Rewards Credit Cards May Not Be Used At All Stores

[fifthdimensiondweller]

Maybe amex is making favorable deals to make up for losing Costco?

Yes, I heard Amex has significantly reduced their fees to try to attract higher acceptance rates. Not sure of the specifics though.

 

[fifthdimensiondweller]

I find this to be such an odd move by these companies. I was reading up on this a little and saw a post that suggested that the cards most likely to be affected would be the more exclusive, high fee ones. Seems odd since the people who hold those cards are the ones most likely to be spending a lot of money in your store. It seems like the type of person that can afford a high annual fee or who holds a business card and regularly shops for their business would spend enough to make the fee worth it, and it seems like bad business to tick off the people spending the most money in your store, but maybe there's something I'm missing.

 

[Jimsig]

Yes, I heard Amex has significantly reduced their fees to try to attract higher acceptance rates. Not sure of the specifics though.

Going from memory here but basically with AMEX they only had charge cards at first not credit cards. They were their cards such as the Green, Gold, and Platinum. A charge card is a card that you could no carry a balance on in other words you had to pay it off in full each month. Though they did have what was called a sign and travel feature that allowed you to carry a balance on travel related purchases. AMEX made their money by charging the user a yearly fee and charging a higher swipe fee to the merchants than Visa and MC as those cards were making more money off interest from the user it allowed them to charge a lower swipe fee. Eventually AMEX came out with the no annual fee Blue credit card which allowed users to carry a balance, they may have had another card before that. They also added branded credit cards with some airlines, hotels and some retailers like Costco, as mentioned in an earlier post. They still have the charge cards, but I think some may now allow you to carry a balance, so with all there products they don't have to totally rely on a much higher swipe fee any more. It would now allow them to lower fees as they way they are making money has changed.

 

[MomToOne]

They accept AmEx but not Visa? I thought AmEx had the highest merchant fees?

Yup, they still take AmEx. Only Visa is off the table, at least for now. But I assume they negotiate the agreements with the different credit card providers at different times, so who knows what the future holds.

 

[dawnandnala]

My question is how would they know if it was a ‘rewards’ cc or not?

PLUS - a lot of Banks’s are offering rewards for using your debut card - so aren’t they also going to restrict debit cards?

They can tell what type of card it is by the BIN number - different types of cards within the same company will start with a different 6 six numbers based on what type of card it is

 

[wendow]

I think what the major retailers (or at least a few of them) want out of this, really, is to force you into getting "their" cards. Target has one, Amazon has one, Walmart has one, etc. Home Depot and Lowes have store cards, as do most of the big clothing stores like Kohls, Macys, etc. Just about every retailer has a card of some sort.

They want you to use the one they have a "deal" with. The problem is, getting all those cards will fry your credit and expose you to more potential fraud, not to mention who wants to carry that much plastic?

Completely agree that these retailers are pushing their own cards. I don't do store cards anymore, but I have gotten 13 new cards (mix personal & biz) in the last 24 mos and my credit score has only gone up. No fraud issues either, though I've had them over the years here and there. My dh has opened about as many new cards as me. Same for his credit score. We both are in the 820-830's.

 

[wendow]

Yup, they still take AmEx. Only Visa is off the table, at least for now. But I assume they negotiate the agreements with the different credit card providers at different times, so who knows what the future holds.

I saw this story when it first 'broke'. I truly believe this will get resolved quickly. Not taking Visa will hurt the retailer over the long term.

 

[_19disnA]

Having a separate credit card for each store is annoying and doesn't accomplish much. I am not more likely to shop somewhere just to try to accumulate points on whatever program they offer. Most of those programs are merely gimmicks and when you actually see how much you get back, just isn't worth the bother unless you spend a LOT at any one place. Generally, if you have 1 VISA and 1 MasterCard, you can shop virtually everywhere.

Doubt that stores are going to bother figuring out which specific type of any one card they accept, would be a huge nuisance when checking out.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I think what the major retailers (or at least a few of them) want out of this, really, is to force you into getting "their" cards. Target has one, Amazon has one, Walmart has one, etc. Home Depot and Lowes have store cards, as do most of the big clothing stores like Kohls, Macys, etc. Just about every retailer has a card of some sort.

They want you to use the one they have a "deal" with. The problem is, getting all those cards will fry your credit and expose you to more potential fraud, not to mention who wants to carry that much plastic?

I guess I can see that but at the same time I don't.

The few times that I actually shop at Target I'm never pressured to get their CC besides they have the Debit card version that just hooks to your checking account. Amazon I'm not pressured when I shop online. Never pressured at Walmart, Home Depot nor Lowes.

Kohl's I'm pressured to sign up for their rewards every time but it's not a CC. Heck even JCP which used to be harder on signing up hasn't pressured me in a while. A simple "no thank you" and they stop. Victoria Secret used to be strong on their CC but I haven't been in a few years to see if they lessened on that.

But the thing is as far as I know it's just CCs they are prohibiting at Foods Co right? You can still use a Visa Debit card? Or am I misunderstanding that?

 

[MomToOne]

I saw this story when it first 'broke'. I truly believe this will get resolved quickly. Not taking Visa will hurt the retailer over the long term.

Well, it's been almost 2 months since FoodsCo stopped taking Visa (Aug 14th was the big day). So it certainly hasn't been resolved quickly.

 

[_19disnA]

Be careful what you signup for with Kohl's. One of their gimmicks is 'job loss protection' where they offer to pay your balance if you ever lose you job (but they charge a monthly fee for this 'benefit'). Even once you retire (and obviously no longer have to worry about losing your job), it is VERY difficult to get rid of this extra charge on your bill. Helped an elderly relative with this problem (they didn't realize what they had signed) and we finally told Kohl's to either eliminate this unneeded feature or CANCEL the card !!!

 

[wendow]

Well, it's been almost 2 months since FoodsCo stopped taking Visa (Aug 14th was the big day). So it certainly hasn't been resolved quickly.

Well, my definition of 'quickly' is in terms of business negotiations. Two months this nothing in that world...

 

[barkley]

Well not exactly Kroger.

Appearantly it pertains to Foods Co, which is a subsidiary of Kroger, and it's only ones in California.

There was/is concern about that extending outwards but at least right now it's fine.

The overall reaching issue is disputes between the CC company, in this case Visa, and the retailer. Costco, for instance, had a long-standing agreement with Amex for a branded Costco card and customers who didn't have a Costco branded one but still had Amex. Amex was the only CC allowed to be used at Costco; otherwise you could still use other companies but it had to be via Debit. Then...the renewal failed and Amex was out but Visa was in so now you can use Visa CC.

Reward cards are just a new variation into the long-standing battle over fees CC companies charge retailers.

i have to wonder how many costco members like myself never considered having an amex card until it became costco's go-to then we experienced the stellar amex customer service such that when costco and amex 'divorced' we retained our relationships with amex and just use either our debit or existing visa cards (it would be interesting to see the numbers on how many former costco/amex card holders translated into costco/chase visa card holders).

 

[JosephLovesStitch]

On Monday, I went to a local pastry shop and they had a sign that they do not accept any credit cards that offer rewards. Had to pay with my debit card and will likely not be back there, since they were way overpriced anyway.

 

[ClapYourHands]

i have to wonder how many costco members like myself never considered having an amex card until it became costco's go-to then we experienced the stellar amex customer service such that when costco and amex 'divorced' we retained our relationships with amex and just use either our debit or existing visa cards (it would be interesting to see the numbers on how many former costco/amex card holders translated into costco/chase visa card holders).

I'm seriously considering getting a Visa CC specifically to use at Costco. I have Amex and MC, but my only Visa is a debit card. I can use the Debit Visa and still save money because of the prices (especially for gas), but I'd like to get a little more bang for my buck.

 

[ClapYourHands]

On Monday, I went to a local pastry shop and they had a sign that they do not accept any credit cards that offer rewards. Had to pay with my debit card and will likely not be back there, since they were way overpriced anyway.

I'm wondering how they can figure that out. I mean, they can put up a sign and hope people pull out cash or a debit card, but my guess is their system doesn't do anything to flag it. I think if I saw a sign like that, I'd just run my CC anyway.

 

[georgina]

i have to wonder how many costco members like myself never considered having an amex card until it became costco's go-to then we experienced the stellar amex customer service such that when costco and amex 'divorced' we retained our relationships with amex and just use either our debit or existing visa cards (it would be interesting to see the numbers on how many former costco/amex card holders translated into costco/chase visa card holders).

Since Costco went to Citi my Costco card is my only card through Citi. I only use it for Costco purchases and gas stations for the 4X rewards.

I think when Aldi started here they didn't take credit cards, then added them later. I definitely spend more there since I can get 6% back with my AmEx

 

[wendow]

On Monday, I went to a local pastry shop and they had a sign that they do not accept any credit cards that offer rewards. Had to pay with my debit card and will likely not be back there, since they were way overpriced anyway.

That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard since most credit cards offer rewards of some kind. I’m sure there is one out there but I’m having trouble thinking if a credit card that doesn’t have some kind of rewards in place.

 

[georgina]

I'm seriously considering getting a Visa CC specifically to use at Costco. I have Amex and MC, but my only Visa is a debit card. I can use the Debit Visa and still save money because of the prices (especially for gas), but I'd like to get a little more bang for my buck.

Why not get the Costco Citi one? It gives 4% cash back on gas, 3% back on dining and travel, 2% at Costco, and 1% everywhere else, with no annual fee other than your Costco membership.

 

[ClapYourHands]

Why not get the Costco Citi one? It gives 4% cash back on gas, 3% back on dining and travel, 2% at Costco, and 1% everywhere else, with no annual fee other than your Costco membership.

I was eyeing the sign-up info the last time I was at Costco, and I might jump on it. I drive a Traverse, and the gas mileage is terrible.