Email from MBNA AOPA

In the early days of credit cards I used to offer on big purchases
mainly to the merchant that if he splts the 3% credit fee with me I
will pay witha check and we each make 1.5%... In those days they all
jumped at it... This past month I offered that on two purchases
totaling some $8K, and got a shrug and "Uhhh gee, we don't do that"...
So fine, I paid with a card, sent the check to the credit card company
and the merchant lost the opportunity to make an additional 1.5% and I
still have a zero balance card at the end of the month...... Seems the
world is getting curiouser and curiouser...

denny

Mxsmanic wrote:
Robert M. Gary writes:

I just got the following email from MBNA ....

"You have a new e-Bill from Bank of America Credit Card - Aircraft
Owners and Pilots Ass : "

You're sure it's actually from MBNA, and not a phishing e-mail?

--
Transpose mxsmanic and gmail to reach me by e-mail.

The agreement with the credit processing firm usually forbids this
practice -- if they accepted your offer and you worked for a credit
card company, then the merchant may lose their ability to accept
credit cards.

Because of this, when I am making big purchases I say up front that I
am paying cash, and then ask if the price is negotiable. I never link
the two facts, since that may discourage them from giving me a good
deal...

Chris

"Denny" writes:
In the early days of credit cards I used to offer on big purchases
mainly to the merchant that if he splts the 3% credit fee with me I
will pay witha check and we each make 1.5%... In those days they all
jumped at it... This past month I offered that on two purchases
totaling some $8K, and got a shrug and "Uhhh gee, we don't do that"...
So fine, I paid with a card, sent the check to the credit card company
and the merchant lost the opportunity to make an additional 1.5% and I
still have a zero balance card at the end of the month...... Seems the
world is getting curiouser and curiouser...

denny

Mxsmanic wrote:
Robert M. Gary writes:

I just got the following email from MBNA ....

"You have a new e-Bill from Bank of America Credit Card - Aircraft
Owners and Pilots Ass : "

You're sure it's actually from MBNA, and not a phishing e-mail?

--
Transpose mxsmanic and gmail to reach me by e-mail.

Pay cash and you could have saved more than 1.5%...

"Denny" wrote in news:1167226193.997061.161880
@a3g2000cwd.googlegroups.com:

In the early days of credit cards I used to offer on big purchases
mainly to the merchant that if he splts the 3% credit fee with me I
will pay witha check and we each make 1.5%... In those days they all
jumped at it... This past month I offered that on two purchases
totaling some $8K, and got a shrug and "Uhhh gee, we don't do that"...
So fine, I paid with a card, sent the check to the credit card company
and the merchant lost the opportunity to make an additional 1.5% and I
still have a zero balance card at the end of the month...... Seems the
world is getting curiouser and curiouser...

denny

Denny wrote:
In the early days of credit cards I used to offer on big purchases
mainly to the merchant that if he splts the 3% credit fee with me I
will pay witha check and we each make 1.5%... In those days they all
jumped at it... This past month I offered that on two purchases
totaling some $8K, and got a shrug and "Uhhh gee, we don't do that"...
So fine, I paid with a card, sent the check to the credit card company
and the merchant lost the opportunity to make an additional 1.5% and I
still have a zero balance card at the end of the month...... Seems the
world is getting curiouser and curiouser...

Or, he's got a 1.5%, or so credit card deal.

If he doesn't know you, there is also greater risk accepting the check.

I find cash offers entice better discounts than a check. G

"B A R R Y" wrote in message
t...
Denny wrote:
In the early days of credit cards I used to offer on big purchases
mainly to the merchant that if he splts the 3% credit fee with me I
will pay witha check and we each make 1.5%... In those days they all
jumped at it... This past month I offered that on two purchases
totaling some $8K, and got a shrug and "Uhhh gee, we don't do that"...
So fine, I paid with a card, sent the check to the credit card company
and the merchant lost the opportunity to make an additional 1.5% and I
still have a zero balance card at the end of the month...... Seems the
world is getting curiouser and curiouser...

Or, he's got a 1.5%, or so credit card deal.

If he doesn't know you, there is also greater risk accepting the check.

I find cash offers entice better discounts than a check. G

All are frequently true, presuming that you are tlking to a/the decision
maker.

"Mxsmanic" wrote in message
...
Robert M. Gary writes:

I just got the following email from MBNA ....

"You have a new e-Bill from Bank of America Credit Card - Aircraft
Owners and Pilots Ass : "

You're sure it's actually from MBNA, and not a phishing e-mail?

--
Transpose mxsmanic and gmail to reach me by e-mail.

If if was me a *would* call the number on the reverse of the card and ask!

"Christopher Brian Colohan" wrote in message
.. .
The agreement with the credit processing firm usually forbids this
practice -- if they accepted your offer and you worked for a credit
card company, then the merchant may lose their ability to accept
credit cards.

Not true.

Credit merchant agreements prohibit charging users of credit cards *more*,
but they do not prohibit the merchant from offering a discount to those
paying without a credit card.

Here's one article that includes a statement from Visa to that effect:
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/...llspent21.html

Personally, I find the distinction silly, but it exists.

By the way, only slightly related to the above, my experience has been that
even when a merchant does charge extra to people using credit cards, there's
very little chance of anything bad happening to them. The central credit
card company (Visa or Mastercard) doesn't care...they instruct you to take
it up with the specific bank providing your credit card, and the banks I've
had credit cards with haven't appeared to be interested in providing any
real customer service, never mind following up on something like credit
surcharges.

YMMV.

Pete

Personally, I find the distinction silly, but it exists.

It's not as silly as it seems at first sight. IT forces the vendor to
advertise the higher price, thus losing whatever (advertising) advantage
he would have by treating the difference as an added fee rather than a
discount. He wouldn't get a leg up against another vendor's advertised
price.

Jose
--
He who laughs, lasts.
for Email, make the obvious change in the address.

BT wrote:

I usually find.. that hitting lots of zeros on the number pad.. when going
through an automated answering system will get me to some one who can talk..
comprehension is another matter..

http://www.gethuman.com/us/

Happy Flying!
Scott Skylane

"Jose" wrote in message
. ..
Personally, I find the distinction silly, but it exists.

It's not as silly as it seems at first sight.

Yes, it is.

IT forces the vendor to advertise the higher price, thus losing whatever
(advertising) advantage he would have by treating the difference as an
added fee rather than a discount. He wouldn't get a leg up against
another vendor's advertised price.

Unless, of course, he includes in his advertising the information that he
will discount the price by some amount for people not using credit cards.
There's no prohibition against any such advertising.

Also, I most often run into merchants adding this fee to credit card users
(in the form of a discount for everyone else) in situations where there is
no real concept of "advertised price". My dentist, for example.

And of course, your explanation begs the question of why a credit card
company would write into their contracts a loophole that, rather than
actually prohibiting surcharges for credit charges, simply undermines their
customer's supposed ability to gain an advertising advantage. To believe
your explanation requires that one assume that the credit card company cares
more about how their clients advertise and less about whether credit card
users are charged a surcharge or not. I don't find that assumption
compelling.

Pete