Credit cards form part of a system of payments named after the small plastic card issued to users of the system. It entitles its holder to buy goods and services based on the holder’s promise to pay for these goods and services from certain establishments. Credit cards originated in the United States in the 1930s; their use was wide-spread by the 1950s. They are issued by businesses ranging from oil companies, retail stores and chain stores to restaurants, hotels, airlines, car rental agencies and banks.
There are all kind of credit cards by today, some honored in a single store and others being general-purpose cards usable in a wide variety of establishments. The issuer grants a line of credit to the user from which they can borrow to pay to a merchant or as a cash advance to the user. Bank credit cards are general purpose cards, and organization all over now honor the cards such that it is expected that credit cards could or would someday eliminate the need for carrying cash.
In the United States today, you may use a credit card to pay for just about anything as most organizations and establishments now accept them. From a personal point of view, I would say that it would be corporate suicide not to accept them since it is such a convenient way to make payments today that many analysts surmise that credit cards will someday soon replace cash entirely. Just like a lot of people lost their jobs with the advent of the computer, anyone outside of the loop when this happens will remain outside of the loop more likely permanently.
A lot of credit card companies make their cards enviable to customers by waiving interest charges at the end of each month. However, this is only viable if the balance is paid in full; if the total balance is not paid by this time they will charge full interest on the entire outstanding balance from the date of each purchase, and that can be staggering, but that happens to be how the system works.