I always use a credit card (mainly Mastercard and some times Visa), even for fuel purchases. If it is a vendor I have never heard of before I will use a temporary number generated by my CC company where I can set a dollar limit and a time limit. I've used PayPal a couple of times, but I always do it through my credit card and NOT my bank account.
I pay my CC balance in full every month, so there is no additional cost to me. I like the 25+ day interest free loan I get from the credit card company. I also like the cash-back feature in my credit cards.
I have had a couple of instances where someone made fraudulent charges using my credit card number, and disputing them and getting my money back was only a phone call away. One time, someone charged $5,000 at some exotic resort in London and the CC company called me before the charges posted on my account. I had the funds credited back to my account immediately. They also canceled that CC number and I had a new card FedEx'd to me within 3 days.
I NEVER use a debit card, in fact I refuse to even have one. I've read of too many instances where people got their bank accounts cleaned out by some using their debit card number. Once they got your money it is awful hard to get it back from the crooks.
