Students prefer debit cards over credit cards

Boston University students said they prefer to use debit cards over credit cards, even though bank officials said both cards are used fairly equally among college students.

The main benefit of using debit over credit is that unlike credit cards, there aren’t hidden fees because the user is spending his or her own money, Bank of America officials said. This does not mean, however, that there aren’t overdraft fees.

While many students have both a credit and debit card, most said they only use their credit card when they are unable to use their debit card due to an insufficient account balance.

‘ ‘I try to make sure that I always know how much is in my account and if I’m not sure how much is in my debit account, I use my credit card,’ School of Education junior Alexa Joki said.

Similarly, Metropolitan College sophomore Christopher Hernandez said he has both, but primarily uses his debit card.

SED junior Michelle Lapolla said she has a debit card, but sometimes uses it as a credit card, which several other students also said they frequently do.

When using a debit card, students are taking the money directly out of their accounts as opposed to being charged at the end of the month. This can be a problem when there is not enough money in their account. Instead of automatically blocking the debit card when there are insufficient funds, most banks allow purchases to be made, and charge cardholders enormous overdraft fees.

Bank of America’s overdraft fee is of $35 for each overdraft item when an account is overdrawn $10 or more, according to its website.

Overdrafts happen when an individual does not have sufficient funds available to cover the purchases, according to the Citizens Bank website. Hernandez, who said he has gotten an overdraft charge in the past, said it’s important to monitor a debit account for this reason.

College of Communication sophomore Meghan Kemp said she prevents overdrafts by frequently checking online to make sure she has enough money for her purchases.’

‘ Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences sophomore Anna Mak also said she checks her account frequently, and then makes a ‘mental note’ of how much is on her card.

‘ Some students said they have restrictions on their cards, which prevent them from taking out too much money.

‘I have enough that I don’t have to worry about overdrafts.’ But I also have a spending limit to protect against it,’ Lapolla said.

College of Arts and Sciences sophomore Juliette Miller said one of her cards doesn’t allow her to check her balance online, but prevents her from overdrawing.

Overall, most students said they monitor their account balances online, which is now being encouraged by many banks.’

Citizens Bank, for example, has created a ‘Green$ense’ program which pays the cardholder 10 cents every time they use their ‘Green$ense’ card. Under the program, all banking is done online and no paper statements are used.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘

For some students with both credit and debit cards, the credit card is often under their parent’s account, and the debit card is under their own account.

‘The debit card is mine and the visa is my parents,’ CAS senior Lauren Alba said.