Ed Rooney

If they take CC's, I pay with one. Most cashiers can't make change correctly, and a CC transaction is faster. I don't like to carry my ATM card at all, so it's a special effort for me to dig it out of the safe and go get cash.

I always comment if I am behind someone writing a check.

psychtobe

I just made 2 charges, $0.05 each. I had to make my minimum monthly purchases to keep my 0% BT for life action going. Usually I do it at the gas station, but these days 5 cents buys so little gas that the machines keep rejecting my purchases. So I had to go to Walgreen's and buy 2 highlighters, normally 69 cents each, on sale with coupon for a nickel a piece. sold out of the mechanical pencils (5 for 5 cents)!

gj83

I recently found Citizens Against the Minimum Purchase. They are claiming to take action against merchants and have a (small) database of reported merchants.

I don't like minimum purchases, but I can understand where merchants are coming from. I report merchants b/c it's the rule and instead of protesting the rule the shop should work to fight the fees. I'm not sure what I'd do if fees and minimums were allowed here like in Australia.


slightly OT: one of the news clips linked on that site has a merchant saying he gets charged 35c per swipe. Is that really each time a card is swiped (and potentially denied), or each time a transaction goes through? He made it sound like if you swiped and denied or it didn't register he got charged 35c so if he kept swiping he kept getting charged.

soitgoes

On the merchant accounts I am familiar with, the per transaction fee applies only to processed transactions, not to denials, etc.
There is no way a card read error is going to be charged to the merchant.
Maybe there is some processor out there who charges on denied transactions, too, but I don't think that's the norm.

Merchants who are upset about their fees should shop around. There's a lot of competition in the merchant services field and costs can be cut.

Redhead

The only way I ever get cash is if I go to dinner with friends and they pay in cash and I put the whole thing on my card. Otherwise, I don't have cash. I've put as little as $0.60 on my card - would love to try the $0.05 purchase - and if anyone ever made a comment, I'd tell 'em to go suck eggs

TAHKUCT

That is a very familiar story to me. Never have any cash, unless my friends pay cash at a restaurant and I put everything on my card Sometimes my dinner is at least 1/2 price after all points I earn with a credit card and airline dining program. I have tried to explain to my friends on how to maximize your benefits using credit cards, however they still prefer cash. So it works very well for me