Have you ever looked at a charge on your credit card statement and thought "what the heck is that?" If so, you're certainly not alone. Double charges, hidden fees, unauthorized purchases, and zombie subscriptions that were canceled months ago can plague anyone's credit card bill.

I pay for every expense I possibly can in life with my credit cards, but I've never paid taxes with plastic. Paying the tax man is painful enough in the first place, so I simply can't come to terms with handing over a dime more than I have to for the "convenience" of using a credit card. I'd rather use whatever free method of payment still exists. In fact, e-filing and setting up a free electronic funds withdrawal from my checking account feels just as convenient to me anyway.

You can't get away with skipping out on flowers for Valentine's day. So don't even try to talk yourself into believing the dinner reservation you managed to land at the fanciest restaurant in town is a good enough effort this year. Sorry—it's not. Show up to meet your date without flowers of some kind in hand, and you're special someone will most likely feel a bit slighted. Retailers are obviously in on the secret too, which is why a dozen roses can run somewhere close to $100 around Valentine's Day. Fortunately, if you whip out the right kind of rewards credit card to make your last-minute flower purchase online, you can make sure your wallet feels a bit of Valentine's Day love this year as well.

 Anyone who has ever tried to choose between dozens of rewards credit cards knows just how confusing it can be. There are different amounts of points given, different types of points given, and different rewards given.  Figuring out which card is best for your situation can be a time consuming, never-ending process! But what if I told you that some of the best credit card perks don't even come from the rewards program you pick?  In fact, credit card companies are actually giving away some of the most valuable benefits just for being their friend.