Bitcoins can certainly operate the same way. Hell, CC companies can pay and receive in bitcoins if they choose to do so, but having the option of doing your own due diligence and paying (almost) no fee or using the CC company and pay their ridiculous fees, which will you do? With fiat that's not an option, particularly not for online purchases.
The point of the article is that Average Joe consumer will choose to use a credit card, BS fees and all, knowing that he is protected from a dishonest merchant. I am a huge BTC fan, but I would not use them for a big ticket purchase right now.
The author is simply shortsighted (as are most critics) because consumer protection can be built on top of the BTC protocol. Plus, as you point out, BTC gives people the choice to send money without the BS when trust isn't a concern. Plus there are many other uses of BTC besides purchasing products online.
As is often the case with critics, the author fails to acknowledge that the technology is still in its infancy.