Author Topic: Target Red debit card - yea or nay?  (Read 8908 times)

albabewick

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Target Red debit card - yea or nay?
« on: July 05, 2013, 10:42:47 AM »
I shop at Target for household supplies and a few grocery items. They are promoting their Red debit card with 5% off purchases. Does anyone use this or know of any caveats?
Thx!

Zoe

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Re: Target Red debit card - yea or nay?
« Reply #1 on: July 05, 2013, 11:12:43 AM »
We have the debit card. There's a Target really close to us and we get some basic household stuff there. The only thing that is kinda sucky is that it takes several days to hit your bank account.

fiveoclockshadow

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Re: Target Red debit card - yea or nay?
« Reply #2 on: July 05, 2013, 11:32:30 AM »
I don't have one as yet, but I looked into it a month or so ago.  Besides the already mentioned slow to withdraw from your bank account "issue" most find it very favorable.  There seemed to be inconsistency in whether it hit your credit report with an inquiry so you might search for recent threads at "saver" type forums to confirm that (if you care).

Oh, and of course if you didn't already know Target is the absolute master of developing targeted customer profiles.  Perhaps the market leader in this.  The classic story (true) being a father irately coming in to complain that Target had sent his daughter coupons for pregnancy products and that this was incredibly inappropriate given her age.  The manager profusely apologized.  The manager contacted the customer later to apologize again after talking to corporate and the father indicated he needed to apologize - his daughter was pregnant and he was unaware of it.  Target in fact goes to great lengths to predict when people are pregnant or someone in their family is pregnant - it is the most lucrative target market in existence.

So anyway, the Target debit card - not surprisingly - is a way to better track customers and get better data.  Some people find this invasive.  The reality is if you use a credit card at Target routinely they can track you in the exact same way anyway.  Basically if you shop with anything other than cash at Target you are being tracked and data-based.  So some would say you might as well get 5% for being tracked...

Another Reader

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Re: Target Red debit card - yea or nay?
« Reply #3 on: July 05, 2013, 11:42:17 AM »
Considering what I buy there, Target can track my purchases all they want.  It's worth the 5 percent to me, as long as you price shop and don't overpay on anything.  Lowes has a 5 percent card as well.  What a combination of purchase information for a data miner - lemonade and multiple refrigerators!

Rebecca Stapler

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Re: Target Red debit card - yea or nay?
« Reply #4 on: July 05, 2013, 11:48:31 AM »
Yay if you just use it for Target shopping, and if you shop at Target frequently enough to justify it.

But if you want a general rewards cc, I would opt for the AmEx Blue Cash Rewards or Premium card (the Premium has an annual fee, but it gives you 6% back on groceries; given what I spend on groceries, the cashback covers the annual fee plus some). The non-fee cc gives you 3% cash back on groceries (up to $6k on both of them). I spend much more on groceries than I do at Target.

Frankies Girl

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Re: Target Red debit card - yea or nay?
« Reply #5 on: July 05, 2013, 12:20:21 PM »


I do wonder why debit cards are more popular than the credit , since debit cards are not a good deal. You don't have the same protections that come with making purchases using a credit card, and in the case of skimming or theft of the card, the money comes right out of your account (even if it is "slow" to debit the amount spent, that may mean they're even slower to get the stolen money BACK) and may take it a while to get put back in once the theft is reported. I have never had a debit card and would never use a debit card for those two reasons, and I don't actually understand why debit cards are a "thing" since cash or credit seems to make the most sense (use cash for little stuff, credit card for everything else and pay the damn thing off every.single.time)
« Last Edit: October 22, 2017, 12:02:48 PM by Frankies Girl »

markstache

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Re: Target Red debit card - yea or nay?
« Reply #6 on: July 05, 2013, 12:32:33 PM »
I do wonder why debit cards are more popular than the credit , since debit cards are not a good deal.

+1. I called my credit union to see if I could get an ATM card that is not a debit card (so that if it gets stolen the thief can't use it for direct purchases). They said they don't issue non-VISA ATM cards anymore. A real shame. I should probably just the ATM card at home given how little I use it.

AvisJinx

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Re: Target Red debit card - yea or nay?
« Reply #7 on: January 27, 2015, 09:01:43 AM »
Thought I would bump this thread again to see if anyone else out there has the Target Red debit or credit card.

Besides the delayed posting on the debit card, has anyone run into any problems using the debit or the credit card?

catccc

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Re: Target Red debit card - yea or nay?
« Reply #8 on: January 27, 2015, 09:16:17 AM »
I have the debit, and I like it.  I originally got the debit instead of the credit because my credit score was like a game (how high can it go?!) and didn't want the hard pull from applying for the credit card.  But it seems advantageous in other ways...  There's no additional CC bill to pay, which saves a step.  And even though I don't purchase often from them, I do appreciate the 5%, it's better than getting most promo percents on a general card (which I have and use for everything else).  And free shipping for the occasional online purchase.

Also, for YNAB purposes, it isn't another "account," any transactions through the debit card just get posted directly to my checking account.

« Last Edit: January 27, 2015, 09:20:25 AM by catccc »

Louis the Cat

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Re: Target Red debit card - yea or nay?
« Reply #9 on: January 27, 2015, 09:42:59 AM »
We have a Target credit card that we've used for about 3 years. Any groceries that we don't get at Costco, we get at Target so that works extremely well for us. The 5% is great and we have taught ourselves to ignore all advertising so their targeted ads just wash right over us.

Researcher

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Re: Target Red debit card - yea or nay?
« Reply #10 on: January 27, 2015, 09:47:53 AM »
I have the debit card version. I got it instead of the CC because I didn't want a hard pull and it's really easy to manage. I shop at Target regularly, so the 5% off is nice. They also have a prepaid version that you can load with a credit card that gets you the 5% off also, but that's another topic...

Jack

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Re: Target Red debit card - yea or nay?
« Reply #11 on: January 27, 2015, 10:35:46 AM »
My wife has a Target debit card. If I had to re-do the decision I'd have her get the credit version instead (knowing what I know now about credit card fraud vs. debit card fraud in general), but otherwise I'm perfectly happy with it.

I also have a Lowe's credit card, and am happy with that too.

begood

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Re: Target Red debit card - yea or nay?
« Reply #12 on: January 27, 2015, 10:43:26 AM »
I've had the Target RED card - credit card, that is - for about three years. I like it. I love getting 5% off, I like that it gives me free shipping at target.com, and I like the fraud protection.

I don't like debit cards. I wish my ATM card wasn't a debit card. So I much prefer having the credit card, even though it means I get one more bill.

frugaliknowit

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Re: Target Red debit card - yea or nay?
« Reply #13 on: January 27, 2015, 10:56:48 AM »
I live near a Target and don't own a car, thus I tend to buy a lot from them.

As others have said, the debit card is slow to hit your bank.  Partly for this reason, I have the "credit" version.  The way I manage it is usually within 48 hours of a purchase, I log into my checking account and "push" the amount of my purchase via bill pay (rather than "pull" it via Target).  This way, my balances are more transparent which helps me put up a firewall against excess spending.  Yes, I forgo some float, but in this interest rate environment, it does not amount to much.

rubybeth

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Re: Target Red debit card - yea or nay?
« Reply #14 on: January 27, 2015, 11:06:07 AM »
So anyway, the Target debit card - not surprisingly - is a way to better track customers and get better data.  Some people find this invasive.  The reality is if you use a credit card at Target routinely they can track you in the exact same way anyway.  Basically if you shop with anything other than cash at Target you are being tracked and data-based.  So some would say you might as well get 5% for being tracked...

I have had the Target debit card for a few years and I love it, and part of the reason it's awesome is just what fiveoclockshadow pointed out--they figure out what you buy, and they give you coupons for it. My register coupons are usually really great for me, and they mail out coupons that are relevant, as well. So not only do you save the 5%, you can end up saving much more.

Also, two additional notes:

1) I like that having the Red Card extends my ability to return items (I think it's 90 days for Red Card purchases vs. 45 days for non-Red Card purchases), and even return them without a receipt. They just swipe my card and and it's an instant return.

2) If you don't already use the Target Cartwheel app, the savings from the app stack with the Red Card savings and coupons, so you can often save much more. They put a lot of their own Up & Up branded household items (stuff you'd buy anyway: toilet paper, dish soap, cleaning products, etc.) on Cartwheel, so that makes these even cheaper.

I don't really care about the purchases not hitting my bank for a couple of days. It's kind of like paying with a check, just wait it out and you're fine.

pipercat

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Re: Target Red debit card - yea or nay?
« Reply #15 on: January 27, 2015, 02:11:14 PM »
I have the debit card, and I love it!

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!