charge card

4 3.2

A card that lets you buy things and must be paid in full each month

noun
/ˈtʃɑrdʒ kɑrd/

: tarjeta de crédito

So I pull out my charge card and pay for the Louis bag both times.
credit or charge card
using a charge card
store charge cards

There's the Preferred Rewards Gold charge card and it's preferred rewards gold credit card.

Examples

After comparing prices, she chose to buy the dress using her charge card instead of cash.
The woman hands the clerk an American Express charge card, and after the transaction, the couple leaves.

Academic text (1991)
Charge cards are useful for building credit and managing finances.

Blog text (25)
Charge cards allow consumers to make purchases even when they are not immediately prepared to pay for those purchases.

Blog text (25)
He ordered a double iced mocha cappuccino and paid with a charge card.

Fiction book (1998)
She decided to use her charge card to pay for the new furniture she wanted.
He handed his charge card to the waiter after enjoying their meal at the restaurant.

Synonyms

card

vscharge card

∞ 1.0

A small rectangular piece of plastic or cardboard for showing identity and for paying

is a payment agreement requiring full balance to be paid each billing period

plastic

vscharge card

Informal

107 2.3

A card from a bank people use to pay instead of cash

is for cards that require full payment each billing period rather than any payment card

charge plate

vscharge card

Archaic

1 8.4

A small metal or plastic plate that people use like an early credit card to pay for goods

works through billed accounts that require full balance each period

bankcard

vscharge card

1 2.7

A plastic card from a bank that lets you pay or take out money from your account

requires full repayment to the issuer each billing period instead of direct account withdrawal

Surface Forms

charge card singular

charge cards plural

Morphology

charge + card

The compound 'charge card' is directly interpretable as a card used to charge or request payment because 'charge' (request payment) combined with 'card' (payment card) yields a straightforward, compositional meaning. A B1 learner who knows both words will infer it denotes a payment card; the specific billing requirement (paying the full balance) is a technical nuance beyond basic compositional understanding.

Etymology

The term charge card comes from stores letting customers charge purchases — that is, 'put them on an account' to pay later — and from the small card used to record the sale. So today a charge card means a card that lets you 'buy now and pay later', usually with the full balance due each month.