It is stupid to use a credit card and then carry a balance from month to month that you are paying interest on. If you use a credit card and then pay the full balance at the end of the month you are smarter, but I invite you to take the next step: Start using a debit/check card only. The check card works exactly the same way as far as the store is concerned and has the same fraud protection, but you will probably find that you spend a little bit more wisely.

On a related note, I understand that the cost to the store of processing a “credit card” signature based transaction is significantly higher that processing a “debit” PIN based transaction. In many stores, the customer is asked to arbitrarily choose whether his check card transaction is treated as a debit card or a credit card and they don’t seem to care which you choose. I can only speculate that their contract with the merchant service prohibits them from expressing a preference for PIN based transactions in the same way it prohibits them from imposing a surcharge on card transactions in an attempt to recoup their fees.

These processing fees are a nice profit center. There are now many credit unions offering checking accounts with up to 6% interest on the first $25k balance if you have one direct deposit and at least ten check card purchases per month.