raehl311

That may be true as far as federal law goes, but both Mastercard and Visa offer protection against unauthorized charges on debit cards.

I've had debit cards stolen and all it took was a phone call to my bank to get the money back. Obviously YMMV depending on your bank and card, but debit cards aren't NECESSARILY as bad as they used to be.

(I still wouldn't use one if you have access to a credit card.)


As others said, any authorization uses up credit on your card until it clears. With a credit card, that's not usually a big deal as you're just reducing the amount of credit you have available on the card. With a debit card, because your 'credit' is the amount of money in your account, an authorization ties up your cash until it clears.

Rikki3072

What do you mean by "absolute statutory protection"?

docbert

Actually it's not true even as far as the law goes - from a straight unauthorized charges/fraud/lost card/etc perspective, the controls are very similar between credit and debit cards. There are a few differences around notification times, but fundamentally you're not liable for fraudulent charges. https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/article...c-banking#lost

However what debit cards generally don't have are the protections beyond that point. 'Often1' specifically mentioned an airline going insolvent, not a card being stolen - and I'm sure that was deliberate as for something like that the protections are completely different. With a credit card, you're covered (based on the merchant not providing the services), and your credit card company will provide a full refund. With a debit card, you're generally not covered.

Kacee

Sorry, I wasn't clear. I was not referring to fraudulent debit card charges, I was referring to the underlying account being compromised. The protection against that is much more limited (though it's not as bad as I remembered . . . there is some protection).

DCP2016

Yup that will be my next step once I have a little bit more financial stability lol.

As much as I dislike credit because of my own actions, I also realize how important it is.

lincolnjkc

To reply to the original question I see this frequently when I buy UA tickets on my Bank of America Visa (credit) card, and it seems to be especially common when there are two travelers on the PNR.

What happens is the original auth is taken for the full purchase amount but the auth isn't converted into a charge and posted. Instead the ticket is posted as a charge when issued (or for multiple pax like, a separate charge for each ticket is posted) and the auth (showing as a pending charge) is allowed to natrually expire (generally 72-96 hours out, though I have seen them linger longer)

malgudi

Obviously, not.

FlyerTalker70

The big difference with charge and credit cards though is you aren't using your own money to make the purchase you are using the bank's money. If the charge ends up being fraudulent not a penny will be paid for that amount whilst the charge is flagged as fraudulent. OTOH if it's a debit card, the purchaser has your cash until the bank successfully disputes the charge (if in fact it is successful) and you have to deal with the hardship of lost money.

In the past year I've had the extremely unfortunate experience of having 3 credit cards compromised. I've done everything I could to keep my cards protected including using Apple Pay but in this era of card skimmers appearing everywhere and stolen card data being sold on the black market for pennies on the dollar it's becoming increasingly difficult. In one of the cases, I didn't realize it was happening right away and just received a package from AmEx one day with a new card and a note saying the card was compromised. In the other two instances, my card's fraud notification warned me of a potential issue and I called the banks up to get everything sorted. All in all I probably spent about an hour or so on these 3 separate issues whereas if it were debit it would've been a huge headache.

You may want to look into getting a Charge card like an AmEx Green card since the require you to pay off the balance in full. Alternatively a secured credit card with a low limit (i.e. $1000) may be useful. If you're carrying a balance every month you are doing something wrong (i.e. living beyond your means) and you need to think carefully about how you spend your money. Credit cards don't cause debt, it's the people who use them that ultimately incur the debt. I know many people (myself included) who have dozens of credit cards yet always pay their bills off in time.

-James

catocony

Lol on the customer service by Tweet.

DeadliftsnDonuts

Well, United is saying its not on them and Bank of America is saying the same thing. Therefore, I am currently out of $670 which sucks. Its like trying to pull teeth.

The United customer rep is blaming Apple Pay and wants me to call Apple haha.

I do have a credit card, I just have a debit card linked to my Apple Pay since I mostly use it for Uber and Lyft.

David Faustrum

I used a credit card and was double charged too which luckily I had enough but caused me to be denied for other purchases. I have one charge posted and one pending.

Lexi Oldham

paperwastage

How to fix? Wait 1-10 business days for one of the pending transaction to drop

There's almost no use calling the bank or United. Bank won't remove it manually (otherwise the business may lose a legitimate transaction/$), United probably can't do anything (all automated system, doubt you'll get someone to manually push the drop for you)

Long term fix? Get/use a credit card (I know not everyone qualified or wants a credit card). With a credit card, your available credit limit gets temporarily eaten up but won't show up in your balance or requirement payment, none of your money is temporarily taken

dilanesp

My credit card got authorized FOUR times for the same TOD upgrade. UA was right- it did drop off.

AeRoSpaceman

Not sure if I am posting this in the correct thread but lets go and if it needs to be moved, please do so Mods.

So. My sister bought a ticket for my mom for travel next week. PNS-IAH-PDX round trip. I decided to purchase some upgraded seats for her. Total came out to $335.00 You can see the emails below. What ended up happening is that i was charged $634.00 on my Amex. I was double charged for her F upgrade from PDX-IAH. I spent over 2 hours on the phone to try to figure out what was going on. I was finally able to speak to a "supervisor" after many requests as the agent(s) could not figure out what was going on. I was told by the supervisor that this was a mistake and it would be "taken care of". I did not, and do not believe this. What can I do about this. Screenshots below(in order) and any advice would be appreciated.


First Email From United (Above).



Second Email From United (Above).




What United Charged to My Amex (Above).