You are looking at a minimal investment of a few dollars vs pottering around trying to get other methods to work.
If you are uploading the the web you can do that from the computer and in the meantime have the chance to do your post-processing, so you can show your best for the contests you want to enter.
As my colleague John said, you might have to get a different USB cable if the one you have is not a data-compatible cable, which could cost even more. The SD card reader has been reliably used for decades, so the probability of it not working on your system is rather minimal. The data transfer from a USB reader will be faster than for the USB port on your camera as well, so that is a bonus.
cheers, TREVOR
The mark of good photographer is less what they hold in their hand, it's more what they hold in their head;
"All the variety, all the charm, all the beauty of life is made up of light and shadow", Leo Tolstoy;
"Skill in photography is acquired by practice and not by purchase" Percy W. Harris
