Has anybody considered changing up their credit card strategy due the the overwhelming uptick in credit card surcharges?
Seems like more day to day expenses are now incorporating a 3% – 4% fee. As of late my barber, car dealer service center, most service oriented businesses and some of my favorite restaurants have all added a fee to use a card.
Most non category spend cards max out rewards at 2%. My chase freedom unlimited reward rate of 1.5% is getting more and more difficult to justify when the benefits no longer surpass the fees. I’m just so tied to the chase trifecta and ecosystem.
Credit Card Surcharges Getting Out of Control
byu/ThrottleAndTide inCreditCards
Posted by ThrottleAndTide
4 Comments
My attitude toward this depends on the business.
Little local barbershop that is owned by someone in the community and probably operates on razor-thin (heh) margins to begin with? Yeah, I’m happy to give them cash or debit and support the fact that they enrich my community.
A car dealership service center, though? They’re just tacking on an extra fee because they can, and they know many people won’t bother to avoid it, because what are they going to do, give them a briefcase full of cash? I’d do my best to find a local garage to go to instead.
I just dont go back.
If it’s in NY, please report them. It’s the only way they’ll stop trying to nickel and dime customers without them noticing. Unless they’re some tiny mom and pop, the hidden fees everywhere have gotten out of control. NYC, the OAG, and county govs do not mess around with the illegal surcharges.
I have a friend who owns his own tire shop. Last time we chatted the subject came up about this. He does not understand why he has to pay those fees so charges his customers who pay with a credit card. I asked why he doesn’t just bill those fees into the bill. He acted like I was speaking a foreign language and the topic changed.
My impression is that he doesn’t understand the negative view of it(marketing isn’t his strong point) but if his customers are willing to pay it or bring cash then he simply has nothing to worry about. He’s getting up there in age so he’ll probably retire before he sees whether his decision hurts his business over time.