Credit Cards

[hcunited]

I have a general question for those of you who have at one time, or regularly make deposits/payouts with your personal credit cards...

Is there any kind of negative effects by doing this?

What I am basically getting at is this - I really don't want to screw up my credit rating both now and in the future. I use my CC a lot with book(s) and I wanted to hear everyone's opinions/experiences/outlook with this situation.

As always, all your opinions are greatly appreciated...thanks in advance

[sportshobby]

I can't say exactly HOW it affects your credit rating, but I do know that it does. These charges have a code that basically look as if you purchased chips in a casino. A while back I had a call from Citibank to verify a charge to my card, and the lady quipped, " . . having fun, are we?".

I believe the best approach is to stick to a check card. While these are processed similarly, the check card is not a credit purchase. And the other important thing is that you'll never be charged a cash advance fee by your bank.

[mls]

sportshobby is absolutely right - get a (free) check card and save yourself a lot of aggravation.

[Rich]

yes thats all i use a check card and the best
thing is when getting a refund for the money
deposited it comes back into your account with no fee

[Gart]

Could you explain what a check (cheque) card is and what is the difference between that and a credit card?

A confused Canadian

[jlpblade]

Isn't the problem in using a check (debit) card is that you have no recourse against fraud or invalid charges? With mastercard, visa, or amex you have them on your side if you dispute a transaction.

JMO,
Jeff

[sportshobby]

Gart, the check or debit card only caught on here in the states over the past couple of years. It works like a credit card, but results in debits directly to your checking account (instead of being billed later). It offers less fee to the merchant.

jlpblade, most check cards these days have the VISA emblem. And the bank agreement that comes with it (read the fine print of course) basically reads like a credit card agreement, in terms of protection against fraud or unauthorized use. Typically your maximum loss in this case is $50-$100.

Going along with the fraud protection is a daily expense limit imposed by your bank, typically $300-500 for cash (ATM) advances and $1000-1500 for purchases. In many cases one can get these limits extended by asking your bank.

The only real concern for a checkcard that is not present with a credit card is the way in which an over-charge of unauthorized use might affect you. Like a credit card, after you submit a written challenge to a debit the bank will take off the charges while it looks into the matter for you. But if, before this, the bad debit causes your checking accout to go to zero, you could have checks bounce. Big headache! So watch your balance and don't cut it close.

[Darwin]

Sportshobby, that was a very informative post. Thanks.

I decided to start using a debit card when
my GM MasterCard unexpectedly added a cash
advance fee to my WSEX deposit and I'm very
happy with my decision.

I'm all for anything that reduces the cost
to sports books because they then have the
opportunity to pass these savings on to
their bettors in terms of reduced juice or
bonuses. Which leads to my question. How
much does using a debit card save a sports
book compared to a regular credit card?
Also, if using a debit card saves a sports
book money, why don't they promote it?
Shouldn't they be saying something like
"If possible, please use a debit card rather
than a credit card to help us lower our
costs" or maybe they should be offering a
special bonus for users of debit cards.

Comments appreciated.

[sportshobby]

Darwin, glad I can pass along something useful.

I think the answer to your question (why don't sportsbooks give a break to check card users) may be that they can't tell the difference until they get their bank statements. The card just looks like a credit card.

But that is a good idea, especially for those books that charge a fee.