[maerF0x0]

Or another pattern, which I presume CC companies bank on : People forget to pay in the grace window and hence get charged _some_ interest, and often get into a pattern where they pay off the wrong debts first etc.

So they're earning upto 4.5% on their savings, and then paying out like 20-25% on the debt.

[2OEH8eoCRo0]

Is that why there are a seemingly endless number of cards with their own stupid perks? It's a ruse so that people are more likely to forget?

[algoatecorn]

I think there's just a statistically reliable number of people who will carry X balance at Y interest rate, and card companies use perks as product differentiation so they can attract more users. If the perks somehow get even more people to ignore their balances, that's just a bonus. At the end of the day the card companies are competing against each other.

[maerF0x0]

And credit card companies make money on usage -- they charge the retailer something like 3% on purchases meaning they make money on the transaction volume regardless of carried balance.