The purpose of only paying the minimum is that you are essentially deferring payment. You have the $1000 good, and the $1000. But, you are paying the credit card interest because of this little perk so paying the minimum is very rarely a good idea. The only way it would be a good idea is if you were gaining a higher percentage rate on the money (the $1000) than the credit card company was charging you, otherwise you end up losing more with the interest you pay. So say that you bought your $1000 item on credit, and then put $1000 in some investment (it doesn't really matter what it is). If the credit card was charging you 22%, then your investment needs to be making more than 22% for it to be a good idea to only pay the minimum. My recommendation would be to only use the credit card if you can pay off the balance before the statement comes due (2 months at the most). It is really easy to rack up a lot of debt.
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