discovered how to be able to skip a payment (not sure I would go through the trouble to get an extra month's worth of float, but here it is). Did I just discover an internal control problem at all credit card processing companies? (this was the Costco Visa).

Last month, I had total transactions of about $2,000. Got my statement and have auto payment set up to pay it each month. During the month, I bought some plane tickets that exceeded the previous month's balance. I made a mistake, so within 24 hours I cancelled the tickets and then repurchased them. As a result of the credits in the current month, last month's payment was waived. Here is a example of how it worked:

$2,000 - last month's balance
$6,000 - current month's purchases ($3,000 new plane tickets $3,000 plane tickets purchased but refunded on next line)
(3,000) - refund of the plane tickets
$5,000 - New statement balance - no payment on the original $2,000 balance

I called the credit card company and they said I was good due to the credit issued - no interest will be charged and no non payment considered. No payment was due as a result of the credit issued during the month, even though it was for a purchase the month after the statement balance calculated.

Something to remember if you are ever in a credit crunch and need an extra month to pay: go buy a plane ticket greater than your prior month balance, then reverse it. Viola - you just got an extra month to pay and maintain your account interest free.

Yes, I am bored out of my mind. Maybe I should go buy $7,000 worth of plane tickets and then cancel and get another month of free float?