No credit card for fishing license

[FishNovice101]

Has anyone ever heard of a gas station/convenience store NOT letting you use your Credit Card to buy your fishing license?

[Nate McVey]

Yup, main reason is the store pays money to the CC company for the transaction, but gets nothing for the sale of the license (it all goes to the state). Most of them will let you do it if you buy something else. This is the same for lottery tickets in most stores.

[Neighbor_guy]

It has been that way for years. I think Wallytown and Fleet are the only places that will take debit or credit cards for licences.

[fasternu]

Where I bought mine, they said up front, 3% fee added on to the cost of the license if you pay with a credit card. It was regular price if you paid with cash or check though. I don't blame them, they lose money otherwise.

[harvey lee]

Yes. many add anywhere from 3-5% for the CC usage.

[LakeoftheWoods]

I used my debit card to pay for my license in Warroad. Always have.

[BartmanMN]

No problem using my debit card at my bait shop

[Sandmannd]

Bought mine online and used my credit card. I think it was an extra $3 but it was really easy and could print out extras. Have one that stays in my boat, in my wallet and wife's purse. Then a couple in the safe in case they get lost.

[Mr.Seaguar]

You should have heard me beg a lady in Podunk, SD to let me buy a license with my card. I told her charge me $110 for a $104 license and keep the difference. The town had no ATM. She let me do it but after that I carried a wad. I did later see she changed her sign from NO LICENSES ON CREDIT to WE CHARGE YOUR CREDIT CARD $110 FOR HUNTING LICENSE. She was a nice ol bird.

[CrappiesNCats]

holliday gas station allows you to. thats where i got mine

[EBass]

I used my Visa check card at Gander or Holiday gas staitons like stated above.

[glenn57]

i used my american express at thorne bros, no problem.

[mrklean]

It really depends on the place, just like certain place have a min on the purchase, i know a place up in st cloud you cant buy anything under $10 on a CC because of the charges they get

[PerchJerker]

I bought my license on a credit card at a bait shop ---- very nice people in there and they said they charge an extra 3% for using a credit card for a license. That was okay with me. Then we talked fishing......

[nofishfisherman]

I've bought a license at a gas station and local sporting goods store with credit card and was not charged any fee's.

I have had another gas station refuse my credit card and force me to use the atm to take out the cash, of course that came with a $2 fee.

[Ebiz]

I believe it's against Visa & Mastercard rules for a merchant to charge an additional fee or require a minimum purchase in order to use a credit card. I haven't had time to look for the official Visa/Mastercard info but did find the below article on the Internet:

MINIMUM CHARGE REQUIREMENTS

Some stores require consumers to spend at least $20 (or some other minimum) to pay for purchases by credit card. They engage in this practice because they and their banks do not want the expense of processing a credit card transaction involving a small amount of money.

This practice defeats one of the major purposes of credit cards—convenience—and may force credit card users to spend more than they want to. In addition, minimum charge requirements vary from merchant to merchant, and there are no regulations requiring disclosure of these minimum purchase levels.

Visa's and MasterCard's regulations prohibit minimum charge amounts. American Express's regulations do not explicitly prohibit minimum charges, but its policy is to discourage any merchant practices that create a "barrier to acceptance." Amex does prohibit "discrimination" against the Amex card, however, so if a merchant has no minimum charge for Visa and MasterCard, the merchant may not discriminate against Amex by imposing a minimum charge.

TIP: If a store requires a minimum purchase for Visa or MasterCard, point out to the store manager that the practice is prohibited by the card companies.

EXTRA CHARGE FOR USING A CREDIT CARD

Some merchants seek to impose a service fee for all credit card purchases.

When a merchant gives a credit card slip to the credit card company or bank for processing, a percentage of each purchase—usually 1.5% to 5% of the purchase amount—is deducted. This "merchant discount fee" helps pay for the bank's services and for the credit card system. By charging extra for credit card use, the merchant passes the discount fee on to customers.

MORE: Since 1984, when a Truth in Lending law ban on surcharges expired, some states have enacted laws prohibiting surcharges; see States That Prohibit Credit Card Surcharges.

Visa and MasterCard prohibit surcharges, and American Express discourages them. Amex does prohibit "discrimination" against the Amex card, however, so if a merchant accepts Visa and MasterCard (and cannot impose a surcharge under those companies' rules), the merchant may not discriminate against Amex by imposing a surcharge.

TIP: Any merchant that accepts American Express cards and also accepts Visa and/or MasterCard may not charge consumers a surcharge on Amex purchases.

Surcharges invite numerous abuses by retailers, including bait-and-switch tactics. There are no laws on how and when surcharges must be disclosed, making it difficult to figure out the total price of an item. Travelers often find it difficult to get out-of-state checks accepted, and should not be penalized for using credit cards. Further, credit card acceptance usually produces higher sales for merchants, offsetting the cost of processing credit card transactions.

Note that a cash discount is legal and permitted under all credit card companies rules. A cash discount offers a lower price for cash than credit; for example, many gasoline stations offer cash discounts. While this may merely be a loophole, it is permitted. In addition, there are a few state governmental agencies, including state tax offices and motor vehicle departments, that are permitted to charge surcharges due to state laws that do not permit them to pay discount fees. However, retail merchants may not impose surcharges.