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Re:EU fines Mastercard more than half a billion euros by cronix on Tuesday January 22, 2019 @05:13PM (#18973128)
I exclusively use my credit card (in the US) for all payments that I am allowed to, which is most. I also pay the balance off in full each month. I pay $0 in fees and $0 in interest charges, and the bank pays me about $1,500/year with a cash rewards program, so I end up making $1,500/year by using it. I just wish I could pay my mortgage with it. I did buy a car for my daughter on it (and went home and paid it off a week later). That was a nice chunk of change. The only actual debt I have is my mortgage.

I don't claim to be a typical credit card user, but I do like to game their system and make money off of them (paid for by people NOT paying their balances off monthly and racking up dumb fees). I don't see a downside to it. It's not like they're getting more data on me by using a rewards card. They already know all of the purchases I make with them.

Re:EU fines Mastercard more than half a billion euros by krn on Tuesday January 22, 2019 @06:12PM (#18973681)
I would probably do the same, if I lived in the US, because that's how the entire country is optimized to operate.

At the same time, I am glad that the EU provides a more conservative alternative and style of living.

I think the US is more about getting rich, and the EU is more about not becoming poor.

And for a money-savvy person the US might provide much more opportunities than the EU can.

Yet, the majority of people are not money-savvy, and the "high risks, high rewards" game inevitably produces more losers than winners.