Fast food on a credit card

[rvwnsd]

My loathesome feeling centered aroud the contrast of excess of poor quality products made readily available, as long as one is willing to waste other resources to get it, combined with an inability to pay for it....

 

I don't think one can equate using a payment card with an inability to pay for the purchase. Many people, myself included, pay their credit card bills in full every month. Also, Master Card and VISA debit and prepaid cards are processed as credit cards as are American Express prepaid cards. Merchants who accept payment cards do so because they attract customers who prefer not to carry cash. Unlike cash, a lost or stolen card can be replaced. Although merchants pay a credit card processing fee, there are costs associated with cash, such as time spent counting, potential loss/theft, safekeeping, armored courier, and bonding, just to name a few. A simple currency counting device with a display and printer can cost upwards of $3,000. Credit card terminals cost a fraction of that.

 

When I was in college in the 1980's, a banking professor predicted a cashless society by the dawn of the 21st century. We are not cashless yet, but the number of cash and check transactions is decreasing.

[Luv2play]

There will always be a healthy appetite for cash because of its greatest virtue, it can't be traced. As long as there is a market for illicit activities, people will prefer, indeed insist, on being paid in cash for the services or goods they provide. And billions of dollars in cash are stashed abroad in such countries as Russia so as long as the US dollar is the world's reserve currency, cash will be king.

[rvwnsd]

There will always be a healthy appetite for cash because of its greatest virtue, it can't be traced...

 

Cash transactions are actually very heavily scrutinized and are, in fact, traceable. Every single cash transaction or set of aggregated cash transactions in excess of $10,000 are reported to the feds by every financial institution. Although the exact bills are not easily traceable (although they could be with the right technology), the cash transaction itself is recorded. Next time you are at the bank, look for the currency counters. They can detect counterfeit bills and could easily be retrofitted with OCR readers to read and record serial numbers. Try paying your mortgage or rent with cash and I bet you get a hassle from the mortgage holder or landlord. We will probably not be cashless in the near future, but the use of cash is greatly diminishing.

[seeker630]

Cash transactions are actually very heavily scrutinized and are, in fact, traceable. Every single cash transaction or set of aggregated cash transactions in excess of $10,000 are reported to the feds by every financial institution. Although the exact bills are not easily traceable (although they could be with the right technology), the cash transaction itself is recorded. Next time you are at the bank, look for the currency counters. They can detect counterfeit bills and could easily be retrofitted with OCR readers to read and record serial numbers. Try paying your mortgage or rent with cash and I bet you get a hassle from the mortgage holder or landlord. We will probably not be cashless in the near future, but the use of cash is greatly diminishing.

 

But if I withdraw $300 from my ATM, give it to an escort, and he deposits it in his bank or spends it at the grocery store, etc. - no trail (especially if he spends it).

[RockHard]

Say what?

 

I believe I have sunk to a personal low

 

I think your "Cleanliness is next to impossible" thread is pretty hard to beat.

 

Was it that there are fast food places courting favor at 2AM

 

What's so odd about that? Not everyone lives a 9-to-5 lifestyle and people need to eat.

 

Was it that I did not have enough cash to pay for the burger?

 

You're lucky a cheap, fast-food place accepts credit cards. Given the cost of those bank fees, I pity the poor service business.

 

The miles one receives for a $7 Happy Meal are laughable. I shudder to think how many calories it takes to purchase a 25,000 mile ticket. No wonder some of you live with waistline issues.

 

Maybe it's because I've been traveling to Europe since I was a teenager, I carry cash. Rule #1 for reducing the chances of identity theft: limit your use of a credit card. I use my credit cards for hefty purchases only, with establishments that I know are worthy of my trust. For internet purchases, I have one card with a $3,000 limit. For escort services, I have one card that does not feature my birth name. For any food on the road, I have cash. Paying cash is fast and easy, and most service providers prefer it.

 

Was it that I was gas sitting in my car waiting to be served?

 

Have no idea if this is a breakwind issue from a bad enema experience or you're hoarding gasoline for some reason.

 

but I am sure of this, the experience engenders some of the worst aspects of life in the US.

 

The worst aspects of American life? You are kidding, right? Step away from the soap operas, sweetie. I can think of many more serious issues than this trifle ditty.

[bigvalboy]

The miles one receives for a $7 Happy Meal are laughable. I shudder to think how many calories it takes to purchase a 25,000 mile ticket. No wonder some of you live with waistline issues.

 

I charge almost everything in my life when I can. From gas for the car to a soda pop, and any and all major purchases that I can. When booking a trip to Rome last year and then on to Bangkok, I had run out of miles to do an upgrade on the Rome to Bangkok leg of the trip. My travel agent called me the next day and informed me that the miles accumulated on my card bumped me from Business to First class on the run from Rome to Pattaya and back to L.A. And while I am not a fast food kind of guy, it is the little things you buy that add up.

[bigvalboy]

Maybe it's because I've been traveling to Europe since I was a teenager, I carry cash. Rule #1 for reducing the chances of identity theft: limit your use of a credit card.

 

Who in there right mind carries cash to Europe, that is soooo passe` Once lost, they are irraplaceable. Have you not heard of debt cards?

[RockHard]

Duh.

 

And while I am not a fast food kind of guy, it is the little things you buy that add up.

 

I agree, like $100+ expenditures here and there. $7 charges are kind of silly for miles, IMO, and the process can hold up a line. To each his own, of course. I prefer to be quick, tidy, and save small businesses from unnecessary banking fees. Maybe you have to own a service business to feel biased. Businesses lose a little money with each credit card transaction, and that sum adds up, too.

 

Who in there right mind carries cash to Europe?... Have you not heard of debt cards?

 

I believe the term is Debit Card, and who said anything about "carrying cash to Europe?"

 

Most of my favorite restaurants in Italy and France do not accept credit cards. Pay for a boutique hotel stay in Europe with cash and watch a hefty discount appear on your hotel bill. My favorite tailor in Rome offers a 30% discount if I purchase my bespoke suit with cash (plus, I'm a repeat customer). So much for throwing your pretentious "passé" attitude at me, Mary. I could care less about miles if a cherished service provider treats me well.

[bigvalboy]

$7 charges are kind of silly for miles, IMO, and the process can hold up a line.

 

My point was that, it is the small purchases that really add up, apparently you missed that. Since a majority of people that I have observed charge most purchases, grocery stores, gas stations and almost every retailer etc. it is really the norm, IMO. Now I will grant you the fact that some charge simply because in this down economy, they simply do not have the cash, but among my friends at least it is done for miles or credit on a GMAC card. I have never in my life heard anyone complain that the line was too long or moving too slowly because someone was using a credit card, but then again I have never been behind you in a line either.

 

and who said anything about "carrying cash to Europe?"

 

You said it, 'sweetie'. Do you not remember what you wrote? "Maybe it's because I have been traveling to Europe since I was a teenager. I carry cash." NO?

 

And the pretentious "passe" thing, I thought was funny....

[RockHard]

Yawn.

 

Slow minds are so utterly boring and trying to educate the anonymous is an erection killer.

 

Two separate sentences not linked by a conjunction tend to be two separate ideas. The early "experience" of travel to Europe, where credit cards were (are) not the "norm" (although things have slowly improved in the last 30 years), influenced my preference for carrying cash in my wallet and paying service providers with cash.

 

Americans tend to be more fearful and scared of the boogeyman. Europeans have less appreciation for a paper trail and I understand why. I value my privacy so I'm no fan of some bank employee(s) knowing where I am and what I'm buying. If you think your information goes unread, you live in a dream world.

[bigvalboy]

Yawn indeed...Dude seriously, you need to go get some sleep. If you think by carrying cash you are somehow anonymous to the world, you need to pull your pretentous attitude out of the 18th century, and step into the real world. Your fear of a paper trail is laughable in this day and age. Your identity is everywhere. How you do not understand that is beyond me. If you think paying cash somehow protects you, then it is pointless to try and educate you. You are like talking to a brick wall!! Your comment also as to why retailers prefer cash, is catagorically incorrect. Every study out there shows that people who use credit cards, especially Amex, spend more per customer and buy more expensive items than the CASH customer. The fees they pay more than justify the additional sales. And as far as your privacy is concerned, far less people care about who or what you are than you would want to believe....I believe that I am finished here, quite simply you are stuck in a century where the use of cash is greatly on the decline, and you for reasons which I do not care to know about, refuse to join the rest of the modern world. Well good luck with that!

[RockHard]

Cultural differences and tradition.

 

If you think by carrying cash...If you think paying cash...

 

I don't think any of the things you think I think.

 

Your fear...

 

I don't fear anything.

 

I believe that I am finished here

 

It's about time because I thought you'd never shut up.

[bigvalboy]

I sent you a private message.

[crok]

It tastes delicious. That special sauce and touch of raw onion. YUMZ. I just wish it were bigger (but i say that about everything)

 

I just had one and I think the reason I ordered it was because of seeing the posts about it here. In a word, horrible. But, I did eat MOST of it. Should have had a Filet O Fish! I did pay with cash.