We're arguing about credit card versus debit card. If you decide debit cards are better and, as a result, you don't have a credit card, you don't have that $10,000 credit limit.
Also, available credit limits are much less valuable to me than actual money, so I will preferentially risk part of my credit limit before risking actual money. If the bank reduced my credit limit by $1000, I wouldn't mind nearly as much as if they reduced my checking account balance by $1000. I think most financially responsible people would feel the same way. Likewise if the bank increased my credit limit by $1000, I wouldn't be nearly as excited as I would be if someone gave me $1000 in actual money.
If it's just a question of what you're going to use for one particular transaction, sure, you can use your debit card sometimes. I do.
And part of the issue is that credit lines and actual money aren't perfectly fungible. For instance, I can't use my credit card to pay my credit card bill. I also can't use it to pay my mortgage.
Also, available credit limits are much less valuable to me than actual money, so I will preferentially risk part of my credit limit before risking actual money. If the bank reduced my credit limit by $1000, I wouldn't mind nearly as much as if they reduced my checking account balance by $1000. I think most financially responsible people would feel the same way. Likewise if the bank increased my credit limit by $1000, I wouldn't be nearly as excited as I would be if someone gave me $1000 in actual money.
If it's just a question of what you're going to use for one particular transaction, sure, you can use your debit card sometimes. I do.
And part of the issue is that credit lines and actual money aren't perfectly fungible. For instance, I can't use my credit card to pay my credit card bill. I also can't use it to pay my mortgage.