As with almost anything else there are pros and cons, ups and downs. My wife retired from banking about 8 or so years ago. She insists that we use our debit card for every purchase under $50. Her reasoning: As long as we maintain a certain balance in our account and use the card 12 times per month we earn a certain amount of interest on the average daily balance (don't remember the exact amounts). Additionally, we have a credit card (Amazon) that builds points that can be applied to the bill at the end of the month if we choose to do so. We use that for online purchases and for purchases over $50. She keeps up with all that and knows a lot more about it than I do. Obviously, I trust her completely because if she ever decided that living with me was no longer worth the trouble she could "clean me out." :-)