[jmjj215]

Singin,
Boy, what a long list we'd have if we started tallying up all the companies that did horrible things to consumers...

I totally agree wtih you that the CC companies are doing awful things to consumers. My only hang up is the fact that nobody forces anyone to sign up for a credit card and charge stuff on it. People choose to do that. My counter to my own thought though, is that the CC companies use very sophisticated marketing and pour so much money into convincing people they need the CC, that people hardly stand a chance. On one hand, the consumer makes the ultimate decision, but on the other, it's almost like they're being tortured to "talk" so to say.

I use a CC for all of my purchases and pay the balance off in full each month. Today while I was walking to work I was thinking about that. I do it because I get a 1% cashback on all purchases. That figures to about a month's worth of groceries over the course of a year - pretty significant for me and my little family. But I know the CCs get a % of each sale from the merchants - more than the cashback they give me. So am I still contributing to their bottom line? I kind of thought I was sticking it to 'em. I'm not sure now!