What I've found to be useful, in using plastic, is to use my credit card for on-line or phone purchases, and the debit card for purchases in-person. That way, if something happens to an order, it is not directly tied to any of my accounts. And, if there's been fraud, the major card services will usually cover you. My wife works at a bank (BofA, by the way), and has no end of the stories of people playing games, and just generally being less that legit. If the author of this thread had used a credit instead of debit card, no overdraft would be possible. And, the overdraft protection benefits one party the most. The bank. Banks derive almost all their profit from fees. With the crummy interest rates, and general economic climate, there's no incentive to lend money in traditional channels. It's easier to whack people with service charges, because enough people incur them. And about switching banks, any establishment that would like to stay profitable will behave pretty much the same.
For a young person just starting out, a secured credit card is the way. When my son turned 18, he got one. The stipulation is to deposit the card's limit in a savings account. After a specified period of time, the card goes unsecured, and you regain access to the money. It gets you started with a credit rating pretty quick, and once you've got that, you can look forward to a mailbox full of 'pre-approved' offers.
eace:
