--------------------------------------------------------------- Summary There are credit card
brands and states that will allow merchants
or retailers to assess a surcharge for when
you use your credit card. This surcharge means
you are essentially paying a fee for the fact
you used your credit card rather than cash.
Details
on Whether a Surcharge Can be Applied
The answer to whether it is legal for merchants
to charge a surcharge fee for using credit
cards is not completely black and white. The
answer is two-fold, which credit/debit card
"brand" you're using and what state
you're in!
As mentioned in the Credit
Cards main page there are four major "brands"
of credit cards: American Express, Discover,
MasterCard and Visa. Of these major
brands, MasterCard and Visa do not allow their
merchants to a surcharge to credit/debit card
purchases. American Express and Discover do
not forbid their merchants from assessing
a surcharge however. If you're using a MasterCard
or Visa and you're assessed a
surcharge for using your card, you should
be able to simply contact your lender and
they will refund you the amount of the surcharge.
MasterCard and Visa do allow merchants to
offer incentives to use cash (i.e. discounts).
Now the question is what state you're in,
as some states have passed laws that prohibit
surcharges. States that have outlawed surcharges
for using a credit card include:
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Florida
Kansas
Maine
Massachusetts
New York
Oklahoma
Texas
Some other states don't
flat out ban credit card usage surcharges,
but have some restrictions. These include:
Kentucky prohibits
the use of a surcharge by
restaurants for any tips, if they are included
on a credit transaction.
New Hampshire
does not allow travel companies to assess
a credit card surcharge
Maryland, Massachusetts,
Washington and Wyoming (including many other
states) will allow merchants to offer a
cash discount to customers who pay with
cash rather than a credit card
Minnesota allows
a surcharge of up to 5% of the total purchase
price
More
Information
More information can be found at:
