Using only AmEx and Discover?

[Anonymous]

I pretty much use Amex and discover exclusively. I do have a non-rewards, low limit, crappy Apr, cap1 MC card I use every 2 or 3 months just to keep it open. Just in case I always have a MC, debit, and some cash on me.
Never have issues with acceptance and never received any complaints form businesses. As someone said your already paying for transaction fees weather you use them or not, its called overhead.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:
all prices are marked up to accept credit card fees so paying in cash is quite literally a waste of money.

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not necessarily true. Ive negotiated a cash price many times. Even at places like best buy and home depot. And especially when dealing with something that has a charge for service like at a mechanic or a home repair. And without a doubt a better price than whatever rewards I would have gotten.

[Anonymous]

Of course you can negotiate the price of anything, just as a business can say no. That doesn't mean that credit card fees aren't factored in the the asking price, just as utilities, insurance, payroll...ect is. Business sell things at a loss all the time, that's factored info cost as well.

[Callandra]

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@Anonymous wrote:
according to a study in business i did over 70% of businesses that don't accept certain tenders of payment are losing money. so yes, 70% are "dumb"

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I'm curious about the study...what was it? 

I feel like -most- people would just use another card if a business said, "we don't accept ____ here." I know I would. I work for a small business myself and while we do accept all four cards, I understand that for other businesses margins are tight (ours definitely are!). My company is not a good example (most of our business is in the UK and most people use their UK bank debit cards) but 99% of our transactions are V/MC. We have a rare Amex once-in-awhile, and I'm not sure if we have anyone using Discover (I can see the card type in our Merchant accounts and I've never seen Discover). 

[Man-Of-Steel]

I wouldn't feel comfortable not having a Visa or MC in my wallet (and this includes my Visa debit card that can be used as a backup, but fortunately never gets used except at the ATM).  I haven't run into much of an acceptance issue with Discover and Amex where I live, but when I have it is usually Amex not being accepted or Amex and Discover not being accepted.  The most shocking encounter was at a local Subway restaurant.  They only accept Visa and MC!  I still can't get over that one.  Of course there are several other Subway restaurants in the area and they accept all credit cards.

[kdm31091]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Just curious if there is anyone who only uses AmEx and Discover for their purchases. I suppose it would be manageable, as long as you use Discovers "cash over" to always carry around extra money, for those places that only accept Visa or MC.

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You have several non-Amex and non-Discover cards...Are you saying you want to cancel all them and pare down to just Amex and Discover?

I'm not sure what the real advantage of this would be. Keeping a Visa or MC available is always a good thing. They are almost always both accepted in tandem so you don't really need a Visa and a MC but one or the other would be wise to keep unless you're going to just pay cash when Amex/Discover aren't an option.

Still, not sure why you would intentionally limit yourself; there's really no gain from it. I would never restrict myself to relying on a "cash over" feature. To each their own I guess, but why you would add this annoyance to your life I have no idea.

[Dw4250]

Honestly I would have one of each. V/MC/AMEX/DIS

[Anonymous]

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@Man-Of-Steel wrote:

I wouldn't feel comfortable not having a Visa or MC in my wallet (and this includes my Visa debit card that can be used as a backup, but fortunately never gets used except at the ATM).  I haven't run into much of an acceptance issue with Discover and Amex where I live, but when I have it is usually Amex not being accepted or Amex and Discover not being accepted.  The most shocking encounter was at a local Subway restaurant.  They only accept Visa and MC!  I still can't get over that one.  Of course there are several other Subway restaurants in the area and they accept all credit cards.

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well this hilarious thing was, before I had my sams PLCC, they would only take discover and mastercard! what a JOKE! I figured they would at least process a visa debit, but oh no. 

who else has been in a situation where you needed MC!

[Anonymous]

pfarro you proved my point. they negotiated because the price is marked up for credit car acceptance fees.

callandra- it was in my business book for college

[rlx01]

I carry 3 Amexii (BizPlat, PRG, SPG), 2 Chase Visas (CSP + Ink Plus), 2 MC (Citi Pestige and Barclays Arrival+).

Have never thought I need a Discover card, and pretty much have all bases covered there (the Arrival+ is especially important for international travel where Chip and PIN is needed).

Whenever I go somewhere that doesn't accept Amex... I just give them one of the other cards and move on with life.

I don't take it personally or hold a grudge. Life's too short to care.

That said, I carry no cash whatsoever so cash only places are a miss for me. Not many of those in SF since Square is used by everyone and their dog.