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.

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You're a daisy if you do.
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84 Euro 240D 4spd. 220.5k sold
04 Honda Element AWD
1985 F150 XLT 4x4, 351W with 270k miles, hay hauler
1997 Suzuki Sidekick 4x4
1993 Toyota 4wd Pickup 226K and counting

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.

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Sent from an agnostic abacus

2014 C250 21,XXX my new DD ** 2013 GLK 350 18,000 Wife's new DD**

- With out god, life is everything.
- God is an ever receding pocket of scientific ignorance that's getting smaller and smaller as time moves on..." Neil DeGrasse Tyson
- You can pray for me, I'll think for you.
- When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours.

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".

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80 300SD (129k mi) 82 240D stick (193k mi)77 240D auto - stick to be (153k mi) 85 380SL (145k mi) 89 BMW 535i 82 Diesel Rabbit Pickup (374k mi) 91 Jetta IDI Diesel (155k mi) 81 VW Rabbit Convertible Diesel 70 Triumph Spitfire Mk III (63kmi)66 Triumph TR4a IRS (90k mi)67 Ford F-100 (??)

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

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1980 300TD-China Blue/Blue MBTex-2nd Owner, 107K (Alt Blau) OBK #15
'06 Chevy Tahoe Z71 (for the wife & 4 kids, current mule) '03 Honda Odyssey (son #1's ride, reluctantly) '99 GMC Suburban (255K+ miles, semi-retired mule) 21' SeaRay Seville (summer escape pod)