Target Debit Card????

[tinkerbell9227]

i have it and so far no problems. The only thing that annoys me is it takes several days to withdraw from my checking account.

I would guess that the benefit to them is to keep you coming back. If I can buy something at target and know I'm going to get 5% off, why would I go to Walmart or whatever and not get 5% off? It's about keeping customers really

I'd reccomend it if you shop at Target a decent amount!

 

[tinker&belle]

Woops...wrong thread...sorry.

 

[brdlyleon]

I work for target so I'll just explain it how I would explain it to any guest: When signing up for a Target Check Card, they link it straight to your bank account so that it works like a regular debit card, with the exception of you getting 5% off every purchase. I have also had the card, so from experience I can tell you it is a great thing to have (especially if you're a team member) There are no other fees from you but the one thing that annoyed me is that it can take about a week for the transaction to go through in to your account. I think the reason we want so many ppl signing up is just to have more people having the card and actually using it, so that's where I see the pay-off in the cards for Target.

 

[SandrA9810]

Well it's probably safer for Target banking to link directly to your checking account, rather than extending you a line of credit. If you over withdrawal from your checking account, your bank still pays and then charges you a fee on top of it. So they're still getting their money in the end, with a lot less risk.

 

[Jeff_G]

You are very right about the checks. However, if someone gets a hold of your debit card number/account, they can take money and you have to fight to get it back. Debit cards are not as secure as using a credit card.

Actually if you use your debit card and select credit vs pin your transaction is run through the credit network, ie visa MC and carried the exact same protections that Visa & MC offer for their credit cards. When you select debit and enter your PIN you are running the transaction through your banks ATM network, you would then be covered by your bank’s policies. My bank has a zero dollar liability on any fraudulent charges with their debit card as long as its reported promptly. To be honest if every transaction were to require a pin code , debit and credit, I think it would make it harder for people to steal your card number and then make charges.

 

[Swimalie]

Actually if you use your debit card and select credit vs pin your transaction is run through the credit network, ie visa MC and carried the exact same protections that Visa & MC offer for their credit cards. When you select debit and enter your PIN you are running the transaction through your banks ATM network, you would then be covered by your bank’s policies. My bank has a zero dollar liability on any fraudulent charges with their debit card as long as its reported promptly. To be honest if every transaction were to require a pin code , debit and credit, I think it would make it harder for people to steal your card number and then make charges.

But while you are fighting the fraudulent charges, your bank account is still out the money until the bank decides to give it back to you. And in some cases, you are hit with an overdraft fee as well.

And from consumer guru, Clark Howard: "The Wall Street Journal isn't usually known for protecting the consumer. Yet the paper recently ran an article explaining how dangerous the use of debit cards can be for the average person. That's no secret around here at Clarkhoward.com, where Clark routinely refers to debit cards as a "piece of trash fake Visa or fake Mastercard." Sure it looks like a credit card, and it works similarly to one, but it can really foul you up in ways that a traditional credit card can not.

Say for example you buy a knife set that's being advertised on TV. If you pay for it with your debit card and it never arrives in the mail, you have no recourse. Had you paid with your credit card, all you have to do is dispute the charge. The same pitfalls can occur anytime you use your credit card to pay for something now that you'll be receiving later, such as airline tickets, cruises reservations and more. Other areas of danger with debit cards include the difficulty of refuting charges if your card is stolen, and the practice of hotels and some car-rental agencies that put a large hold on your account in advance of a transaction. Did you know that the latter practice can cause you to bounce checks even though the money is there in your account? The bottom line is that Clark believes the same protections enjoyed by credit-card users should be afforded to debit-card users. But the banks are making a fortune off debit cards, so there's no real incentive for them to change their ways. As Clark says, it used be that bank robbery involved a thief going to a bank and saying "Stick 'em up!" But today it's you that's getting robbed by the bank when you use a debit card."