Reluctantly took delta gold amex as I use card to buy inventory & my suppliers won't take amex; however have 240k NW miles (now Skymiles) so thought I'd use amex for travel (got an AA Visa for inventory purchases). Today came this month's amex statement, w/ a 'periodic finance charge' of some $38. What's this I said. Looked at the very fine print on back to find I'm being charged simply for using the %&# card! Yes, I pay in full every month & I pay within 5 days of receiving statement & I have a high credit line & the card costs $150/yr. So, I pay for the card & I pay for using it -- the 'periodic finance charge' is 18.23%! I suspect the penalty is for the sin of paying in full. I notice Discover will also implement a 'periodic finance charge' in 2010. If this is the future of premium cards, it'll be back to checks, debit cards, & (most likely) on-line billpay for 'big' chargers.