Originally Posted by
cbn42
Checking ID is an extra barrier to credit card use. This might be enough to discourage some purchases, or have people switch to cash. The credit card companies have probably figured out that the extra revenue is worth the fraud losses.
When credit cards first came out, they were much more cumbersome to use than cash, so this may have been more relevant than it is today.
The credit card companies are not liable for this type of fraud - it is the merchants (i.e. hotels) that are liable for fraudulent transactions (i.e. repaying the full amount plus a chargeback penalty). Personally I can see why hotels would want to check ID, but it might be normalized for me as all in all places I travel to I need to show ID at check-in.