>>>Let’s say your credit card balance is $1,000 and you can only pay the minimum payment each month — around $20 to $25.
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>Credit card debt is a major problem in the US, but I'm with Bill: credit card for everything as long as you always pay it off every month which avoids interest and penalties.
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>Paying it off every month is little different from paying with cash or debit card, except you can delay payment for a month and you get airpoints or other benefits.
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>As Sammmie notes, you also get fraud protection, though actually you also can get that on your US debit card as long as it has a Mastercard or Visa logo on it and you use it for purchases rather than at the ATM.
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>Many credit cards also offer travel insurance, unlike debit cards or cash.
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>It all adds up: I get comprehensive travel insurance for my international business travel and accumulated Airpoints covered kids' airfares to Hawaii last year....

All of that is financed out of the 4% they charge for transaction, paid by the seller - but eventually bu you. And also anybody else who pays otherwise, they don't have different prices for cash. Except when they do - I've seen dozens of gas stations where the cash price is few percent below card price.