They make money from the $75 yearly fee and I'm sure they hope I will get in the habit of using it for all of my purchases, not just for groceries and gas. Plus they get paid from the retailer when I use it for the groceries/gas too. I pay my cards off every month, but if I didn't they can sock it to me with interest charges/late fees. Here is my "secret"....I have a Chase Freedom card and a Discover card. They both give 5% cash back in different categories which changes every quarter. I write out the categories on a little piece of paper and tape it to the cards. Then I know which card to use that quarter. But neither gives 6% for groceries, ever. The Amex card has a little twist to it. It actually is a credit that comes off of next month's bill, so apparently you have to keep using it to get the credit.