Current Events > Credit card rewards really are quickly losing their value.

(+) Yeah! (+)

In recent months, there's been a huge flare-up of "a 3% transaction fee will be added to all credit card charges"

Well when your card only gets 1.5-2% back in points... you're operating at a loss. For something that's supposed to reward your usage (or at LEAST have no annual fee).

What's the solution at this point? Go back to cash? I'm getting really annoyed at the straight up devaluation of my credit card. What's the point of using it anymore? An extra annoyance is, there used to be a small cash discount incentive. But places quickly realized it wasn't enough of a carrot, so they quickly pivoted to stick. And in full honesty, I can't exactly argue with them. The CC companies have been charging merchants per transaction for years. Coffee shops would have a $5 minimum or whatever. That all made sense. But the recent months make it seem like the dynamic has shifted fully back to the patron (like with tipping - restaurants said they can get their patrons to pay our waiters' living wages, why not have them cover our transaction fees too?)

Flipside is, what's the alternative? Going back to straight cash? Stopping at the ATM all the time? Having a fat wallet that you can't just cancel all the available money with the click of a button? If you lose that cash, it's gone. If you lose your CC or it gets stolen, you can cancel it and dispute any charges with ease.

I dunno. I'm kinda stuck with it. It's small amounts on a per transaction basis (e.g. $1.50 for a $50 dinner), but that shit adds up quickly.

I only get credit card transaction fees at smoke shops and ampm gas stations.

What places are charging these (so I know not to go there)

I guess there's Apple Pay with a debit card as an alternative if I had to though.

trickMms posted...

Well when your card only gets 1.5-2% back in points... you're operating at a loss.

Credit cards always operated at a loss for the user. It's just more flagrant now.

I've never seen a fee besides a foreign transaction fee. I just use a card that doesn't charge those for foreign purchases.

I only get a fee at like a gas station if I'm running in to grab a soda and spending less than $5.

Then get a less shitty card? *shrug*

Its is true that more places are charging fees. The solution is easy though, shop around for a better card. The market will figure it out.

whitelytning posted...

The market will figure it out.

This logic has historically never been true

I never see a fee outside of the random one-off restaurant charging a "service fee" on any of my credit cards. Sounds like a problem with your card specifically

Which CC is this?

ellis123 posted...

Credit cards always operated at a loss for the user.

No.

TendoDRM posted...

No.

Apologies, you are right. Credit Cards are not actually a part of capitalism, they were just free money the whole time.