they dont have to. everything can be easily coded into the POS to reject those cards. the question is should they? must be a real pita or even humiliating to some if cards keep getting rejected. also, increases the queue and payment time. I will probably just take my business elsewhere next time. and people with higher visa/mc tiers tend to be richer, and the merchants thought it’s a good idea to negatively impact their experience?

sounds to me like a stupid policy; a half measure that make things worse for everyone