Bank cards and shopping cards

[TastyReuben]

We use credit cards for most things, and pay the balance at the end of the month. That way, we get airline miles and hotel points. For example, we bought economy airline tickets to Florida next month, then used miles to upgrade to first class, and when we went to St. Louis recently, we used points to pay for the five-night stay (I think - MrsT handles that).

We use the debit card occasionally, but just for incidentals. Banks are a lot less responsive, generally, than a credit card company, if there's a charge dispute or an instance of fraud.

 

[caseydog]

Here too. Lots of stores/restaurants have a proper sign out saying “we do not accept American Express”

The reason is that American Express charges the highest merchant fees. The trade off is that American Express members have higher incomes and wealth, and can spend money on larger purchases. So, if you sell normal "stuff," it probably isn't worth it to accept AMEX. But, if you sell high dollar goods, or have a restaurant that typically bills meals at $100-plus per person, AMEX members have that kind of money, so it is worth it to pay the higher merchant fees. If you have a customer that doesn't blink when presented with a $1,500 dinner and drink tab at a Michelin Starred restaurant, you take whatever card that customer wants to use -- which is often American Express, at least in the US.

CD

 

[LissaC]

The reason is that American Express charges the highest merchant fees. The trade off is that American Express members have higher incomes and wealth, and can spend money on larger purchases. So, if you sell normal "stuff," it probably isn't worth it to accept AMEX. But, if you sell high dollar goods, or have a restaurant that typically bills meals at $100-plus per person, AMEX members have that kind of money, so it is worth it to pay the higher merchant fees. If you have a customer that doesn't blink when presented with a $1,500 dinner and drink tab at a Michelin Starred restaurant, you take whatever card that customer wants to use -- which is often American Express, at least in the US.

CD

Just goes to prove how poor us Southern Europeans are

 

[CookieMonster]

multiple companies I worked for 'provided' Amex cards, because they had no preset credit limit.
doing 3-4 weeks travel+airfares+'entertainment' - yes Virginia - you can rack up $20k in charges without breaking a sweat....
but many many European places would not accept Amex - because of their fees.
Visa is Visa everywhere, but MasterCard is/was aka EuroCard - I carried printouts to assure hotels/etc that the MasterCard was really good there....

I was able to get USAA to set up a $25k credit limit on their M/C - so for me, if Amex didn't work, life went on . . .

 

[rascal]

When I set up,my company I went diners club, I had already cancelled Amex over a dispute. Diners is not too popular here but it suited my needs, up to 5 cards and millions spent over nearly 30 years. Cancelled when they allowed a cash payment pay out to an ex employee who found a weakness in the system. He knew his card was cancelled and went to a travel agent he knew and got cash via manual system they did. They charged me, I refused to pay, I paid them off in full and cancelled. We have visa now and both have debit cards. Good for day to day stuff. I have money invested but only on 1% interest, I figure it's safer in a bank.

Russ

 

[Yorky]

Here too. Lots of stores/restaurants have a proper sign out saying “we do not accept American Express”

If I remember correctly when I had an Amex card, many places were willing to accept it but applied a surcharge (about 3 - 5% I think) for it's use.

 

[Yorky]

I have money invested but only on 1% interest, I figure it's safer in a bank.

My IoM bank (NatWest International) informed me only yesterday that from July onward they will continue to pay me zero interest but in addition charge me £8.00 per month to keep my account open!

My Thai bank pays between 0.25% and 0.45% interest, depending upon the account type

 

[LissaC]

My IoM bank (NatWest International) informed me only yesterday that from July onward they will continue to pay me zero interest but in addition charge me £8.00 per month to keep my account open!

My Thai bank pays between 0.25% and 0.45% interest, depending upon the account type

Some banks here in Portugal charge you to keep your account open too, and most bank's financial products have low interest rates.

On one hand I understand why banks charge your to keep your money. On the other hand it's not like they're not using your money to do what they want.

 

[Yorky]

My IoM bank (NatWest International) informed me only yesterday that from July onward they will continue to pay me zero interest but in addition charge me £8.00 per month to keep my account open!

Unfortunately the latest bank rules are that you cannot hold a UK bank account without a "proven" UK address. I don't have a UK address so I'm stuck with paying NatWest International if I wish to have a bank in the British Isles (IoM is not in the UK).

 

[MrsDangermouse]

All our spending goes on credit cards which are paid off in full each month - we never ever use debit cards. Its maybe a little bit more complicated than just using a debit card, but there are several benefits: firstly in the UK you have a lot more consumer protection paying by credit card than debit card. Section 75 means that the credit card provider has equal responsibility along with the retailer if something goes wrong with the purchase (particularly useful if the retailer goes out of business!).

We also get cashback on our credit cards - Amex gives us the most cashback, but as only around 2/3 of places accept it we have a Barclaycard as a backup (with a lower cashback rate). We usually get £200-300 cashback each year (we could get more in value if we collected supermarket or travel points...but we just wouldn't use them).

The Barclaycard is also our spending abroad card because it uses the interbank rate and doesn't apply any fees or commission on overseas spending. There are a few debit cards that do this too, but I prefer the protections afforded by debit cards. We also have a couple of other overseas cards to use as backups in case the Barclaycard doesn't work....these are only used if absolutely necessary though because they don't give any rewards or cashback.

And lastly fraud protection is better on a credit card....I'm not saying a credit card is less likely to be cloned than a debit card. But at least if it is cloned then its easy to dispute the transaction(s) and your bank account isn't cleared out.

 

[MypinchofItaly]

If I remember correctly when I had an Amex card, many places were willing to accept it but applied a surcharge (about 3 - 5% I think) for it's use.

Probably they changed this after you left from here, it’s not like this today.

 

[Elawin]

I accepted any cards when I had my own business. The only payment we ever had any trouble with was made using an Australian VISA card which the Australian company would not honour. I phoned Barclays here and explained to them what had happened. I gave them all the details including what the customer had bought. A couple of days later Barclays phoned me back and said that the cardholder confirmed the purchase and said he would send in his relative with whom he had been staying to settle it. The chap came in and paid in cash. None of us had a clue why payment had been refused,

 

[garlichead]

Here too. Lots of stores/restaurants have a proper sign out saying “we do not accept American Express”

In Canada merchant fees are triple for AMX , so they let the customers know before they walk in that they are not quite a foolish as their cardholders that pay an annual fee. Also debit and credit cards are issued by the banks, so no discernable difference legally.