Credit card surcharges

[Ella1]

I ran into this last week--paid a car repair bill with my credit card and learned that shop is now adding a 4% surcharge for using the CC.
Apparently it's becoming common, and that adds up.
More merchants adding credit card surcharges
https://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/merchants-add-card-surcharges.php
worth a read, I think.
Ella

 

[B and C]

Yep. Most CC companies charge 4% on every transaction by the merchant. American Express charges 6% and probably is why a lot of merchants don't accept it. It seems gas stations have this surcharge built in because they offer a lower price for cash.

 

[Almost There]

Unless I am in absolute dire need of gas and the station is the only choice,I refuse to pay a surcharge for using my credit card.

I've driven up to pumps and then found a price difference for using the CC. I drive away and find somewhere else to get gas. I am now becoming familiar with which companies do this and which ones' don't!

I  normally charge all my gas rather than carrying sufficient cash so only once on my southern trek have I had to pay cash for just enough gas to get to the next large town where I could fill up at my choice of dealers.

 

[B and C]

Most of the time the gas stations that have a cash discount (or CC surcharge), show both prices on their roadside signs. Just a matter of how you want to look at it. If saving $1.00 on a 25 gallon tank of gas is that important, use a debit card. The normally $0.04 a gallon discount was used to figure this. I don't think the debit card has the surcharge (could be wrong though). Most businesses have the surcharge built into the price so you don't "see" it. I figure with my limited time left that getting a little gas here and then having to stop again a short time later is not worth my time or effort. I try to use Gas Buddy to ferret out my next stop. There can be quite a bit of price difference from one town to the next not to mention crossing state lines.

 

[Almost There]

Brian it's not the $1.00 saved, it's the principal of the thing. That's why I choose where to shop!

I've seen as much as 6 and 7  cents a gallon disparity in cash/credit and in most cases the credit price includes the use of debit cards.

When I'm travelling is when I'm spending the most on gas so we're not talking a $1.00 a month here, we're talking a fill up about every second day.

 

[travelaround]

If they're going to make us pay the credit card fees, I'll plan ahead by getting gas money while at the grocery store.

Remembering back to my trip home from Texas last year, I didn't have a big trust confidence for a lot of the gas stations I had to stop at. I think I'd rather be on a cash basis with them.

 

[B and C]

If they're going to make us pay the credit card fees, I'll plan ahead by getting gas money while at the grocery store.

This is the point I was trying to make.  If a gas station only lists one price, the gas station has that $0.04 a gallon baked into the advertised price so you are paying the credit card (CC) surcharge even when paying with cash.  They are a business and need to make a profit to stay in business.  This is true for any business that takes CC's.  Some places will give you a cash discount though.  It will be the baked in CC charge they are paying to the CC company.

 

[Firtree]

When doing my mental math calculations, remind self that .04 discount for cash is different from the 1.5% to 4% cash back on my credit card for a purchase. If gas is $3 a gallon a 2% cash back is .06 a gallon (2 cents per dollar) if using the Costco VISA card at any gas station it is 4% so .12 per gallon at $3.

Even a cash discount of .10 the Costco VISA comes out slightly ahead and keeps cash in pocket for an emergency where I can't use a CC. A 3% discount is .09 a gallon and might be worth it in some situations.

Our local Safeway gives a cash discount. A friend has learned how to get the discount when you don't have enough cash but only a CC, takes a few minutes.
First go into Safeway, buy a Safeway cash card using the CC; back out to buy gas and use the cash card to pay.
Probably can do the same thing with with something like the free Bluebird refillable Debit Card.

 

[WanderingCanuck]

I used to use a debit card for just about everything - gas, groceries, whatever. I was paying the credit card fees that were built into everything I was buying anyway, but not reaping any of the "rewards" of using a credit card. I've since switched to using a cash back credit card for most of my purchases.

I suspect it's location specific, but in my area businesses can't overtly put a surcharge on credit card transactions. Oddly enough though, cash discounts are allowed, or some businesses do it despite regulations. But any of the cash discounts I've seen aren't significant enough to make it advantageous to pay with cash versus a credit card with decent "rewards".

 

[MrNoodly]

...it's the principal of the thing....

Does that mean you don't shop just about everywhere? Gas stations are about the only places that offer different prices for cash and cards. Almost all stores just figure it into their pricing, meaning those who pay cash are all paying the higher credit card price. What a rip-off, huh? Are you going to stand on that principle too?

I figure my life is too short to stand in line behind people buying beer, smokes and lottery tickets just so I can avoid paying a surcharge. I see that few cents per gallon extra as buying the convenience of being able to just pump and go. If you don't want to pay for that convenience, then use cash. Oh, but that would mean the inconvenience to you of getting cash and having enough on hand.

 

[Ella1]

"...Staying on the right side of state laws. As of August 2014, nine states prohibit retailers from passing credit card surcharges onto consumers. They are: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Oklahoma and Texas...."


https://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/credit-cards/credit-card-charged-more-gas-station/

 

[John61CT]

But a mom & pop store, let it slide, call it a cash discounts

 

[Weight]

A True Value Hardware had so many complaints about this practice, he posted a sign. "The prices marked include a discount for cash. The card price will not have that discount." Almost every Mobil, Exxon and other major brand gasoline stations have different prices for credit including debit cards.