> Of course, that fee doesn't show up directly on your bill. But you still pay ultimately it.
Unless I’m charged a lower cash price vs a higher credit card price, no, I’m not really ultimately paying it. You may be correct at a macro level but I’m looking at it from a practical standpoint.
When a merchant does charge a lower cash price, I make a real time judgement call to pay in cash or use card.
> Unless I’m charged a lower cash price vs a higher credit card price, no, I’m not really ultimately paying it. You may be correct at a macro level but I’m looking at it from a practical standpoint.
It's typically the more expensive merchants with higher margins who accept American Express.
So you are right that staying with the same merchant, you seldom get an explicit discount for not using American Express. The non-AmEx discount is more hidden, in the form of being able to shop at not-so-overpriced merchants.
Unless I’m charged a lower cash price vs a higher credit card price, no, I’m not really ultimately paying it. You may be correct at a macro level but I’m looking at it from a practical standpoint.
When a merchant does charge a lower cash price, I make a real time judgement call to pay in cash or use card.