How many credit cards do you own?

[DaveE]

I have a personal Visa, a Visa debit card and a corporate Mastercard.

[Brando]

1 Visa with our Credit Union for work & travel expenses - Balance is paid down every month.
1 Target CC. Wife uses this weekly and gets paid off every month.
1 Visa check/debit card for normal expenses (gas, groceries, bills, etc).

Given the cards/perks some of you are mentioning, I may want to open a CC with some perks just for monthly bills/expenses that are paid in full at the end of the month. Which ones have the best rewards so far? I think I qualify for a Marriott rewards CC but not sure...

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by look 171

Somehow, this is not the crowd credit card companies likes. Seem like many of us pay off our cards at the end of the month. ....

Oh they like you just fine too !. Of course, CC's are a requirement for business, travel, etc. but the "overhead" rate for CCs used to be 4% of the purchase price compared to pennies for a debit transaction, so I use debit for everything anymore. Some use CCs more wisely than others, but make no mistake, WE ALL pay for the conveniences. I received notice that my personal Credit Unioin Visa that I'd had for years would no longer offer protection for Internet purchases and for physical transactions further than 150 miles away from my home address....total bs and I cancelled immediately

[rusnak]

1 Visa that I only have for backup. Otherwise, cash only or Visa check debit.

I'm surprised at the number of AmEx customers. I dont' accept AmEx because all those benefits get charged to the retailer.

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by rusnak

...I'm surprised at the number of AmEx customers. I dont' accept AmEx because all those benefits get charged to the retailer.

Maybe it's changed...I dunno? When debit cards first appeared on the scene, CC transactions were also 4% of the purchase price and paid by the retailer (and of course passed on to ALL customers). Remember when there used to be "cash" vs CC prices for gas? It's like an opiate...they've got MANY hooked (line and sinkered too imo)....even if one pays no interest charges...the overhead of using them (Visa corp. PROFITS$) and the psychology of it all is why I avoid 'em....YMMV.

[Rick Lee]

Originally Posted by rusnak

I'm surprised at the number of AmEx customers. I dont' accept AmEx because all those benefits get charged to the retailer.

Depends on the business you're in. Amex's merchant services people will bring you all kinds of data showing their cardholders are likely to spend more money at your business than will Visa and MC holders. IIRC, Visa and MC have a lot of nickel and dime misc. fees, while Amex makes it a flat % of every sale amount with no other fees. As long as you build the fees into your pricing, you'll get more business by accepting more forms of payment. Lots of wholesalers give terms for paying by check or ACH. If yours do not AND they accept Amex, then you're paying those fees anyway. Might as well use Amex, get the float time and points.

[rusnak]

To accept AmEx, Visa, MC, etc you must have a banking porthole that will provide not only the access, but servicing. When you compare the fees from AmEx to all others (Discover, Visa, etc) the fees are far and above higher. So much so, that you are paying a premium to serve the Am Ex customer. And they definitely do not spend more. They are cheapskates who bargain shop.

The customer that I think we're stuck servicing at higher costs are the VISA and MC rewards customer. As I mentioned, we build their rebate rewards into our pricing and ding everyone. We could just decline their their cards, but really what I'd rather do is charge the rewards customers only, but I can't really do that. With Am Ex, because it's an entirely different card, I'd say either ding them 5% more upfront for accepting their card, or just don't accept it.

[Rick Lee]

Originally Posted by rusnak

So much so, that you are paying a premium to serve the Am Ex customer. And they definitely do not spend more. They are cheapskates who bargain shop.

My boss is definitely a bargain shopper, but he won't buy from anyone that won't take his Amex. He has a Centurion card, which has a $2800 annual fee and he wears that thing out. When I worked at Amex, I only dealt with small business with between $1-4mm in revenue. But some of those guys spent well into the six figures PER MONTH on their Amex cards. Not too many can do that with MC and Visa. Doesn't matter to me, since I don't own a business and don't spend more than about $30-40k a yr. on a card.

[rusnak]

For your boss, one word: Costco. Knock yourself out. But if you have to go to a small or specialty place your Centurion whatever blah blah is worth less than cash.

[MMiller]

1- AMX
1- Visa

Only use the Visa when the merchant won't take AMX.

[4495]

4. Carte Blanche, Dinners Club, ESSO and a Tim Horton's Visa card with no spending limit.

[Pazuzu]

Originally Posted by rusnak

For your boss, one word: Costco. Knock yourself out. But if you have to go to a small or specialty place your Centurion whatever blah blah is worth less than cash.

Costco and AMEX are no longer friends...they've moved over to Citibank.

[rusnak]

Originally Posted by Pazuzu

Costco and AMEX are no longer friends...they've moved over to Citibank.

Oh that's bad for AmEx. Not surprising though.

[campbellcj]

1 Visa I only use when other methods are impractical or not accepted; 1 personal Amex I use for nearly all online shopping, online bill payments, travel, Costco, etc.; 1 business Amex. I use actual green cash money or a debit card for all day-to-day incidentals around town.

[Moses]

Corporate Amex. Personal Amex and a Visa for places that don't take Amex.

[pcardude]

I have 4. And 2 have a balance. I am trying to build credit history since I have none.