I'm Lost! The REDCard Thread

Heard a rumor my district is going to 5% in January. We've been green three weeks this year at 3.5.
 
from whhat i have heard is that most, if not all districts are calling 3.5% green but if you're not at 5% your not doing something right, you're not being agressive, you're not driving for results. conversion will be the death of all of us.
 
Redcard Debit Cards are NOT just like using your regular debit card. Charges from those cards do not automatically come out of your checking account. They take DAYs to come out...and have often caused overdraft fees for me. Never tell someone that the Redcard Debit Card is just like their debit card. That is a lie.
 
Redcard Debit Cards are NOT just like using your regular debit card. Charges from those cards do not automatically come out of your checking account. They take DAYs to come out...and have often caused overdraft fees for me. Never tell someone that the Redcard Debit Card is just like their debit card. That is a lie.
When you use your debit card, go home, write it in your checkbook. What's the problem. Don't play games with your account. Consider that money gone when you use the card. I know some tm's complain it takes 3 or 4 days, but my bank is usually the next day or 2nd day at the latest.
 
Well I knew this before signing for one. I read the agreement and it says that it should take several days for the transaction to post on your checking account. It is someone's responsibility to keep track on how you are spending. I would recommend getting notifications for your phone. Depending on which bank you have, you can get push notifications from your bank account.
 
Um, its both. Point being a Redcard Debit cards is NOT just like your debit card. It doesn't act like your debit card. When I make a purchase at Target with my debit card the money comes out right away. When I make a purchase with a Redcard debit card it does not come out right away.

I worked at Target...lived paycheck to paycheck. My bank account never had much in it anyhow.
 
I may be the odd guy out, but I always kinda liked that it takes a few days to hit the account. Saved my ass on more than one occasion where I needed some food/other necessities a few days before payday and was short on cash. Just get whatever at Target plus cash back, and I'd be fine til my paycheck cleared. As long as you keep track of your Redcard payments, you can use it to your advantage.
 
I may be the odd guy out, but I always kinda liked that it takes a few days to hit the account. Saved my ass on more than one occasion where I needed some food/other necessities a few days before payday and was short on cash. Just get whatever at Target plus cash back, and I'd be fine til my paycheck cleared. As long as you keep track of your Redcard payments, you can use it to your advantage.

Kiting, the legal definition of this practice, is usually considered fraud. I'm not saying the feds will bust down your door, but it is misrepresentation of how much you have in your account. Which is fraud.

I personally agree with XAisles. I don't have a red card. Of course, I never use my bank issued debit card either.
 
Redcard Debit Cards are NOT just like using your regular debit card. Charges from those cards do not automatically come out of your checking account. They take DAYs to come out...and have often caused overdraft fees for me. Never tell someone that the Redcard Debit Card is just like their debit card. That is a lie.
When you use your debit card, go home, write it in your checkbook. What's the problem. Don't play games with your account. Consider that money gone when you use the card. I know some tm's complain it takes 3 or 4 days, but my bank is usually the next day or 2nd day at the latest.

My problem was it was not consistent on how long it would take. Sometimes two days others 4+ days.
 
I may be the odd guy out, but I always kinda liked that it takes a few days to hit the account. Saved my ass on more than one occasion where I needed some food/other necessities a few days before payday and was short on cash. Just get whatever at Target plus cash back, and I'd be fine til my paycheck cleared. As long as you keep track of your Redcard payments, you can use it to your advantage.
Same here, its come in handy on those home stretches before payday. But apparently it makes me a criminal so now I'm conflicted.
 
It's simple: use mint/quicken/a paper checkbook to enter the transactions manually. For me they just get synced up later, so instead of trusting my online balance I trust my quicken balance that factors in the debit redcard transactions. It's your own fault that you overdrew your account, the card doesn't check to see how much money you have in it before use.
 
You can have your bank send you a text if your account goes below a certain point.
Granted that doesn't help much if you don't have the money to make sure things are covered.
Everybody here is correct, balance your checkbook so there isn't a chance that anything will bounce.
Also avoid places like Bank of America that like to take the checks out of order so more bounce and they get higher fees.
Credit unions are always going to be your best bet.
 
You can have your bank send you a text if your account goes below a certain point.
Granted that doesn't help much if you don't have the money to make sure things are covered.
Everybody here is correct, balance your checkbook so there isn't a chance that anything will bounce.
Also avoid places like Bank of America that like to take the checks out of order so more bounce and they get higher fees.
Credit unions are always going to be your best bet.
My bank (TCF) got sued for that a few years ago so they stopped doing it. Over several years they charged one lady over $1000 in overdraft fees so she sued. Also most big banks like BOA charge monthly fees, whereas credit unions generally don't.
 
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A Target REDCard is a debit card, just like your bank debit card:
  1. a card issued by a bank allowing the holder to transfer money electronically to another bank account when making a purchase.
There may be a difference in the time it takes to transfer money electronically but perhaps that would just as easily make the bank debit card NOT a debit card.

Would you say that a check that is deducted from your account four days later because of mail service is not really a check, because if you write a check at the bank, it is deducted sooner?
 
My problem was it was not consistent on how long it would take. Sometimes two days others 4+ days.
It's because it's not a debit card, it's essentially a credit card target foots the bill with their credit when you make the purchase and then bills your bank account automatically. It will never work like an actual debt card just because banks don't want anyone else to have that level of account access outside of them. The only issue is how well your bank and credit union interact, banks certainly can slow down certain transactions just off not trusting the source.
 
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A Target REDCard is a debit card, just like your bank debit card:
  1. a card issued by a bank allowing the holder to transfer money electronically to another bank account when making a purchase.
There may be a difference in the time it takes to transfer money electronically but perhaps that would just as easily make the bank debit card NOT a debit card.

Would you say that a check that is deducted from your account four days later because of mail service is not really a check, because if you write a check at the bank, it is deducted sooner?

Not really, cause with a card, part of the selling point is the ease and quickness vs paper checks. My beef was it was not consistent in transaction times, be it Target or my bank. Sometimes it was a day other times 4 days. I just wanted a consistent time frame, didn't get it so I killed the card.

Wow semantics, you posted as I was posting.
 
If I was going to get either, it would be the credit card. But really, I don't see that happening. I use my Discover card for everything. I pay it off every month. No annual fee. No interest. Plus I get cash back on all my purchases. I crunched the.numbers, I make back far more than I would save using the red card.
 
If I was going to get either, it would be the credit card. But really, I don't see that happening. I use my Discover card for everything. I pay it off every month. No annual fee. No interest. Plus I get cash back on all my purchases. I crunched the.numbers, I make back far more than I would save using the red card.
you save more than 15% with Discover card?
 
Overdraft Fees :eek:

Living life on the edge huh?

I don't mind my Target Debit REDcard not automatically transferring funds. I much enjoy 15% off on top of Cartwheel and Target coupons. :D

Although, I understand Target doesn't pay a living wage to most TMs. However, overdrafts are a personal problem that can be fixed.
 
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