Last August, The Motley Fool, one of the most entertaining personal finance and investing websites out there, published an article called the 8 Commandments of Credit that I feel every consumer should read. Some of the commandments are common sense, some of them may not apply, but an educated consumer has a duty to read and understand what these rules mean and ensure that they follow them. They address some of the tactic that credit card companies use to try to extract as much money as they can from unsuspecting consumers like you and I. In this series I will elaborate on some of these commandments and give my personal take.

Commandment IV. Play the system.

They want you as a customer more than you need them as a creditor so use that to your advantage, ask for a lower interest rate or a fee taken off – they’ll most likely oblige because that fee (or that interest) is nothing in the long run. You make them money when you swipe (they charge the vendor a large chunk of fees) and you make them money when you carry a balance, so they want you to keep making them money – make them pay for that right to be the top card in your wallet or purse.

Source: The Motley Fool