alt Hacker NewsFinancially, they're not equivalent. If you buy your bread on credit, you get an interest-free loan, and benefit from the time value of the money that you otherwise would have paid immediately. As you correctly point out, this value comes from those fleeced by the arrangement. If my comment attributed any moral valence to the two options, that was unintentional.
That only works if you keep less money than your monthly spend in high interest accounts. I always have a cushion on the account linked to the card. The only benefit of credit in the US is rewards cards that transfer wealth from those with poor discipline and financial illiteracy.