Credit card companies can be sneaky sneakers. They have trickster ways that entice us to spend more, pay off less, and dig ourselves deeper into credit card debt. Years ago when I clued in and figured out how my credit card company was pocketing my pay check, not only did I beat $17,000 of debt but I stopped screwing up my financial future by learning to stick it to my credit cards.
Sure, it’s not hard to get tricked by credit cards. With all the enticing minimum balance payments, high interest rates, and ease of use it’s pretty darn easy to fall prey to the power of plastic.
But unless you love paying the price for plastic, it makes good financial sense to get wise to the credit card game. Using your credit card the smart way and avoiding the common pitfalls will not only save you lots of money but might just screw over your credit card company and prevent them from getting your cash. You won’t feel bad, promise. Here are 5 legal ways to screw your credit card company:
1. Pay More than the Minimum Balance
If you’re stuck for the month and can’t pay off your credit card balance in full, then aim to pay more than the minimum balance. Paying the bare minimum on your monthly balance only prolongs the debt agony and increases the amount of interest you pay to the credit card company — and that’s how to get screwed! 
Depending on the size of your debt, you may add thousands to your wallet each year by adding a few more dollars to your monthly payment. For example, on a starting balance of $2,200 with an annual interest rate of 18%, your debt would be paid off in 8 years and 6 months if you paid only the minimum balance of 4% of the initial balance. The total interest paid is a massive $1,193.54 on an initial loan of only $2,200. If you can’t pay your card off in full each month, try to at least double the minimum payment so you’re actually taking a bite out of the principal.
Want to see how much paying the minimum balance is costing you? Check out this handy Credit Card Calculator for the scary results. You might be shocked!
2. Pay Credit Card Balances in Full
Fully paying off your credit card each and every month is a sure fire way to screw the credit card company. With some credit card interest rates well over 18%, it’s easy to lose a bundle by not paying off monthly balances. It just makes good financial sense to keep that money for yourself — you worked hard to earn it after all!
Besides, paying off your credit card balance in full helps you to establish a good credit rating, improve your credit score or FICO score, and build an excellent credit report for lenders to reference if you’re in the market for a mortgage or a loan.
If you need convincing, here’s a 5 Minute Guide to Your Credit Report and Credit Score to get you thinking seriously about paying off your balances.
3. Pay in Cash
Skip plastic altogether by spending what you have, not what you hope to have in the future. By keeping honest with your cash on hand you won’t be borrowing against your future to deal with high interest credit card debt.
Besides, sticking to a planned spend rather then getting seduced by a sexy sales sign is how to win the credit card battle and ultimately win the war against plastic. If you’re feeling the call of plastic over cash, then try posting a sticky note on your card with a reminder not to spend beyond the cash you’ve set aside.
4. Negotiate a Lower Interest Rate
If you’re carrying a balance on your credit card, don’t be afraid to call your issuer and ask for a lower rate. Many lenders will cut you a break if you’ve been paying the minimum balance each month, and they may reduce your monthly interest rate if you ask nicely.
It costs you nothing to pick up the phone and negotiate a lower interest rate with your lender and could help you pay off your credit card sooner. A cut in rate from 22.5% to 15% on a $5,500 balance could save you almost $500 a year!
It’s the new math people — be a kind a courteous bill payer, ask for a better interest rate, and then kindly kill your credit card debt faster.
5. Students — Stay away from Free Frisbees!
Don’t get hit in the head with a piece of flying plastic by signing a new credit card application on campus. Credit card companies love to entice fresh-faced college students with free stuff like T-shirts, food, and Frisbees in exchange for a student credit card. These plastic peddlers often set up booths on campus to get your attention and to get you spending on credit sooner. Do yourself a solid and take a pass on this collegiate debt game play.
If you need a credit card while studying at school, ask your parents for help with finding a good lender and get an education in paying off the balance. There’s no sense in getting schooled by debt and getting taught a lesson in credit when you’re just looking for a way to pay for tuition.
There must be countless ways to win the war on credit cards so I might just add to this list in a later post. 
UPDATE: Read Part Two: 5 MORE Ways To Screw Your Credit Card Company
Penny for your thoughts? Got another way to politely screw your credit card company and pay off your plastic debt sooner?
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Your Two Cents:
#2 is the absolute most important way because then if you can discipline yourself to pay off your balance in full every month then you can use a cash back credit card or a rewards credit card to really sock it to the credit card company and earn all kinds of cash back and rewards.
Use your credit card for monthly bills, if possible, and rack up points (w/Capital One for example) and get a free flight every once in a while. It saves on buying new checks and you WERE going to pay those bills any way.
It seems like a small victory. But, I like to pull into the gas station, push the Credit button and then use my debit card.
That way, I save the transaction fee and I avoid interest.
Very good article !!! I only use my credit card when paying in cash is not a valid option (like buying something online) and pay it back in full at the end of the month. That being said, the companies also offer a “protection fee” plan in case you loose your job. By not spending more than you can afford, nobody needs to pay these extra dollars each time you use you credit card.
One thing I learned from running a business is that the money you spend for each purchase you make with a credit (or even a debit card) does not go to the buisness. They get charged a 3-5% service fee (AmEx is the highest). When shopping at my local businesses and mom-and-pop stores, I try to either write a check or use cash. This, in the end, helps lower their costs and may result in keeping prices lower.
That is also less money in fees going to the credit card companies. That part I like the most.
Get a free rewards card, like the ones from CitiBank, MBNA and Costco AMEX (i.e. no yearly fee).
I use my credit card for everything and I get about 1.5% cash back on my purchases. I also only buy things that I already have the cash to pay for so when the bill comes, I just pay it in full. This way, the credit card is actually giving me a discount on everything I buy.
#2 has become my new rule! Since I’m entering into 2010 without cc debt, I am back to my original envelope system with cash.
@Jean Louis – good tip…I need to remove that “protection” from my cards
@Carol- I do that too (no checks for me though)
@Greg-yep, I use my cc for big purchases for the protection and free airline tickets
Great post!
#2 combined with a good rewards program credit card = strategic credit card use that can earn you a lot of value each year, either in cash back or reward points for travel miles, lodging, store gift certificates, etc. That’s the very best way to stick it to the credit card companies, IMHO.
I love cc’s its easy and global in nature, but I have ALWAYS paid all my cc debt unfailingly on time and 100% balance and never paid interest…i have also gained quite some $$ back from them …which has been a big bonus for me and fmly…i wish more americans would show some restraint in spending beyond means…
#2 is the only way to live. If you aren’t familiar with Dave Ramsey, you should be.
Everything is better when you are living debt free!
Here’s to debt free living!
Thanks again for another outstanding article. It’s a shame that some many of us are convinced that we need a credit rating to have a life.
My favorite way of getting back at credit card companies involves their unsolicited mail.
Next time you get an application for another credit card, write, “No thanks” on the application in huge letters, take all of the contents they sent you and stuff them in their postage-paid envelope, and send it all back to them.
After doing this a couple of times, they’ll take you off their mailing lists.
What a great article! These are some practical, applicable tips we can all keep in mind to help manage our credit card spending. Thanks, Kerry!
Hope to Prosper: Hadn’t thought of that one. Great tip.
Yip, there is nothing like paying off the credit card balance in full each month and being given a dividend on all the purchases made. They pay me
and I love it.
A little trick that people can use to stick it to the credit card companies if you can not afford to pay off each month and get yourself to where you can is to apply for credit cards that have an introductory rate for transfers. Use them until the rate is gone and apply for another one offering the same thing and transfere over canceling the first card so your debt ratio does not go up. You save a pile of interest and get out of debt sooner. do not be lured into increasing debt while doing this or you will end up in a real mess.
I personally prefer to use cash, having paid off over 20K in plastic debt i know better how easy it is to fall in these debt. If i do not have cash available whatever it is can wait.
Using cash is somewhat old-fashioned, but it gets rid of many problems associated with credit cards. If you are having constant problems with the payment of credit card debt, the best way would be to use cash always in all cases which this is possible.
Thank you for the article and keep well.
Stephen – that is brilliant! I am going to do that. One year I got so angry at all junk mailers, I returned their envelopes with the forms saying “deceased.” But I started to feel like I might jinx myself so halted the practice.
One more thing. I do have a rewards program with Mosaic Mastercard but it’s free and it pays me a small percentage based on how much I spend. I never get back more than a $100 a year but at least they’re paying me money – actual cash (off my balance) but no airmiles etc…
when you’ve got a hold on your cash, using your credit card to pay off monthly bills is a solid! you’re building your credit and keeping your expenses low!
these are terrible ways to screw your credit card company… this guy must work for them.. first run up your balances then don’t pay them
They screwed me now I screw them. BANKRUPTCY
Especially BoA about 20k Capital one 13K and much more.
They raised rates and did not want to lower them even with good credit.
I don’t care anymore. Screw them……………..
@Vi Wickam: I love Dave Ramsey…but he says to never use credit cards AT ALL! Debt-free is wonderful. I’m debating on a credit card because I know I can restrain myself to only buy what I have cash to pay back in FULL and to not go out of my means, but there’s always that feeling of unrealistic security like if you lose your job or something and you go “well we can just charge it to the credit card and pay it back when we have money…because we NEED it”…that’s dangerous ground and in that case I’d rather just stick to cash and debit cards and checks. But on the flip side, using a credit card wisely (by only buying what you have that exact money to put away and pay off your monthly balance in FULL every month) can get you a quick, upped credit score to buy a house or get a car or get a loan if needed, etc. What to do???