buckeyefarmer
Epic Contributor
If you purchase gas at some stations, you are paying a higher price than cash sale. So, you would then be charged to use your CC.
I never use gas stations that do that.
If you purchase gas at some stations, you are paying a higher price than cash sale. So, you would then be charged to use your CC.
In some states that practice is illegal.
Truth, but then you are not being charged more for credit. You are being charged less for cash. It may be semantics, but a huge difference legally.It’s illegal to charge a credit card fee but it’s perfectly legal to give a cash discount.
Truth, but then you are not being charged more for credit. You are being charged less for cash. It may be semantics, but a huge difference legally.
Buckeyefarmer's point is still important. Those of us who use credit to our advantage don't patronize stores who pass those fees along regardless of the semantics. Sure, the other stores bake the charges into their prices, but those are equally spread to all customers, cash or credit. We are still coming out ahead.
It's math. The reason stores take credit cards is because it attracts many more potential customers. Credit also protects the consumer (and the retailer in some cases) from some types of fraud. If a store give cash discounts, they are raising their base prices even higher on the very credit card users who are the bulk of their business to to account for the credit card fees. Think of it like this, if that retailer is trying to make up $1000 in fees and spreads that cost to 100% of their customers, everyone might pay 5% more per item. If they give cash discounts to 10% of their customers, they not only have to make up the $1000 they also have to make up the cash discounts and are only spreading the costs to 90% of their customers. So, prices go up maybe another 1%. To me, it is also the sign of a retailer who is ignorant of the value of the credit card relationship and I would rather not do business with someone like that...they are, in my experience, more likely to quibble over everything.Every store is passing the credit card fees to you. So what difference does it make if they give cash customers a discount?
I have heard also that it is illegal to charge more for credit card.It’s illegal to charge a credit card fee but it’s perfectly legal to give a cash discount.