Comment by ericmay
4 years ago
Yes the issue is that if you decide not to participate you still pay the same price and get 0% of the cash back.
4 years ago
Yes the issue is that if you decide not to participate you still pay the same price and get 0% of the cash back.
For gas, there's one price for cash, a higher one for credit card. Guess what, that cash back covers only part of the price increment.
The idea is:
1. pay cash when there's a lower price for cash
2. pay with credit card when they're the same price
Many outfits will give you a discount for cash if you ask. That's even better for you than the cash back. All you gotta do is ask.
> For gas, there's one price for cash, a higher one for credit card.
I never buy gas, so distinct credit vs. debit vs. cash pricing applies to 0% of my monthly spending. No merchant that I frequent offers a discount for debit cards over credit cards (some do offer a cash discount, but that's a different topic).
> Many outfits will give you a discount for cash if you ask. That's even better for you than the cash back. All you gotta do is ask.
Have you actually tried doing that at e.g. a grocery store? An online retailer? An airline?
> Have you actually tried doing that at e.g. a grocery store?
Grocery stores have such thin margins, that isn't going to work.
> An online retailer? An airline?
There's nobody to negotiate with with online sales. Though if you're dealing with an agent at the airport, you can negotiate. Yes, I've done it.
I've successfully negotiated with doctors, dentists, repair shops, department stores, agents selling things, employees, employers, contractors, flea markets, pawn shops, furniture stores, anywhere there's a person with some authority to deal with. Although I haven't, you can also negotiate at restaurants and hotels and car rentals. Usually the higher priced the item, the more negotiation can be done (and is expected).
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A minority of gas stations in the US use this system.
Yes, the point is that for most classes of merchants this behavior is not allowed by their contracts with their payment processors.
This myth persists even 13 years after federal law in the US explicitly forbid made discounts for cash or debit or ACH or whatever payment legal regardless of merchant agreements with card networks:
https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/new-rules-el...
>Discounts to Customers
>A PCN cannot stop you from offering your customers a discount or another incentive for using a certain method of payment, as long as you offer it to all your customers and disclose the offer clearly and conspicuously. For example, you can offer your customers a discount or a coupon if they pay with cash or a debit card rather than a credit card. But the new rules do not address other PCN restrictions that may prevent you from offering discounts or similar incentives that vary based on the use of a card from a particular issuer or a particular PCN.
They may not be able to post different prices. But they'll often negotiate. Just ask!
I'll repeat: just ask!
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Is this true in all states?
Merchants are allowed to charge a lower price for cash or debit card purchases everywhere in the US.
Individually or small business/franchised gas stations will usually have a cash/debit lower price, on east and west coast in my experience. Big company owned gas stations like Walmart, Costco, Kroger, etc will only have 1 price.
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