There is no reason to use them at all, except for once or twice a year to keep them active, if tracking rewards is such a pain. But don’t cancel them!

Jerry: Irish money?
George: I might go there.
Jerry: Show this card at any participating Orlando-area Exxon station…to get your free ‘Save the Tiger’ poster.

Classic!

I know my dad had an ATM card for the longest time and he could use it limited places – like the grocery store.

I have a Visa backed debit card through my local bank and I know that lots of people have it (the card is distinctive so you can tell just by looking what it is). There’s also a rewards program, although it’s not a cash back program.

1) as others have said, if you can’t control yourself with a credit card you (usually) won’t be able to control yourself with a debit card. Stay out of the stores if you have self-control issues.

2) debit cards can get canceled by the bank for suspicious activity (as with credit cards), leaving you helpless in case of emergencies

3) many people don’t keep much money in their debit accounts, for good reason. if an expensive emergency comes up, you’re helpless.

4)credit cards are covered for fraud, debit cards often aren’t (I don’t know anyone who has a visa/MC logo on their debit card in my area).

5) credit cards often have rewards, debit cards generally don’t. Often credit cards will have extra rewards at their “home” store, giving a benefit to carrying multiple cards.

6) unless you carry all your credit cards nearly maxed out and have low credit limit on each one, carrying one credit card is just as “dangerous” as carrying 5.

7) sometimes bank networks will go down. This happened to me once back when I was a cashier, and debit cards from a couple banks wouldn’t work.

8) credit cards are generally more widely-accepted than debit cards, with some exceptions.

These reasons are why I always, always carry 1 credit card AND 1 debit card. Ideally you’d carry a bit of cash, too.

Occasionally, for reasons unrelated to the amount of funds in the account, bank cards will fail to complete a transaction. (Network problems and system maintenance are usually the supplied answers.) When you’ve been standing in the grocery line for 20 minutes, or need gas to get the 100 miles back home, it’s convenient to have a back up card that will work. Always provided that you restore the account afterward.

I agree with those who say that not shopping is likely far more effective. The self-control issue should be nipped in the bud at even going into the store. To put another way: say you have problems with eating ice cream at night. You eat a big bowl every night and can’t lose weight. You wouldn’t limit yourself to one bowl and one spoon in the cupboard — you’d stop yourself at the store by not buying any ice cream to even bring home. In the same way, if you have problems overspending at the book/video game/whatever store, you need to not go in the store (or not go in that part of the store if you shop at Target/Walmart/etc).

I carry two credit cards, my debit card, various health cards, and a couple of rewards cards. I like to make as many purchases with my debit card as possible because it gives me an itemized list of every penny spent. I tend to fritter away cash, so the debit card system works better for me.

Anyway, linking your checking account to a line of credit with a reasonable interest rate may be a smart thing to do in some circumstances, but it also negates the very advantage Trent’s talking about here (the inability to spend money you don’t have). I think this all goes to show that there’s not really a “one size fits all” solution here – you have to figure out what setup is best for you, based on your own money weaknesses.