Paying for a flight with a DEBIT card? Yeah or Nay?

[kristenrice]

I am currently booked on a SWA flight in October using RR points. I am a little nervous that there will be a pilot's strike or other "meltdown" again which will cause us to miss/lose our flight to Orlando. (I am also booked on SW for the trip home, but I'm fine with finding a car and driving home) I am considering booking a "backup" (fully refundable) flight on Delta for our arrival day but I have a "strict" travel budget. My travel expenses come from my vacation account which has a debit card attached to it. *IF* I were to purchase the backup flight (about $250), I would prefer to use the debit card so that the funds would simply go back into the vacation account if I did not need to use the ticket. If I pay for it on my regular credit card, I will have to pull the funds from the account to pay the credit card and then pay myself back if/when I get the ticket refunded back to the credit card.

Is there any negatives to using a DEBIT card to purchase a flight? I know that I would lose the incidental benefits that come with my credit card (lost/delayed luggage reimbursement, etc), but other than that, is there anything I should worry about?

 

[Narcoossee11]

Never use a debit card for a 'service', something not physical .
An actual cc is always better for travel charges. If it goes bad/wrong, a cc company is in your side, a bank has limits.

 

[Rex1993]

I absolutely commend you for your budget approach. Having a designated travel account that you are militant about segregating is great! That being said I think you’re being a bit too restrictive with the mechanics. Having worked in banking I don’t ever use a debit card, ever. Echoing the comment above, if something goes wrong with a debit card purchase, you are fighting to get your money back with dramatically less protections than if it were a credit card. There are also pretty much zero benefits such as cash back, points, etc. when using a debit card.

 

[sam_gordon]

Pretty sure if you use CC and then get a refund, the refund goes back on the CC. So, booking now would mean paying the CC expense, then doing something with the credit later.

That might be a good thing.