - yes it has a fee, but the fee is significantly less that what we would normally spend on travel insurance - we do a bit of travelling - which is covered by the card so I can justify that. Worth double checking though (and I have) how good a CC travel insurance can be. Probably worth exploring a different CC though to see what else is available. This one gets QANTAS points which used to be really good but they nerfed the program last year so realistically they are not as valuable as they once were - and since we generally fly Singapore Airlines it may be worth looking that way....

sorry for the rant - it's hot here and I have a lot to do! Have a great weekend!