I have been going to Home Depot pretty regularly since we moved over Memorial Day weekend. Today, the cashier told me she would take $50 off my purchase if I signed up for a Home Depot credit card. That was enough incentive for me so I did it.

The finance department at Home Depot is not full of idiots. They keep track of how much they make in finance charges off the average Home Depot card holder. They also study people's buying habits to see if the average total purchase increases after a person gets a card. They also study store loyalty to see if a person is more likely to shop at Home Depot after getting the card versus splitting their purchases between Home Depot and various competitors. No doubt, there are other criteria that I am forgetting right now. If they are willing to pay me $50 to sign up for a credit card it is because they expect to make that much back and more.

In my case, I am confident I will never pay any interest or fees and I do not expect it to change my buying habits because I already do the overwhelming amount of my home improvement buying there anyway. I could be wrong but for the sake of discussion, let's say I am right. That means they have to make that much more off other people to compensate for not making anything extra off me.

I remember in college I used to sign up for Sears credit cards all the time in order to get the free Tupperware knock offs and other cheap gifts they offered. The ante certainly has been raised.

Anyway, I just found this interesting. If you trust yourself with the card, be sure to sign up the next time you are there. It's a nice incentive.