The reason why I love Visa/MC over AMEX/Disc

[Anonymous]

I agree a lot of merchants dont like to accept Discover or AMEX because their proccessing fees are high and if the business doesnt do a lot of CC transactions monthly they wont accept them.  My company who deals primarily in wire transfers and occasionally cash dont accept Discover or AMEX at any time.  Plus I have my own reasons for not liking Discover card but thats for a different post .  Have a Great Day 

[LadyJEsq]

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@Anonymous wrote:
When I went to get my drivers license renewed, I learned that the City of Chicago DMV only takes (or took?) Visa. So I paid by check!

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Hello Fellow Chicagoan!! That's good to know, I renew at the end of the year.

I agree with Redpat, I don't bother with such things (in fact was just at a new restaurant on Friday and paid with Discover without blinking an eye). If they hadn't accepted Discover, no big deal I would've paid with another card. Instead of being a Discover/AmEx vs MC/V issues, I really think this is more a diversification issue.  

[Anonymous]

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@LadyJEsq wrote:

I agree with Redpat, I don't bother with such things (in fact was just at a new restaurant on Friday and paid with Discover without blinking an eye). If they hadn't accepted Discover, no big deal I would've paid with another card. Instead of being a Discover/AmEx vs MC/V issues, I really think this is more a diversification issue.  

+1. Agreed!

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

I've not found a single place that doesn't accept Discover yet, and I use my Discover card a lot. 

Maybe that was the case 10-12 years ago, or possibly out in the middle of nowhere this is the case, (or even at a tiny mom and pop store perhaps),  but I haven't had the experience of someone not accepting Discover.

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I find this so interesting--I live in NY, so definitely not the middle of nowhere, but am constantly running into places that don't take Discover. Maybe it's just very regional? It also probably depends significantly on how many smaller stores you shop at, though with many new places using Square readers, it's becoming a less common issue in my area as well.

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Really? Are they smaller establishments? Yes, the square readers are really streamlining the process as well (although they are somewhat less secure).

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Depends... mostly smaller places, though a significant number of very small coffee shops, etc. have moved to square. A significant number of not-small but local places are still MC/Visa only, and a significant number of restaurants and higher-end places take Amex but not Discover.

Bringing it back to the OP though, it's never stressed me out to wonder if a place takes Discover/Amex or not. If anything, the only awkward thing is trying to make sure I don't accidentally create more work for a waiter by forgetting to ask/check. Otherwise, I'd just always make sure there was a Visa/MC in my wallet, which isn't that hard since my debit cards will always work in a pinch. The only PITA with Discover acceptance was traveling at a time when it was my only FTF-free card, which was definitely a problem worth fixing.

[redpat]

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@LadyJEsq wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:
When I went to get my drivers license renewed, I learned that the City of Chicago DMV only takes (or took?) Visa. So I paid by check!

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Hello Fellow Chicagoan!! That's good to know, I renew at the end of the year.

I agree with Redpat, I don't bother with such things (in fact was just at a new restaurant on Friday and paid with Discover without blinking an eye). If they hadn't accepted Discover, no big deal I would've paid with another card. Instead of being a Discover/AmEx vs MC/V issues, I really think this is more a diversification issue.  

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The next time you go to a restaurant and they don't take Amex or Disc do this, "Oh no, that is the only credit card I have what are we going to do?"  The look on the waiter or waitrees's face is "priceless", then use your MC, lol.

[Open123]

While I always have a Visa (always have an MC when abroad), I always prefer using Amex, especially when at restaurants and/or hotels.  On more than a few occasions, I've avoided certain establishments simply because they refused to accept Amex.

Generally, my decisions are absent of emotion, but I do "like" Amex better, and prefer them over other Issuers, all things equal.

[happypill]

It's always comforting to have a card that you know will go through, just in case there's any shenanigans with any of the cards you're trying to use.  For me, that's a VS/MC issued by Capital One currently.  I've spent between 5-7k a month, up to 10k with Capital One traveling all over so they have a track record (with me at least) for just working.  Of course, each persons spending patterns and history could be different.

It's also a good reason why a catch-all general spend card should really be a VS/MC.  If you're relying on an Amex or Discover as your back-up, it just increases the risk that it won't be accepted.

[Anonymous]

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@redpat wrote:

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@LadyJEsq wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:
When I went to get my drivers license renewed, I learned that the City of Chicago DMV only takes (or took?) Visa. So I paid by check!

---

Hello Fellow Chicagoan!! That's good to know, I renew at the end of the year.

I agree with Redpat, I don't bother with such things (in fact was just at a new restaurant on Friday and paid with Discover without blinking an eye). If they hadn't accepted Discover, no big deal I would've paid with another card. Instead of being a Discover/AmEx vs MC/V issues, I really think this is more a diversification issue.  

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The next time you go to a restaurant and they don't take Amex or Disc do this, "Oh no, that is the only credit card I have what are we going to do?"  The look on the waiter or waitrees's face is "priceless", then use your MC, lol.

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Hmm ... believe MasterCard advertises as "Priceless" Offer to do dishes for your meal ...!

[Anonymous]

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@redpat wrote:

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@LadyJEsq wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:
When I went to get my drivers license renewed, I learned that the City of Chicago DMV only takes (or took?) Visa. So I paid by check!

---

Hello Fellow Chicagoan!! That's good to know, I renew at the end of the year.

I agree with Redpat, I don't bother with such things (in fact was just at a new restaurant on Friday and paid with Discover without blinking an eye). If they hadn't accepted Discover, no big deal I would've paid with another card. Instead of being a Discover/AmEx vs MC/V issues, I really think this is more a diversification issue.  

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The next time you go to a restaurant and they don't take Amex or Disc do this, "Oh no, that is the only credit card I have what are we going to do?"  The look on the waiter or waitrees's face is "priceless", then use your MC, lol.

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Lmao I would do that but I feel bad afterwards for trolling them.

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Yeah, in my suburb of LA, there are a lot of restaurants in the surrounding area that don't take AMEX/Disc. Not generalizing here, but a lot of the chinese restaurants my family goes to frequently never accepts discover lol, and only visa/mc, which is why this matter warranted a thread for me

[Anonymous]

For some reason I used to be on all Visas but then somehow I got switched to MasterCard. Discover is ehhh