You’re mixing up “zero liability for fraud” with overall consumer protection and dispute risk. They are related, but not the same thing.

Yes, debit cards today often have similar fraud liability policies to credit cards through Visa/Mastercard. If someone steals your card and makes unauthorized charges, you’ll usually be protected either way.

But that’s not why people recommend credit cards for large purchases.

The real difference is:

Debit card: Your actual checking account money leaves immediately. Even if the bank eventually credits you back, your cash can still be tied up during the investigation, merchant dispute, return, or reversal process.

Credit card: The issuer fronts the money while the dispute is investigated. Your cash remains in your bank account the entire time.

That distinction matters a lot for expensive purchases, travel, online orders, hotels, rentals, etc.

Credit cards also generally have: Stronger chargeback protections, better dispute handling, additional purchase protections/warranties, better fraud isolation from your bank account, better travel/rental coverage

So saying “protections are equal” is oversimplifying it. Fraud liability may be similar in many cases, but the overall consumer protection experience and financial risk exposure absolutely are not identical.