What is the difference between a debit card and a credit card?

No, you cannot pay a credit card with a debit card. But you can a pay a credit card with the bank account that a debit card is linked to, by doing an electronic transfer. However you choose to pay your credit card bill – whether you do it online, over the phone or by mail – there will not be an option to enter any kind of card number as the payment method. That’s among the reasons why you can’t pay one credit card’s bill with another credit card, either.… read full answer

To pay your credit card bill using the checking/savings account behind your debit card, you’ll usually need to enter information like the account number and routing number for your checking or savings account. This is the most common way people pay their credit card bills, and it lets you take the money straight from your bank account and apply it to your bill.

Once you’ve entered the info for the account you’d like the money to come from, you can usually save that for next time so you don’t have to manually enter it every month. You can also set up automatic bill payment, so that on the same date each month, money is withdrawn from your account to pay your credit card bill.

Bottom Line:

The simple answer is that you cannot use a physical debit card to pay your credit card bill. You will have to set up payments using the nine-digit routing number from the checking account your debit card is linked to. At the end of the day, the money is coming from the same place.

There are benefits to using both charge cards and debit cards. Charge cards allow you to build credit history and do not require immediate payment for purchases, which provides both flexibility and added protection from fraud. You must simply pay your balance in full at the end of each month in order to retain purchasing privileges and avoid late fees.… read full answer

Additionally, charge card accounts provide far more lucrative perks and rewards than do debit cards. The only benefit that a debit card has over a charge card is that it makes it impossible to spend more than you can afford. Therefore, you should only use a debit card if you seek this type of inherent discipline.

There are 3 types of cash back credit cards: flat-rate cash back cards, cash back credit cards with tiered rewards, and cash back credit cards with bonus categories that change.

Each type is good for different styles of spending. With a bit of organization, the right combination of these types of cash back cards could also help you maximize your rewards-earning potential.… read full answer

3 Types of Cash Back Credit Cards:

1. Flat-rate cash back credit cards give cash back rewards at a single rate for all purchases. The best flat-rate cash back cards offer at least 1.5% cash back on all purchases, plus a signup bonus, with no annual fee.
2. Tiered cash back credit cards give cash back rewards at different rates depending on the amount spent over a given interval, or based on whether a purchase qualifies for a set group of bonus categories that does not change. For instance, a tiered cash back credit card might offer 2% cash back on all purchases, up to $10,000 spent in a year, and then give 1% cash back on all other purchases for the rest of the year. Or, another type of tiered cash back credit card might offer 4% back on grocery store spending, 3% back for restaurant purchases, and 1% back on everything else.
3. Bonus category cash back credit cards give higher cash back earning rates on specific types of purchases, which may include purchases from certain retailers or purchases that fit a certain theme. The types of purchases that qualify for bonus cash back usually change once per quarter. For example, cardholders might earn 5% cash back on bonus-category purchases, up to a quarterly spending limit, and 1% back on all other purchases. Bear in mind that some credit cards using bonus categories for cash back will require cardholders to activate the new categories every quarter, which can be a hassle.

Knowing which type of cash back credit card is right for you is a matter of how you spend your money, so it’s good to consider how likely you are to organize your spending around categories. If you’d rather not worry about spending categories or using different cards for different types of purchases, a flat-rate cash back card is what you want. On the other hand, if you don’t mind activating spending categories each quarter, you could benefit from a bonus category cash back credit card.

If you can handle more than one credit card, however, your options grow. You could use one tiered card for groceries only, for example, a bonus category card for different rewards-rich opportunities, and a flat-rate cash back card for everything else. A mixture of cash back credit card types can get you to another level of rewards, but only if you’re able to use several credit cards responsibly.