The merchant chargeback is probably the main reason that most merchants are so quick to refund or exchange an item for an unhappy consumer. That approach is much cheaper than getting a chargeback fee plus absorbing the cost of the contested item (which the customer keeps!). Now there is a process for the merchant to contest the chargeback and collect the price of the item from the customer but most don't bother (or they have insurance for that situation).
It's a much better process to work with the customer at point of sale to either take back or exchange the item before the credit card company gets involved.
As for those on this thread that swear by cash or debit cards - that's an outmoded way of thinking. The protection offered by credit cards make it a no-brainer to use in just about any retail purchase.
The key is to pay the balance of those credit cards every month so that you are not carrying a balance over that will cost you interest. People must have the discipline to do that by spending only within their monthly budget so that they can pay the balance off when the bill comes.
I maintain between $20,000 and $40,000 in my savings/checking accounts at all times so that is even more reason for me to never use a debit card. Should somebody get access to that, they could drain my account. Granted, most ATMs have a daily withdrawing limit but if I'm not paying attention to the balance each day, I could easily lose thousands before I notice.
If the same happened with my credit card, I'd be protected against those fraudulent charges.
Lastly, using credit cards responsibly is a great way to build a good credit rating. When my sons were younger, I had them get credit cards in their own name so that they could have the experience of learning how to properly use them and even today they are checking CreditKarma regularly to see their credit scores (both of them are well over 800 on both TransUnion and Equifax).
And neither of them have school loans to pay off!
Move the majority of the money to an account and lock 🔒🔐 the card online.
You can keep a small amount in an account that has an unlocked 🔓 card and just use that when needed; besides your credit 💳 card.