• Marketplace, Wednesday, November 18, 2009 10:49 AM

Here's a story that seems a bit counter-intuitive although it does seem that fewer and fewer retailers are offering discounts for cash on the barrel nowadays. Indeed, I was surprised the other day when an online travel agency offered a 2% break for sending them a personal check instead of using PayPal. But when I factored in the miles I'd get for using the credit card, it was a bottom-line wash, plus I get to hold onto my money an extra 45 days or so.

Stacey Vanek-Smith reports that the reason most retailers like plastic is because, as one consumer tells her, "credit cards make it too easy to spend too much."

"When you use a credit card, you're saying you're pretty optimistic about the future," explains Lynn Kahle, a consumer psychology expert at the University of Oregon. "I may not have the money right now, but better to enjoy the pleasures of life now and worry about paying for them later." Kathy Grannis of the National Retail Federation agrees that impulsive buys will be down this holiday season.

Read the whole story at Marketplace »