Credit Cards Where Credit Is Due

This column was originally published on RealMoney on Nov. 27 at 8:56 a.m. EST. It's being republished as a bonus for TheStreet.com readers. For more information about subscribing to RealMoney, please click here.

Cyber Monday, Black Friday, tons of spending on everything from big-screen TVs to Nintendo's Wii. I say enough, go buy the credit card companies.

These days are, as Bank of America(BAC) put it so well in its explanation of retail during this period, "profitless prosperity." If you are like me, you are sick as a dog of these retail stories.

As I see it, MasterCard(MA), which is up an unbelievable amount, is the best way to play it, with its 10-cent cut of every charge. You know people are charging, and you know MasterCard's getting its fair share.

I also have read a ton of articles about how big, flat-screen TVs are all the rage. But most people can't afford them. So they put them on credit cards. Meanwhile, Capital One Financial(COF) languishes at $75 a share.

To me, that seems like a steal, too, since Capital One has been marked down because of this endless North Fork Bancorp(NFB) merger.

Don't out-think this stuff. Who knows how much the retailers actually made? We know the credit card companies are raking it in.

They are the best way to play.

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