It's possible to make out on credit cards, especially rewards cards, but you have to play carefully. We don't carry any balances, and the only card I routinely use is Amazon's reward Visa. Or maybe it's a Mastercard, I don't remember. I have a number of things on subcsription reorder with AMZN. Vitamins, supplements, grapeseed oil, etc. I use their CC as my payment source and have the card account set up to pay the balance in full automatically each month out of a bank account. No fees, no interest. In the meantime, I am racking up enough reward points annually to pay most if not all of the 80 dollar Amazon Prime membership fee, and saving about 10 percent by putting my buys on automatic reorder.

So far, this thread is more about the perils to folks who use their credit cards irresponsibly . . . as unsecured personal loans, rather than alternatives to access cash they already have.

I hate using cash. I do not like going to ATM's. I was robed once so that might add to my apprehension of carrying cash around. I have 3 CC's, Discover, Amex and MC. I mainly us e the Amex as they offer great buyers protection and extended warranties. I pay my tab at the end of the billing cycle. A $20 will last me a few months usually. Every now and then I will get a drink at work or a slice of pizza.

I also like the ability and easy of tracking my finances easier. I down load all my bills to Quicken and I can see exactly where money is going at a glance. Very convenient. If I need to find a old bill for warranty or to do a call back or what ever, just run a search in Quicken and voila, I know what statement to order from the CC company for proof of purchase.

Like many of you, I also "feel" like I get the best of the bargain by using a credit card. I pay my balance off at the end of the month and I get 5% back on my gas and most groceries. Even so, I think we would all be better off without the cards. I may be doing well with them, but I am sure that it's at the expense of someone else who can't afford to use them. We probably pay 5% in increased goods costs due to credit cards, so it's not like I am really "winning".

You can bet anytime a law is passed to "protect the consumer," companies will find a way to recoup that revenue via other means.