AOPA credit card --- WARNING.

One lesser known fact about credit card companies is that they will screw
the VENDOR far more readily than they will their customers.

has American Express or Diners Club done the same to you?
(just curious)

We'll never know -- I threw BOTH of them out right after we opened, after
they tried to charge us 5% for each transaction. (The other cards -- Visa,
Mastercard & Discover -- charge us "only" 4% for the privilege of "working"
with them.)

Here's another credit card mystery: Why the hell does ANYONE use any card
but Discover? Everyone else charges to use their cards, while Discover
actually PAYS you to use their card -- yet they are a distant third or
fourth in the industry.

Marketing is everything to American consumers, I guess...
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

In a previous article, "Jay Honeck" said:
Here's another credit card mystery: Why the hell does ANYONE use any card
but Discover?

Because nobody in Canada takes Discover. As a friend of mine "Discovered"
the hard way.


--
Paul Tomblin http://xcski.com/blogs/pt/
"I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World
War IV will be fought with sticks and stones."
-- Albert Einstein

Paul Tomblin wrote:

In a previous article, "Jay Honeck" said:

Here's another credit card mystery: Why the hell does ANYONE use any card
but Discover?


Because nobody in Canada takes Discover. As a friend of mine "Discovered"
the hard way.



And not just in Canada. I've found two local restaurants in just the
last month who don't take Discover. I've also found a number of other
smaller establishments that don't take Discover. Most large outfits do,
but not many of the small ones.


Matt

"
Here's another credit card mystery: Why the hell does ANYONE use any card
but Discover? Everyone else charges to use their cards, while Discover
actually PAYS you to use their card -- yet they are a distant third or
fourth in the industry.

Hey Jay, check into Bank One's master card. I switched from Discover to
BO (pun) for two reasons. One, master card is recognized more places, and
two, Bank One pays back more.

On Thu, 25 Nov 2004 21:52:37 GMT, "Jay Honeck"
wrote:


Here's another credit card mystery: Why the hell does ANYONE use any card
but Discover?

I use MBNA Master card because of the AOPA discount. The rest of the
time I use Bank of America Visa because they will automatically take
the full balance due (not just the minimum payment) from my bank
account.

Jay Honeck wrote:

One lesser known fact about credit card companies is that they will screw
the VENDOR far more readily than they will their customers.

has American Express or Diners Club done the same to you?
(just curious)


We'll never know -- I threw BOTH of them out right after we opened, after
they tried to charge us 5% for each transaction. (The other cards -- Visa,
Mastercard & Discover -- charge us "only" 4% for the privilege of "working"
with them.)

Here's another credit card mystery: Why the hell does ANYONE use any card
but Discover? Everyone else charges to use their cards, while Discover
actually PAYS you to use their card -- yet they are a distant third or
fourth in the industry.

Funny you should mention this. I just got a Discover card last January
after hearing from my sister how they got money back on theirs. I kept
my Visa however. Turns out that was a good call as I've found a lot of
places that don't accept Discover. Also, the rebat isn't nearly as
large as their marketing leads you to believe. I've spent probably
15,000 on Discover this year and my rebate is still less than $50.
Quite frankly, this isn't worth the pain of dealing with two credit
cards, paying two bills, etc. Also, I've had three erroneous charges on
my Discover in the 10 months I've had it ... more than I've had on Visa
in 20 years! The last two erroneous charges were substantial, totaling
$1500 for shipping on DHL from a location in Washington state, while I
was out of the country no less!

I'm going to get the meager rebate at year end and then cut up the
Discover card. The rebate is mostly fluff in my experience. I just I'm
just not in bad enough financial shape to get excited about a 0.3% rebate...


Matt

In article , Matt Whiting
writes:

Quite frankly, this isn't worth the pain of dealing with two credit
cards, paying two bills, etc.

There is a very strong reason to have two credit cards. When on a trip, have
your wife carry one and you carry the other. Then when one is misplaced (don't
ask me how I came to this conclusiion) you can cancel that one and still have a
good vacation.

Chuck

PaulaJay1 wrote:

In article , Matt Whiting
writes:


Quite frankly, this isn't worth the pain of dealing with two credit
cards, paying two bills, etc.


There is a very strong reason to have two credit cards. When on a trip, have
your wife carry one and you carry the other. Then when one is misplaced (don't
ask me how I came to this conclusiion) you can cancel that one and still have a
good vacation.

Chuck

Yes, I agree wholeheartedly. I have a corporate AMEX card that I'm
authorized to use for personal expenses in an emergency, so I have two
cards already without Discover.

Matt

"Matt Whiting" wrote in message
...
PaulaJay1 wrote:

In article , Matt Whiting
writes:


Quite frankly, this isn't worth the pain of dealing with two credit
cards, paying two bills, etc.


There is a very strong reason to have two credit cards. When on a trip,
have
your wife carry one and you carry the other. Then when one is misplaced
(don't
ask me how I came to this conclusiion) you can cancel that one and still
have a
good vacation.

Chuck

Yes, I agree wholeheartedly. I have a corporate AMEX card that I'm
authorized to use for personal expenses in an emergency, so I have two
cards already without Discover.

That is simply fascinating. Thanks for sharing that in teresting tidbit of
information with us. Most people would never think to have two or more
cards. Brilliant idea!

Jay Honeck wrote:

One lesser known fact about credit card companies is that they will screw
the VENDOR far more readily than they will their customers.

has American Express or Diners Club done the same to you?
(just curious)


We'll never know -- I threw BOTH of them out right after we opened, after
they tried to charge us 5% for each transaction. (The other cards -- Visa,
Mastercard & Discover -- charge us "only" 4% for the privilege of "working"
with them.)

Given this, why don't people like yourself offer discounts for cash any
longer? Seems like less use of credit cards would be to your advantage.
Are there other reasons that make credit cards convenient from the
vendor viewpoint?


Matt