I've had a few friends get hit with massive fraud on their debit cards. Completely wiping them out cash-wise. They didn't have any credit cards either, because hey credit cards are evil and a trap.
It left them with absolutely nothing for weeks while the bank sorted it out. They couldn't make rent. They couldn't buy groceries. They couldn't put gas in their car. Sure, the vast majority of the charges were considered fraudulent (not all) so they mostly got their money back, but it was a rough few weeks for them. I've seen that played out three times so far.
Meanwhile there's been fraud on my wife's credit card a few times over the years. Zero impact to my daily life, because 1) generally the credit limits I have are far higher than the cash I'd normally keep in a checking account and 2) I could still fall back on the cash and other credit cards I had.
Also, IIRC, every time I disputed those transactions I think it instantly released that credit hold on my account, so I had that credit back right away.
Even dealing with point of sale and customer support issues becomes a lot easier when they know you're a few taps on your phone away from reversing a transaction. Make it clear that it's something you're very comfortable with, routine even, not a bother at all, and almost like you're doing them a favor by handling it on your end. They won't see it that way, of course, but it gives you all the leverage in the negotiation without it getting ugly.
Try it next time someone says their point of sale policy only lets them offer you store credit or an exchange. Say, oh that's fine, my credit card lets me reverse the transaction if I couldn't resolve the matter with the store, so I'll just do that. The very next response will be a miraculous change in the store's policy.
It left them with absolutely nothing for weeks while the bank sorted it out. They couldn't make rent. They couldn't buy groceries. They couldn't put gas in their car. Sure, the vast majority of the charges were considered fraudulent (not all) so they mostly got their money back, but it was a rough few weeks for them. I've seen that played out three times so far.
Meanwhile there's been fraud on my wife's credit card a few times over the years. Zero impact to my daily life, because 1) generally the credit limits I have are far higher than the cash I'd normally keep in a checking account and 2) I could still fall back on the cash and other credit cards I had.
Also, IIRC, every time I disputed those transactions I think it instantly released that credit hold on my account, so I had that credit back right away.