No…no they’re not.
“But, credit cards are a necessity!!”
You can’t, apparently, rent a car without them, for example.
Never mind that Hertz, Enterprise, Avis, Budget, and National all have terms and conditions allowing you to rent a car with a debit card. http://www.ncnblog.com/2007/04/18/can-i-use-a-debit-card-to-rent-a-car/
Apparently credit cards offer you consumer protection unavailable with your debit card.
Never mind that EVERY Visa debit card comes with consumer protection, including a zero liability policy for unauthorized charges and identity theft. http://usa.visa.com/personal/cards/debit/visa_check_cards_faq.html#anchor_19
Apparently you can’t book a hotel or travel without a credit card. Well…unless you do a simple 30 second google search dand find such links as http://www.starwoodhotels.com/westin/property/overview/announcements.html?propertyID=1050 or https://wwwc.druryhotels.com/content/faqs.aspx
Or heck…book your whole trip on Travelocity, and use one. http://tinyurl.com/yhtut92
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Do some of these things require a balance large enough to cover deposits, incidentals, etc? Sure they do. Is that a problem for you? Then WHY ARE YOU TRAVELING? If you can’t afford to take the trip, then YOU CAN’T AFFORD TO TAKE THE TRIP. How “important” you think it is that you be at location X for event Y isn’t the issue here…the issue is that you can’t pay for what you’re trying to do.
You are not entitled to take a vacation. You are not entitled to be there for your cousin’s/niece’s/brother’s wedding/funderal/bah mitzvah. You are not entitled to see that race/game/concert.
These are things that responsible people work for, plan for, and prepare for. They have an emergency fund to cover things like traveling to an unexpected funeral. They plan for things like next summer’s vacation. They prepare for things like important moments in their relatives’ lives.
Grow up, act your wage, and stop making excuses for your desire to live beyond your means.
Anything you can do with a credit card, you can do with a debit card…except spend money you don’t have.