Anybody using a DEBIT card for miles?
 

I am interested in obtaining a debit card for miles. I have been using a debit card for 15 years but it does not yield any miles. Anybody using a debit card that yields miles? thanks

We just got set up with Citibank with a checking account + started using our Debit Card for miles in Sept.

So far so good....except that my bonus miles have NOT posted yet (big surprise) http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif

Yes, Citibank is the way to go. They give you miles on AA. They are also running a promotion now where you get some extra $$ for opening an account online. www.citi.com

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Been using the Citibank AA debit card for about a year now, and it posts quite promptly for me. Been good for about 50,000 miles so far, but you do have to be careful to use it as a credit card.

Bank of America also has good ones that works with PIN transactions (Citibank's does not).

Info on debit cards can be found in the Banking section of the Finance page of my web site below.

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Free Frequent Flyer Miles

I have had the Citibank AA debit card for about a month now. I have not had the bonus miles post, but the miles from my first purchases were posted in a timely manner.

I think there are two versions of the card - one which gives you 1 mile for every $2 spent and another that has a 1:1 ratio. There is an annual fee for both.

I have to say that I had thought a lot about the pros and cons of the card before I broke down and ordered it. The biggest con for me was the annual fee. Fortunately, it is waived for Citibank private bank and Citigold customers.

I would think that the reward style credit cards would refrain from allowing debit transactions. To me it sounds like that makes them extremely vulnerable for abuse.

For example, someone goes to the ATM, withdraws their daily limit (mine is $800) goes to the teller and deposits the cash. Boom: 800 miles. Certainly they must have some type of checks/balances to ensure this type of abuse dosen't happen, correct?

Continental also offers a debit card through Chase. I don't have it, but boy do they sure advertise throughout Houston all the time for it. Depending on the card you choose, you can get 1,000 or 2,000 bonus OnePass miles.

Help me out here -

Why would anyone give up the consumer protections plus the benefit of a deferred payment that a credit card provides for no additional value over a credit card?

Scenario 1: the hotel clerk accidentally puts through an $8,000 charge instead of an $800 charge. With a CC, if there are any problems, a call to your CC company clears it up. With a debit card, you have just depleted your bank account, and checks start bouncing all over the place. You get hit with bad check fees, overdue fees, and your credit report gets a black mark.

Scenario 2: you buy something online from flybynight.com and they do not deliver. A call to the CC company gets you a quick resolution, and you don't have to pay the charge. With a debit card, the dot-bomb already has your cash and you have to fight to get it back.

Why bother?

1. Some people can't qualify for a miles producing credit card, due to poor or non-existent credit history.

2. Some people know that they will abuse any credit card they have, and so need the discipline of a debit card.

2. Many business accept debit card pin transactions, but do not accept credit cards. (I buy my gasoline at one of these.) The Bank of America debit cards are the only ones I know of that give miles for PIN transactions.

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Free Frequent Flyer Miles

No debit card will give miles for an ATM transaction. All but the Bank of America cards will not give miles for any PIN based transaction.

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Free Frequent Flyer Miles

Use Bank of America Debit card and miles are posted promptly every month!!! They are Amercia West Miles, but return on America West is good. 20,000 miles for ff ticket

KeyBank offers a free debit card tied to CO OnePass that give one mile for ever $2 spent, but I don't know anything about service levels.

Looking back at my OnePass statements, I picked up about 15,000 miles this year through signature-based purchases on my Chase Continental MasterCard Debit Card. The miles post like clockwork two months behind (August's purchases are on my October OnePass Statement). In addition, when you book online at Continental with a MasterCard (which the Chase Continental Debit Card is) you now get an additional 1,000 mile bonus for using a MasterCard, in addition to the 1,000 mile bonus for using www.continental.com. All in all not a bad way to pick up additional miles. (Although it pales in comparison to the miles I pick up on idine.com).

The credit cards are definately a better way to go for the added security, and better customer service (as a rule.)

Debit cards are not always great for developing discipline, either. Most banks will allow charges and withdrawals even when there is a negative balance, and then charge a big NSF fee for the favor.

Yes, I snail mailed a notarized letter to get Washington Mutual to never perform this courtesy on my Real Free Checking account.

I know with the Citibank online checking with the AA miles for the debit card that the bonus takes a while to post. I ended up calling twice before it actually posted. Since then, the miles post within 3 days of the closing statement on the account. No problems for the past 2 years.

As far as consumer protection goes, the same rights you receive with the credit card apply to the signature based transactions, as these are MasterCard based.

I prefer not to pay my bills with a pure credit card, instead, use the "credit card" feature of the debit card to rack up miles for the monthly, automatic payment of insurance, phone bills, cell bills, trash billing, water company and just about anything that does not have a transaction fee (like PG&E, mortgage companies, auto loan companies etc.)

Only one time did a I have a situation that the hotel did too high an "authorization" and the bank corrected it immediately. The few times that I have had an incorrect charged amount, the bank corrected it within the same parameters as a pure credit card. Usually, if you call the merchant, they will correct quicker. But that is MasterCard and Citibank, which seem to be more like AMEX in correcting problems, compared to VISA.

What is the difference between Mastercard, Visa, and Amex? Although I have each kind of card, I have only disputed charges with my Citibank Mastercard so don't have anything to compare to.

Thanks!

AMEX has been the best as they immediately stop the charge and seem to push the merchant, making sure they have done everything they are supposed to, if they want to restore the charge. Just more consumer oriented.

VISA is the worst. Only once did I have a dispute and they dragged their feet, 8 months, and they were never helpful and sounded like they just wanted me to sue the merchant if I had any problem. And, the worst part, it was on a non delivered goods issue. It could have been the issuing bank but it seems they are the least consumer oriented.

I ordered the Citibank debit card and got my 4000 bonus miles. But I cancelled it a short time later. I don't like to carry the card around due to it not having the "consumer protection" as some of you mentioned earlier.

Being a Citigold customer, I get the annual fee waived on the Citibank AAdvantage World Mastercard. I earn miles either with that card or the Starwood Amex card.

I carry an Alaska Airlines (Bank of America) debit card which earns one mile for each $2 in purchases. Not exactly the greatest deal, but, in my opinion, worth the $30 annual fee.