We all know the benefits and pitfalls of using Credit Cards as opposed to Debit Cards. Which do you prefer and why and is paying by your Monzo Debit Card just as safe as if paying by credit card in your opinion?
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If you had asked me this 12 months ago, you would have got a different answer from me.
At that time, I had grown out of love with credit cards and cba using them for a mere 0.25% cashback, so all my everyday spend went through my Monzo debit card.
The advantage of this, of course, is that you can see in-app exactly how much are spending, where, and how much you have left until next pay day.
Credit cards were reserved for purchases over Ā£100.
Then came September. and Chase. All my spending under Ā£100 reverted to them and Monzo card became defunct. In about 40 days, that cashback will cease and my spending card will change again.
Atm, I have not decided whether to just revert back to my Monzo card (the app is easier on the eye imo), or go back to AmEx for 0.5%, or my Barclaycard for 0.25%, or a combination of all my cards.
I think it will come down to whether I can be bothered trying to earn minuscule amounts in cashback. (My card spend is not great tbh)
Time will tell.
In answer to your closing question, I do not see why paying for everyday stuff by Monzo debit card should be any less safe than paying by credit card. And, tbh, though I use credit cards for Ā£100+ transactions, I have never needed to use the s.75 protection that it offers. Conversely, thanks to a stubborn RyanAir policy during covid, I have made use of the chargeback scheme on my debit card.
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Debit card for small purchases and credit card for anything over Ā£20/Ā£30 for rewards. Should really put all spending on credit card for rewards but itās just easier to see in monzo what you have left in your budget if you use debit card. Have never had to use S75 or chargeback, but itās like any insurance, you donāt think of it until you really need it.
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I use credit card for all spending (aside from direct debits and foreign currency spending). I do this purely for rewards.
Using Monzo debit card instead of credit card does provide better spending tracking and forces you to only spend money that you have, but I can achieve an adequate (for me) level of spending tracking by connecting my credit card to an aggregator.
Yes for anything under Ā£100.
But for purchases over Ā£100 you can benefit from section 75 protection if you use credit card. Note you donāt need to pay the whole amount on credit card to benefit from this. You could just pay a small deposit on credit card and the balance on debit card and still benefit from section 75 protection on full amount.
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I use the credit card for pretty much all spend and pay it off in full every month. My logic is that this way i keep cash in my account for longer (compared to spending that cash every day via debit card), which will help in some sort of emergency where cash and not credit is needed. Plus extra interest for all the extra days the cash stays in my account.
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I use a Monzo virtual card for most of my spending. Big purchases go on my Amex or Flex for the sweet sweet S75.
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This is what I do - I know I may be missing some cashback deals but I round up each purchase and save the change in a hidden ācoin jarā pot and enjoy the contents December 1st 
Itās surprising how much you can save without āmissing itā by just rounding up and although I know its my money not the banks, I can often save much more this way than relying on some credit card cashback offers.
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Debit. I donāt trust myself with lots of smaller purchases on a credit card, Iāll put on more than I can afford to pay off and then not pay it off in a month and start to gather interest. The points/cash back isnāt worth it for me.
Anything big goes on a credit card/Flex card though.
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I buy it all on debit, for two reasons.
One self control, if I know Iāve the option to spend more I will (also why I donāt have an overdraft)
And two, for protection Iām happy with that afforded through warranties and 14 day return periods. So Iāve never, luckily, needed any more protection that that.
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Solely credit card, unless it is not economical (gambling, csah-like transactions)
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I reduced my Amex limit to the basic amount I can afford to fully pay off each month for this reason.
Now I spend almost exclusively on my Amex, but treat it like my debit card (so donāt spend more than I have in my account) for the airmiles.
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Does that not leave your utilisation % very high? I donāt think I could pay off my full limit with a yearās salary, even.
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What if you book a holiday or buy something big for house, is your limit big enough?
I use a credit card for everything even though I donāt care about rewards and I know it causes me to overspend (slightly). Iām just very annoyed with all the holds merchants place on cards and the lack of instant refunds.
Really looking forward to the day when instant refunds are the default and Iāll move everything to my Monzo/Starling/Other Debit card as I think itās generally a better experience.
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If itās higher than the limit I have (which it rarely is) then it goes on my partnerās Amex. In three years now itās only once been required.
Amex also are happy to increase my limit should I temporarily need a higher amount that I know I can pay off right away.
If the money isnāt in my bank account I canāt afford it is my general rule.
As for utilisation, itās always at 0%. The date that Amex speak to the credit agencies obviously is around my payday when I pay it off 
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Do you pay it off before a statement is generated? Otherwise it shouldnāt matter because they always report the statement balance
Generally yes. I donāt know how it works but itās always showing at 0%.
It would show 0% utilisation if you paid off before the statement is generated. It will report your statement balance as your usage, regardless of how the dates fall
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Just a note for those who say thankfully Iāve never had to use S75, it only takes once to realise how valuable that protection is. I have only used it once myself, and it got me nearly Ā£200 in ferry tickets that I had cancelled within the providerās stated cancellation period but which the provider refused to refund. You never know when you might need it!
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I always use a credit card to get the cash back. I generally use the NatWest rewards card as it gives 1% on supermarkets which beats Amex and you can choose what you do with the cash back.
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