If you're like most Americans you have both debit and credit cards. You're also probably aware of the financial risks that go with each of these. So what's a boy to do?? I'll list the pros and cons as to where you should use each of these types of cards.
Debit cards:
-immediate transactions for food or other quick consumables like gas and groceries.
-local establishments where you can physically stand in their store if you have a problem.
-use if you have a hard time controlling your spending.
Credit cards:
-Plane flights
-Rental cars
-Hotels
-Anything you buy for future delivery
-Anything online
-Anything (as long as you pay off your bill each month)
Credit cards give way more perks, especially protections for travel. The AMEX Gold is one of the best for traveling. Many times AMEX will also give life insurance policies to the owners in the event of a death. This is a huge deal that many policy owners don't even know that they have.
However, if you have a hard time controlling your spending and you have credit card debt. Than you don't need credit cards at all. You need to go to a cash payment system and only use debit cards for things that cash can't pay for. Always check your statements at the end of each month to insure that nothing unauthorized was charged.