WASHINGTON -- With tax season in full swing, more and more Americans are opting to pay Uncle Sam with plastic, reported WRC-TV.

Credit cards are a way of life for millions of Americans, and the practice of using plastic is up this year by 41 percent when compared to last year, according to officials.

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Realtor Mark Gude said, for him, it's the perfect way to earn valuable airline miles.

"I have to pay the taxes, so that has to be done. The money's there, so I charge it. I get the points, you know. I can get a free business class ticket which is worth … anywhere from $5,000 to $8,000. Of course, I'd never pay that for a plane ticket," said Gude.

Financial experts agree there can be benefits to this approach.

"I think there's a positive opportunity if you're going to use the points on a credit card. It's very important that you make sure that you pay it off, because paying interest on a very large tax bill is not what you want to do for your finances," said Charles Schwab branch manager Anne-Marie Lerro.

Taxpayers have put $350 million in payments onto their credit cards this year alone, according to financial experts. Officials said if those balances were left on the average card for just one month, it would amount to about $70 million in interest.

"You have to be careful cause you don't want to end up with $20,000 or $30,000 on your credit cards and it's just sitting there and accumulating interest. The credit card company will love you. They'll probably start upping your limit," said Gude.

"If you are not paying attention to it and going to take care of it later, sometimes that later doesn't come until it's too late and you need to dig yourself out of a hole," said Lerro.

Experts advise that people who don't have the discipline to avoid that trap should not use a credit card to simply put off the inevitable.