New Possibility with Square for the VERY Aggressive
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Upper Sternistan
Posts: 9,981
New Possibility with Square for the VERY Aggressive
Square has introduced a new pricing option for accepting credit card charges: a flat fee of $275/month for users charging less than $250,000/year.
https://squareup.com/pricing/per-month
That represents 1.32% if you are able to push $250K through the system in one year. You can also make it work on a monthly basis on the same terms.
I, for one, would love to buy SPG points at 1.32 cents each, and also have no problem meeting sign-up bonuses via spending.
But I won't be doing it - here are the very large obstacles I see.
-The terms of Square. This is the single biggest issue, and enough to scuttle the deal for me.
-$400 maximum charge per transaction.
-Potential tax reporting issues.
-Potential scrutiny from American Express (or any card issuer involved).
-Potential time delay to get access to your money if you immediately start charging large volumes on a new Square account.
For some, though, this could be a possibility. And if you have a business that accepts credit cards in person and gets close to $250k/year and your charges are all under $400 each, then it's a slam dunk - you should ditch your merchant account and move to this.
This is one for the super-aggressive. We've got some around here.
https://squareup.com/pricing/per-month
That represents 1.32% if you are able to push $250K through the system in one year. You can also make it work on a monthly basis on the same terms.
I, for one, would love to buy SPG points at 1.32 cents each, and also have no problem meeting sign-up bonuses via spending.
But I won't be doing it - here are the very large obstacles I see.
-The terms of Square. This is the single biggest issue, and enough to scuttle the deal for me.
-$400 maximum charge per transaction.
-Potential tax reporting issues.
-Potential scrutiny from American Express (or any card issuer involved).
-Potential time delay to get access to your money if you immediately start charging large volumes on a new Square account.
For some, though, this could be a possibility. And if you have a business that accepts credit cards in person and gets close to $250k/year and your charges are all under $400 each, then it's a slam dunk - you should ditch your merchant account and move to this.
This is one for the super-aggressive. We've got some around here.
#2
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: ECP
Programs: DL Diamond
Posts: 1,658
If not for the $400/charge limit, I'd definitely be interested for legit business purposes.
That said, for someone super aggressive with a 2% cash back card (in someone else's name obviously), it could get fun. It's an interesting business model not to price premium cards higher because the right business could cause them to lose money here. Through BoA right now, I pay 1.8 or so on regular cards, but premium cards like AX, Visa Signature, etc are 2 point something. I guess they're counting on a mix of debit and other non-premium cards...
That said, for someone super aggressive with a 2% cash back card (in someone else's name obviously), it could get fun. It's an interesting business model not to price premium cards higher because the right business could cause them to lose money here. Through BoA right now, I pay 1.8 or so on regular cards, but premium cards like AX, Visa Signature, etc are 2 point something. I guess they're counting on a mix of debit and other non-premium cards...
Last edited by mia; Aug 17, 2012 at 11:52 am Reason: Prune quotation
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Upper Sternistan
Posts: 9,981
If not for the $400/charge limit, I'd definitely be interested for legit business purposes.
That said, for someone super aggressive with a 2% cash back card (in someone else's name obviously), it could get fun. It's an interesting business model not to price premium cards higher because the right business could cause them to lose money here. Through BoA right now, I pay 1.8 or so on regular cards, but premium cards like AX, Visa Signature, etc are 2 point something. I guess they're counting on a mix of debit and other non-premium cards...
That said, for someone super aggressive with a 2% cash back card (in someone else's name obviously), it could get fun. It's an interesting business model not to price premium cards higher because the right business could cause them to lose money here. Through BoA right now, I pay 1.8 or so on regular cards, but premium cards like AX, Visa Signature, etc are 2 point something. I guess they're counting on a mix of debit and other non-premium cards...
I'm a merchant also, but I'm online, and some cards can get above the 3.5% range. I can't swipe, so this could never work for me.
But another legitimate angle for a business could be to selectively use this for a portion of their charges. Anything under $400, up to $250K/year, when it's clearly not a debit card - or even debit cards if they may not hit the $250K.
Like all good shiny new internet companies, they don't mind losing money to get customers. It'll make their numbers look better when they go public and cash out.
#4
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: CLE
Programs: AA Exec Plat, Hilton Diamond, Hertz PC
Posts: 5,533
Square has introduced a new pricing option for accepting credit card charges: a flat fee of $275/month for users charging less than $250,000/year.
https://squareup.com/pricing/per-month
That represents 1.32% if you are able to push $250K through the system in one year. You can also make it work on a monthly basis on the same terms.
I, for one, would love to buy SPG points at 1.32 cents each, and also have no problem meeting sign-up bonuses via spending.
But I won't be doing it - here are the very large obstacles I see.
-The terms of Square. This is the single biggest issue, and enough to scuttle the deal for me.
-$400 maximum charge per transaction.
-Potential tax reporting issues.
-Potential scrutiny from American Express (or any card issuer involved).
-Potential time delay to get access to your money if you immediately start charging large volumes on a new Square account.
For some, though, this could be a possibility. And if you have a business that accepts credit cards in person and gets close to $250k/year and your charges are all under $400 each, then it's a slam dunk - you should ditch your merchant account and move to this.
This is one for the super-aggressive. We've got some around here.
https://squareup.com/pricing/per-month
That represents 1.32% if you are able to push $250K through the system in one year. You can also make it work on a monthly basis on the same terms.
I, for one, would love to buy SPG points at 1.32 cents each, and also have no problem meeting sign-up bonuses via spending.
But I won't be doing it - here are the very large obstacles I see.
-The terms of Square. This is the single biggest issue, and enough to scuttle the deal for me.
-$400 maximum charge per transaction.
-Potential tax reporting issues.
-Potential scrutiny from American Express (or any card issuer involved).
-Potential time delay to get access to your money if you immediately start charging large volumes on a new Square account.
For some, though, this could be a possibility. And if you have a business that accepts credit cards in person and gets close to $250k/year and your charges are all under $400 each, then it's a slam dunk - you should ditch your merchant account and move to this.
This is one for the super-aggressive. We've got some around here.
My Square reader is now burning a hole in my sock drawer. But first I'll need to talk to somebody who speaks fluent tax code . . .
#10
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: IND
Programs: UA WN Delta Hilton Gold
Posts: 219
#11
Join Date: Dec 2008
Posts: 3,014
LOL. You forgot the big arrows and red circles. The guys who read his blog must be real idiots - it's so hard to find and click the "redeem award" link and follow the instructions without MMS' arrows and diagrams.
Out of curiosity, can one of you guys who have businesses and accept cards list the costs for some common cards (Sapphire, SPG, Amex Gold, etc.)?
Out of curiosity, can one of you guys who have businesses and accept cards list the costs for some common cards (Sapphire, SPG, Amex Gold, etc.)?
Last edited by mia; Aug 18, 2012 at 4:51 am Reason: Prune quotation
#12
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: ORD & MKE
Programs: AA EXP; Turkish Airlines Elite; Flying Blue Plat; Priority Club Plat; Hyatt Diamond; Starwd/hilt GLD
Posts: 80
this is interesting... I saw a similar discussion on fatwallet, and was going to post here,,,, but what are the odds.... someone already posted this one
http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/finance/1213231/
http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/finance/1213231/
#13
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: 60137
Posts: 10,498
this is interesting... I saw a similar discussion on fatwallet, and was going to post here,,,, but what are the odds.... someone already posted this one
http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/finance/1213231/
http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/finance/1213231/
#14
Join Date: Sep 2009
Posts: 1,758
this is interesting... I saw a similar discussion on fatwallet, and was going to post here,,,, but what are the odds.... someone already posted this one
http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/finance/1213231/
http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/finance/1213231/
#15
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Upper Sternistan
Posts: 9,981
I can dig through old statements and look up cards and calculate it out to some extent, although that level of detail is hard to get to.
If they made it easy, then merchants, armed with information (scary word to this industry) could be preferential about giving discounts for certain cards. Show up with your Sapphire or Amex Plat, no discount. Bring me a plain-vanilla BofA Visa, fine.