Heard about this but was finally surprised to see that it's true!

Recently, heading home from dinner in the city, found my PATH train with 20 minute delay for train problems. 20 minutes in Path speak means I would be at 33rd street for an hour.

With platform getting packed, and not being in the mood to ride a crowded car, went outside to hail a cab back to home in Jersey City. It would cost about 40 bucks but I was tired and didn't feel like dealing with the Path crowd.

Go into the cab and see the stickie things for AMEX, Visa, Mastercard and Discover (did not see Diners Club but didn't expect to see it.)

So ask the driver "You take credit cards?" and he happily explained there was a swiper in the back of the cab to do it.

Got back to Jersey and earned some Memberhsip Rewards points for the ride.

Not bad. And you can include the tip on the card.

That cab was a bolt from the blue, Catman. You and I both know that no more than one in a hundred (if that many) NY cabs take credit cards, and less than that number can be found without the plastic partition between the driver and the pax, altho I got one of those within the last few months.
Nowadays you've got a much better chance of finding one with a driver that actually knows where it is that you're going.

we can get cc taking cabs to dfw. just ask when you call. coming back , you have to ask the starter. use cabs 8-10 times / yr. only been jacked around once - he said that the thing wouldn't work on the lower level , so paid cash w/o tip.

I only pay for cab rides in cash.

You never know when a crooked cab driver could steal your credit card info and use it for no good...

The devices and software to capture your credit card info and create counterfeit cards are pretty good these days...

Exact same deal in Chicago, including getting jacked once. Guy tried to charge me extra for using a credit card.

in germany most of the cabs accept credit cards. they just dont really like it.

I so much love cabs taking credit cards - especially if you do not live in the US and start to run low on cash shortly before your return home

Thanks Catman for posting the info about NYC cabs - I have not seen any cab there yet that takes credit cards, so this is good news indeed. And, IIRC, almost all SFO cabbies take credit cards... their CC reader was integrated with the meter, with direct authorization transmission...

Cabs in Marin County, California, take credit cards. But the problem is that they radio the number to their dispacher over a frequency that anyone can monitor. (Might as well post my credit card on a forum...)
So be sure to ask how the card number is delivered before giving it up.

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The Personal Travel Experience of Gary Steiger - including how to get free frequent flyer miles on the web.

Couldn't the same be said for *any* credit card transaction? I mean, couldn't a waitress or hotel clerk do the same thing?

Of course a waitress or anyone else you hand your card to could do that. I had someone at a rental car company (I'm pretty sure) steal a CC# from me and use it for first class plane tix.

Merchants are required to hang onto the slip you sign for some period of time (I think it used to be a year at least). At lots of places anyone at the business can sneak into the file room on a break to browse through the slips with names/numbers and a copy of the signature.

Isn't there a limit on how much a person is liable for, in case of card theft/misuse?

Why are people paranoid about using cards when the banks assure us about fraud protection?

Do people have bad experiences when dealing with these card issuers when dealing with fraudelent transaction?

[This message has been edited by bertie_jeeves (edited 11-15-2002).]

Only problem I have paying for cabs with cards is the sob story I consistenly get about how much it ends up costing them. I've had the same story in Montreal, Toronto and Los Angeles. I just want to say "Don't accept credit cards if you're so unhappy about the fee."

Let's figure this out. Assume a $40 cab ride. This means 40 miles. Worth about $0.80 if you use the 2 cents per mile on average.

Is it really worth it?