I've been going for years without carrying too much cash, mostly relying on my debit card. $20 - $25 was enough for the occasional low cost purchase or to order subs at work, things like that.
Now, with gas prices being where they are, I'm noticing more and more stations offering three cents off for cash purchases. Now I find I have to carry close to $100 if I want to fill up and still have my $20
- $25 pocket cash.
It's just PITA, that's all.
Why? carry enough for a typical day. I kind of like cutting banks out of transactions too.
We have a number of recent cash only stations around here that offer even better discounts (typically $0.11-14/gal) than you describe.
I can still use my credit even at that reduction. I get 1 % back,so at $
3.50 a gallon (more now) I am still ahead of the 3 cents per gallon. Sometimes it is 5% back for several months. I never carry a credit card ballance at the interest they charge now.BTW the debit cards are the worst thing to carry. Even worse than cash. If you loose the debit card, someone can wipe out your account. With cash, all you loose is the cash you have with you. Credit cards are protected to some extent.
snipped-for-privacy@l14g2000yqo.googlegroups.com... > I've been going for= years without carrying too much cash, mostly > relying on my debit card. $=
20 - $25 was enough for the occasional low > cost purchase or to order subs= at work, things like that. > > Now, with gas prices being where they are, = I'm noticing more and more > stations offering three cents off for cash pur= chases. Now I find I > have to carry close to $100 if I want to fill up and= still have my $20 > - $25 pocket cash. > I can still use my credit even at= that reduction. I get 1 % back,so at $ 3.50 a gallon (more now) I am still= ahead of the 3 cents per gallon. Sometimes it is 5% back for several month= s. I never carry a credit card ballance at the interest they charge now. BT= W the debit cards are the worst thing to carry. Even worse than cash. If yo= u loose the debit card, someone can wipe out your account. With cash, all y= ou loose is the cash you have with you. Credit cards are protected to some = extent.Same with me. I also get 1% back on my credit card. Lot of folks can't do= math or worse drive an extra ten miles to save a few cents per gallon cons= uming far more in fuel costs to do it.
Then if you even pay cash, you have to get in line with people buying food = items at most gas stations and if you fill up, you have to go back in line = for change. Even though retired, I value my time more than waiting in line= .
math or worse drive an extra ten miles to save a few cents per gallon consuming far more in fuel costs to do it.
items at most gas stations and if you fill up, you have to go back in line for change. Even though retired, I value my time more than waiting in line.
Not retired but I don't like waiting either. I do like the cash only places that have appeared that charge less and pump it for me though.
If you don't mind punching in your PIN at the pump, you can use your DEBIT card and get the cash discount. Around here it's 10 cents a gallon, cash or debit.
Use your debit card as credit, and they hit you up for the credit price.
I thought charging extra for credit was ILLEGAL.
T card and get the cash discount. Around here it's 10 cents a gallon, cash = or debit.
Not at the stations I use. My debit card can be entered as Credit or Debit. Many of the pumps I use read it as credit and simply authorize the purchase as soon as it's inserted. Some of them don't even ask for a zip code or anything.
If I want the pump's price to change to the cash price, I have to see the cashier. Luckily, the station I use most (the starting price is cheaper than most even before the discount) only sells gas, so I don't have to wait for people buying food, etc.
I use a card that gives my 5% back. $3.50 gas is about 17 cents off a gallon. Problem solved.
I've never found a value in using a debit card when most credit cards give 'cash rewards' these days.
Jim
I doubt it is illegal in most places but I would not want to say what every legislature might do. It was a Visa/MC policy. If you want to have their credit card service, you couldn't charge extra for it. These days that might be unenforceable. The station might just say bye.,
I did not think it was illegal, but was a deal with the credit card companies. In other words, you could charge more or give a cash discount if you wanted to, but if the credit card companies found out about it,they would not let you take their credit cards any more.
I personally think it's dumb not to have ready accessible cash, in case bank machines or computers go down. Purchases can still be made with cash.
I always keep cash hidden in my car and my house for such emergencies although outside of usenet I would never tell anybody this (less it get stolen)
I keep small bills in my house in case of power loss so people can't rip me off if I need to buy a case of water for my family.
I always use a credit card, even to buy a coffee, but having cash backup is smart thinking and so few people do it. Using a credit card to collect rewards is only smart if you don't pay interest of course.
A gas station offering discounts for cash sounds like really dumb idea these days but maybe I'm wrong. Gas stations are frequently robbed. It can be dangerous to those employees. Also it's dumb for the station owners because employees can steal cash easier and there is more internal loss. Cash has to be counted manually and handled manually. With electronic payments the math is done automatically.
Typical gas tank fillup is about $50 to $70 around here with many hitting $90 to $100 for the 7 passenger SUVs and large pick-up trucks and van.
I think it's safer and easier on the whole for a gas station to just pay the merchant fees for electronic forms of payment, unless they wanna cheat on their taxes....
Just all my .02 cents worth....
Debit card loss limit 50 bucks, by federal law.
My wife lost her card must of dropped it at the pump:(
someone ran up 300 bucks in theft charges, wife got all 300 back it got charged back to the gas station. where the bank electronically debited it out of the gas stations account.....
the station was supposed to review the security tapes and go after the thief, but as it turned out the security camera was broke...
i thought somone may have turned in the card to the stations cashier who used it themselves if they knew the cameras werent working
I probably have about $900 in my wallet now (Hmm, a little over $1000 - it's still early in the week;). Our "bank" is 1000mi away so I use ATMs and only hit them once a week. I use a credit card for gas because I get a discount for credit.
There are a few like that here, too, but even their cash rate is about $.10 above others in the area. For obvious reasons, I rarely stop there.
Visa and MC branded debit cars carry the same protection as their credit cards but since it takes time to straighten things out, I'd rather they took the bank's money than mine.
and get the cash discount. Around here it's 10 cents a gallon, cash or debit.
It was never "illegal". There was wording in the contract stating that the merchant couldn't surcharge for plastic but they could give a discount for paper. AIUI, the whole issue was tossed in the Visa/MC price-fixing suit recently.
.
Yep. Someone got my gf's card info a few months ago and purchased about $1,200 worth of stuff over the internet. She got back every penny within a couple of days.
In 10 states it is prohibited by law for retailers to charge consumers a fee for using a credit card (California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, Oklahoma and Texas).
- gpsman
Well then americans are safe - because most of them don't have two dimes to rub together...
Yes harry, we've had "pay at the pump" for years here in US/Canada. Maybe 10+ years.
That's not the point.
The point is the credit-card processing charges that merchants are increasingly try to NOT pay - by enticing customers to pay with cash - or (I guess) debit now.
Yes, we have self-checkout here too - but I don't think that (many?) of them take cash. Just cards.
Correct - there is no "law" governing this.
Merchant agreement.
Technically - not correct.
You *can't* add any additional charges (to the sticker price) if the buyer pays with a credit card - but you CAN give a discount if they buyer pays with cash.
Credit-card companies don't want retailers to penalize credit-card users, so they write that into the merchant agreement.
But CC companies can't do anything about retailers giving a discount-at-the-register for people who pay in cash.
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