Email from MBNA AOPA

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

No, it isn't.

Mind you, I'm not saying it's not silly. It is just less silly than it
seems. It seems sillier than it is.

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.

No, but there are rules about it. The discounted price cannot be more
prominent than the nominal price.

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.

Hmmm. I'll have to ask my dentist about that too. But if somebody
calls and says "how much is an exam", the price that is quoted should be
the non-discounted price. There really =is= a concept of "advertised
price", it's just, well, not advertised.

And of course, your explanation begs the question of why a credit card
company would write into their contracts a loophole...
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.

Historically, I believe that is the case. IIRC, the "discount for cash"
gave an advantage to merchants who did this, to the detriment of
merchants who did not. CC companies valued the latter more, and
listened to their complaints (and the complaints of CC holders who
resented being charged). By putting in this rule, they induced people
to use CCs more, which is what the CC companies are =really= interested in.

They still valued the other merchants, and I guess that was the
compromise that was reached. I think some attorney generals got
involved too.

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

I'll start using cash, I suppose. But some FBO's actually have given
me a 5% discount for using the AOPA card; then I get a 5% discount from
MBNA when I turn it in at the end of the year as part of my application
for the 5% rebate. Works out to a 9.75% discount on some (but few,
and, small) discounts. Since my annual is always put on the card, plus
all else, I always count on a $250/yr rebate, anyway.

Jose wrote:
It's not as silly as it seems at first sight.
Yes, it is.

No, it isn't.

Mind you, I'm not saying it's not silly. It is just less silly than it
seems. It seems sillier than it is.

Is surface appearance the true measure of how silly it is?

Is surface appearance the true measure of how silly it is?

No, but it's the true measure of how silly it seems.

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

I didn't think it was as silly as it seemed.

You and I agree.

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