ANGELRUBY's Blog

Interesting......credit card companies charge 1.5% to 3% to the merchant, so they charge it back to us by raising prices. For that reason I use my credit cards for every purchase.....even supermarket.
Why not? They give me 1% back for a reward in gift cards, and every few months I get a $100. gift card for free.
Now when our ATM cards double as visa/mc, I believe the bank also charges the 1.5% to 2.5% if the card is not used with a pin number, as a withdrawal.
American Express charges the merchants a higher percentage than visa/mc, thats why some stores and gas stations say they don't take American Express (half the time they really do take Amex, but they want you to use a visa/mc instead to save on fees.) I know because I used to own a tanning salon.
Another thing is: merchants are not allowed to require a minimum purchase amount to use a credit card. If they get reported they could lose their merchant account privileges.

Jane

I mostly use American Express Blue, and they let you cash in your 1% for gift cards to major stores, or merchandise. Some cards just give you cash back, but make sure there is no annual fee or it would be redundant.

But, the best reason to use credit cards is:
Even if refunds are against the store's policy, the refund will be enforced by the credit card company if they agree with your reason for return. Most of the time you will win the dispute, and the transaction will be reversed. One reason is because if the store decides to challenge your claim, and your credit card company sides with you, the store usually receives a large fine charged back to them, along with the reversal of transaction itself. It’s a risk they don’t usually like to take. Your satisfaction is your credit card company’s main concern, not the store.