Here’s Why I Haven’t Used Mine in Years

Every time I’m in the checkout line and see someone swipe a debit card for a $150 grocery run, I wince a little. Not because it’s “wrong,” but because that person is leaving a ridiculous amount of money and protection on the table. Groceries are one of the easiest categories to optimize in this entire hobby, and debit cards give you exactly zero upside.

I stopped using a debit card for groceries years ago, and the difference in rewards and protections is honestly absurd.

Here’s the breakdown.

Debit Cards Give You Nothing

There’s no way to sugarcoat it. Debit cards:

• earn no rewards
• offer weak fraud protection
• don't build credit
• don’t qualify for purchase protections
• don’t compete with credit card multipliers

If something goes wrong — the store double charges you, your card gets skimmed, a refund glitches — the money leaves your bank account instantly. With a credit card, those problems sit on the issuer’s balance sheet, not yours.

Groceries Are One of the Highest-Yield Categories You Can Earn On

This is the part that drives me crazy. You’re not just giving up 1–2% cashback… you’re giving up 4X, sometimes 6%, sometimes stacked offers.

Here’s what I personally use:

Amex Gold: 4X at U.S. supermarkets

This is my go-to. If you spend even $500/month on groceries, that’s:

• 24,000 Membership Rewards a year
• worth anywhere from $300–$450 depending on redemption

That alone offsets a huge chunk of the annual fee.

Blue Cash Preferred: 6% cashback at supermarkets

If you’re cashback-only, BCP is the pure ROI play. No mental gymnastics, just a high flat rate with minimal effort.

Chase Freedom cards

When groceries pop up as a 5% rotating category, these cards print value. And you can stack it with a Sapphire Preferred or Reserve to upgrade those points.

The whole point is: groceries are the easiest category to monetize, and debit gives you nothing.

Credit Cards Give You Protection Debit Never Will

People underestimate this part. When I buy groceries on a credit card, I get:

• fraud protection
• dispute rights
• extended warranty on some items (yes, grocery items count)
• return protection if the retailer refuses
• zero liability if there’s a breach

If your debit card gets drained, your checking account is frozen, bills bounce, and you’re stuck waiting for the bank to fix it. I don’t like my food budget tied to that kind of risk.

“But I Don’t Want to Go Into Debt”

This is the most common argument, and here’s my stance:

You don’t need to carry a balance. I treat my credit cards exactly like a debit card:

• I only spend what I already have
• I pay in full automatically every month
• I check my transactions regularly

It’s literally the same behavior — I just earn points instead of nothing.

It’s Not About Being Fancy — It’s About Being Efficient

I’m not using a credit card at Whole Foods because I’m trying to be bougie. I’m doing it because the math makes sense:

• Same groceries
• Same spend
• Same behavior
• 4X or 6% back instead of 0%

Over the course of a year, that difference adds up to hundreds of dollars.

Debit cards are fine for ATM withdrawals. But using them at the biggest high-yield category in most people’s budgets? That’s just burning money.

My Rule Is Simple

If a purchase earns rewards and carries risk, I never use debit. Groceries check both boxes. Hard.

Once I switched everything to credit — especially grocery spend — the value I pulled out of my cards jumped by thousands. And none of that came from spending more. It came from spending smarter.