To your question about paying interest: I'm in the same boat/thought as GbyM. Other than my mortgage (and this recent Honda purchase) I have no debt. I turn 50 in August, but I've been in this position since I was 30 years old (I paid off my car at 30 and have not had a car payment since - until the Honda two months ago). I've managed to save a sh*tton of cash over the last 20 years.
We talked about Dave Ramsey in an earlier thread on this board. That's where I got the "rich people don't have car payments" mantra: he says:
Say you are 25 years old and you finance a new car every 5 years - at 55 years old you will have just sold your 6th car and financed a brand new 7th car w/ a 5 year car payment ahead of you.
-or-
At 25 years old, you pay cash for a beater (and steadily upgrade over the years), you take the "car payment" and put it into a growth stock mutual fund every month (for 30 years, until you're 55). In 2000, when I first bought into this the average car payment in America was around $350 - so if you put that amount into the mutual fund for 30 years....you'll have ~$1.3 million. Or you could have 7 different car payments. I chose the $1.3 million (I was 30-ish when I started this, and I've tapped into the money over the years. But it's grown quite well over the last 19+ years).
Today, the average car payment in America is closer to $550-600/month - I heard him discussing this a couple of years ago. So if you put that amount in for 30 years you'd have somewhere in the $3 million range.
But, some people love buying a new car every 5 years.
The CC points is an interesting point. I'm all about CC points. Depending on the situation, I find that these points usually fall in the 1-2% range when the rubber hits the road.
I do have the ability to charge the entire item and pay the entire bill next month.
Not sure if you've ever seen the website:
The Points Guy
This site analyzes what credit card points (and other perks) are worth. Personally, I think the points are well worth it. Many people like the cash back credit cards - but honestly, for me, getting back a few hundred dollars will just end up in my bank account and blend in w/ all the money/funds. With points - I actually see the result; we went to Curacao in February - flew 1st class both ways, stayed oceanfront Marriott for 6 nights, all on points. We were supposed to go to Aruba in June, but had to cancel due to the China virus - but it was going to be the same deal.
And yes, I pay off the card every month. I try to spend every dollar I can on the credit card too. The only thing I regularly pay cash for is a haircut (on base at the military barber shop).