Originally Posted by
jetlagjunkie
That is not true. They do not only make money on the interest they charge the card holder. They make money off the merchants as well. I am willing to bet they make more money off of business cardholders who charge everything and spend $30k a year and pays it off every month vs a consumer who carries a $5000 balance.
I was being a bit tounge and cheek about it, however card companies actually do call customers who pay off balances every month "Dead Beats".
The issuing bank (US Bank) get's a portion of the Interchange Fee (Visa takes a cut from the Interchange as well.) Another chunk of which they share with NW for the miles. I'd say US Bank would be lucky if they ended up with more than .5% in fees after expenses. It's still money on the table, but they'd really really like you to run a balance.