[quote=nostradamus]All credit card co’s charge the vendor a percentage of sales. Even for people who pay off the balance, they ARE making money. You’re just not paying it, the places you shop are. Amex charges the most (which is why some places don’t like to accept it). I like Amex because they’ve always backed me up in disputes with vendors, and they went after some people who tried to defraud me.[/quote]

That’s not exactly correct. The merchant fee in the case of Visa and Mastercard goes to Visa and Mastercard (the companies themselves), not the the credit card issuer (e.g., Chase, Wells Fargo, etc.). Visa and Mastercard – the companies – don’t underwrite credit. They’re soley processors. The bank – which underwrites the risk – only gets the interest and penalties. American Express, on the other hand, makes money both from the merchant fees AND from interest and penalties. So, AmEx is like Visa/Mastercard/Bank all rolled up into one. I don’t know how Discovery operates, but I suspect it’s like AmEx.