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· Fraud Protection. If your credit card number is used fraudulently, by law your maximum liability is $50. This is not true of a debit card. A perpetrator can easily use your debit card as "credit" transaction in retail stores or online. This type of transaction does not require a PIN number to be entered, and is especially dangerous since a thief can clean out your entire bank account in short order.
· Loss Protection. Unlike cash which is gone for good if lost, a credit card can be replaced within days of reporting it to
issuing bank. In
meantime, you're protected against unauthorized use by anyone who finds
lost card.
· Warranty Coverage. Many MasterCard credit cards warrant your purchases above and beyond that offered by
product's manufacturer. Your purchases made with one of these cards get an extra level of protection for free. See MasterCard's website (http://www.mastercard.com) for
full scoop on their coverage terms.
· Purchase Protection. Another benefit MasterCard offers on most of their cards. With their Purchase Assurance plan, your purchases are automatically insured against damage or theft for
first 90 days, also at no additional cost to you.
With all of these benefits over other forms of payment, credit cards can easily become your favorite way to pay. Instead of dreading your credit card bill each month, it can become a pleasant reminder of your money mastery.

Jim Hood is a senior contributing editor at the Discount Shopping Service Guide, where he reviews credit card offers and writes about money-saving strategies for shopping online. His credit card offer reviews can be found at: ==> http://www.discountssg.com/credit-card-offer.html