Everyone’s getting tons of fees tacked on to their credit cards, especially if they have bad credit. The fee-happy creditors aren’t just stopping at the consumer, though – they’re also hitting businesses.

“So what?” you’re thinking. “If they have to pay some fees, maybe the credit card companies will get off my back for a change.”

Though your logic is impeccable, there are quite a few reasons you should care when your neighbor’s house is on fire (so to speak). Here are just a couple:

You’ll Still Wind Up Paying the Fees

Have you noticed that some smaller mom-and-pop shops and gas stations charge a small fee (usually about 35 cents) for using a credit card instead of cash or debit? That’s not because they’re being ornery, they’re just trying to recoup their losses. A percentage of your purchase – no matter how small – goes directly to the credit card company for the privilege of having your credit accepted. For little mom-and-pop shops, those fees cut deeply into their profits, so they simply charge you up front and hope you’ll get the message that plastic isn’t their friend.

Even if you don’t see the fee at the register, it’s still there. Larger companies will raise prices if the credit card fees are cutting into their profits too deeply. Notice how your latte at Starbucks went up about 50 cents? That’s partially because more and more people are buying their morning joe with a credit card, and Starbucks doesn’t want to have to pay for it. If you want to keep prices on your smaller purchases low, the credit card fees are still something you should take an interest in.

Credit Card Fee Abuse is Credit Card Fee Abuse

One of the reasons so many people were seriously damaged during this last credit crisis was because of unfair fees. Credit card companies have had free rein to change their policies for whatever reason – “Hey, that woman’s wearing pink! Let’s raise our fees!” – for years, and while the new Credit CARD Act is working on minimizing those abuses, allowing credit card companies to get away with bad practices anywhere is a bad idea.

Bad business practices are never good for you. If credit card companies think they can get away with it for other businesses, the smart money says they’ll try it on you. After all, you don’t have a team of lawyers to go through your credit card policies and figure out whether a fee is reasonable or not. Companies do, and they’ll put up a fight. Given the choice between fighting a team of lawyers and fighting you, which do you think the creditors are going to pick?

Limits on Using Your Credit Card

Right now, having an American Express card with a decent limit and a long history shows up very well on your credit report. If you use it and pay off the balance in full regularly, you’ll be putting some good work toward building up a good credit history and improving your score.

Which makes it all the more frustrating when you can’t use it.

American Express is one of the creditors that charges other companies the highest fees for use, which is why you often see stores that accept Visa and Mastercard – but not AmEx. If you want to be able to use your card wherever you want without having to hassle with the store owner about whether that card should be accepted, take an interest in the credit card fees companies are charged.

If other kinds of fees are the least of your credit woes, give us a call. We’re good at credit repair, and we are extremely enjoyable to talk to. Everyone wins.