Smith's Supermarket(Kroger subsidiary)

[Blues]

On 10/1/2019 at 10:52 AM, Carlos said:

On 9/26/2019 at 9:52 AM, Twotoes said:

What ever happened to paying with cash?

It became obsolete and foolish, as well as a huge waste of time.  Right now the Amex Blue Cash Everyday card is paying us back 6% on groceries (yes, six percent, not a typo), and 3% on gas/diesel.  It would be crazy to use cash.  And it takes longer to get it, and use it, and deal with change.

Right now, cash transactions are anonymous.  Not wanting every single thing you buy to be recorded in a database isn't necessarily foolish if you value your privacy, or at least as much as you can get these days.

[Carlos]

I disagree, and don't consider that any sort of privacy issue.  Also Apple/Goldman now offers a zero-tracking card, which has become my primary.  Either way though, some data in a computer saying that I bought raspberry condoms and duct tape doesn't affect me in any way.

Also, cash transactions are not anonymous at all stores.  Target, for example, is known for tracking and advertising do cash customers.  They are masters at tracking people.  Have you heard about when they basically outed a pregnant teen by sending her baby coupons when nobody else knew she was pregnant?

 

[Blues]

On 10/2/2019 at 5:54 PM, Carlos said:

Also, cash transactions are not anonymous at all stores.  Target, for example, is known for tracking and advertising do cash customers.  They are masters at tracking people. 

I don't care how good you are at tracking people, absent facial recognition (which was definitely not in use when the pregnant teenager got outed), if a customer pays with cash and doesn't use a loyalty card or give an email address or phone number or other identifying information, there's no way the purchase can be attached to a data file on that person.

 

 

 

 

[2gypsies]

We have all been tracked in some way years ago.

[Darryl&Rita]

3 hours ago, 2gypsies said:

We have all been tracked in some way years ago.

Does that make it any more palatable?

[2gypsies]

2 hours ago, Darryl&Rita said:

Does that make it any more palatable?

Life is short. I don't worry and obsess about things out of my control.

[Carlos]

34 minutes ago, 2gypsies said:

Life is short. I don't worry and obsess about things out of my control.

Particularly when there’s a tangible benefit, like cash back on the things we buy anyway. Also I’ve had card purchase protection pay for a generator replacement, washer repair, and more. 

[Kirk W]

7 hours ago, 2gypsies said:

Life is short. I don't worry and obsess about things out of my control.

It is the tracking of one's buying habits that makes credit cards so secure. Their computers set off the alarm if there is a purchase that is outside of the customer's normal patterns or that exceeds limits set by the user. For me, the benefits of using my credit card outweigh the inconvenience of the occasional advertising mail that it triggers. In 2018 I received more than $500 in rebated money from credit card use. We also use loyalty cards from the grocery store, and those also track purchases in return for the benefit given to customers. 

[docj]

1 hour ago, Kirk W said:

It is the tracking of one's buying habits that makes credit cards so secure. Their computers set off the alarm if there is a purchase that is outside of the customer's normal patterns or that exceeds limits set by the user.

I've been told by people in the banking industry that tracking of cards for security purposes has been reduced as more and more merchants have terminals capable of reading the security chips embedded in the cards.  Mag stripes are easily replicated, chips, apparently, are not.  Therefore, if a card is present for a transaction at a chip-reading terminal AND the owner of the card hasn't notified the issuer that it has been stolen THEN the assumption is that the transaction is legitimate.  

We were in Canada this summer where all merchant terminals read the chips. We traveled extensively and I had expected to have the two cards I was using get blocked occasionally.  They weren't; the one time I called the issuer about a charge that wouldn't go through they said that it appeared to have been a problem at the terminal.

FWIW in Canada and in a few places In the US I've encountered gas pumps that read chipped cards.  It's nice to be able to pump gas without being worried about whether or not a skimmer has been installed on the pump!

[SWharton]

How do you get cash? With your credit card!!!!

I have read where some city(Philly???) passed a law that all businesses must take cash. So many were going cashless.

I can see the benefits of going cashless for a business: no fears of robbery, no trips to the bank, no counting of money, no skimming by employees, not having to cash on hand for change etc.

Pretty much the only place we use cash now is the laundromat and one day the machines will take our credit cards. I have heard rumors of a few but never found one yet. Just lots of quarters.

If you use cash you can't buy online.

[LindaH]

41 minutes ago, SWharton said:

Pretty much the only place we use cash now is the laundromat and one day the machines will take our credit cards. I have heard rumors of a few but never found one yet. Just lots of quarters.

The laundromat we use when we're boondocking at Lake Mead NRA east of Henderson, NV, uses cards for their machines.  You purchase the cards, either with cash or your credit card, and then insert the laundromat's card into the washing machine and dryers.  I love it!  No more messing with a bunch of quarters, or worrying about whether or not you're going to be able to find enough quarters (because sometimes the laundromat's change machine is broken).

[Carlos]

If you use Apple Pay, there is a one-time token exchanged with the terminal which cannot be stolen and re-used, and anonymizes you to the merchant.  It's the most secure and fast way to pay.  I use it anywhere that has an NFC terminal.  It's also 2% cash back if it's tied to your Apple card (otherwise, whatever amount your chosen card gives you).

[Barbaraok]

Love Apple Pay.  

[SWharton]

5 hours ago, LindaH said:

The laundromat we use when we're boondocking at Lake Mead NRA east of Henderson, NV, uses cards for their machines.  You purchase the cards, either with cash or your credit card, and then insert the laundromat's card into the washing machine and dryers.  I love it!  No more messing with a bunch of quarters, or worrying about whether or not you're going to be able to find enough quarters (because sometimes the laundromat's change machine is broken).

 

I would like to see the laundromats just take our credit card at each machine. Needing to get a new card at each laundromat would be a bummer. So many times I have had to add .25 for an additional 8 minutes. Having to go back and add that to a card so I can extend the time would be an aggravation.

This might be a good idea if you use the same laundry each week but when traveling this would be just an additional step.

[Blues]

7 hours ago, SWharton said:

How do you get cash? With your credit card!!!!

Actually, I use a debit card at an ATM to get cash, not a credit card.  And unless I give the merchant my phone number or email address, nobody's going to know it was me who bought whatever it is I bought.

 

Quote

If you use cash you can't buy online.

You can buy a gift card with cash, and use that to pay for online purchases.  Of course, the purchase has to be delivered, so it can't be anonymous like an in-person cash transaction can be. 

And I, anyway, am not suggesting that anyone needs to never use a credit card.  I use mine for pretty much everything I buy, knowing that I'm trading my privacy for the convenience and the cash back.  But I do like knowing that if for whatever reason I don't want to have a given purchase matched to me for eternity, I don't have to if I pay cash.

 

1 hour ago, SWharton said:

7 hours ago, LindaH said:

The laundromat we use when we're boondocking at Lake Mead NRA east of Henderson, NV, uses cards for their machines.  You purchase the cards, either with cash or your credit card, and then insert the laundromat's card into the washing machine and dryers.  I love it!  No more messing with a bunch of quarters, or worrying about whether or not you're going to be able to find enough quarters (because sometimes the laundromat's change machine is broken).

This might be a good idea if you use the same laundry each week but when traveling this would be just an additional step.

Not only that, you incur a one-time charge for the card, plus I've been to ones where if you put too much money on it, they won't refund it.  If you're not going to be there again, you're out that money.

I just keep a bag of quarters in the glove compartment.  It always has around $20 worth, and if I use them at a place where the change machine isn't working, I just make a point to replenish it next time I'm near a change machine.  It's really not that hard, plus it means I always have $20 in cash in the car, in case I forget my wallet. 

 

9 hours ago, Kirk W said:

It is the tracking of one's buying habits that makes credit cards so secure. Their computers set off the alarm if there is a purchase that is outside of the customer's normal patterns or that exceeds limits set by the user.

Well, that's the thing.  It's great until it's not great.  I had my credit card locked down because I bought both diesel and gas at the same station (filled moho and toad), but nothing whatsoever got triggered when I had 65 Uber charges in just a couple of weeks, totaling over $2,000, even though I'd never had an Uber charge before (and in fact don't even have an Uber account). 

 

 

[Ray,IN]

On 9/30/2019 at 8:46 AM, Kirk W said:

Only at Smith's, or at Smith's and at Foods Co?

Kroger also owns Ruler stores, which is owned by Smiths.

Edited October 6, 2019 by Ray,IN

[Ray,IN]

Website states 3% on groceries: https://www.americanexpress.com/us/credit-cards/card/blue-cash-everyday/

[2gypsies]

6 hours ago, Blues said:

 I had my credit card locked down because I bought both diesel and gas at the same station (filled moho and toad), but nothing whatsoever got triggered when I had 65 Uber charges in just a couple of weeks, totaling over $2,000, even though I'd never had an Uber charge before (and in fact don't even have an Uber account). 

Do you have notifications set for your credit card?  If so, the Uber charges should have notified you.

[LindaH]

15 hours ago, Blues said:

Not only that, you incur a one-time charge for the card, plus I've been to ones where if you put too much money on it, they won't refund it.  If you're not going to be there again, you're out that money. 

True, but for us it's a non-issue.  We're in Henderson at least once a year, and most years twice, so we just keep the card from year to year and keep adding money to it.  Any money left on the card will be used the next time we're there.

 

[Kirk W]

On 10/5/2019 at 8:38 AM, docj said:

I've been told by people in the banking industry that tracking of cards for security purposes has been reduced as more and more merchants have terminals capable of reading the security chips embedded in the cards.  Mag stripes are easily replicated, chips, apparently, are not.  Therefore, if a card is present for a transaction at a chip-reading terminal AND the owner of the card hasn't notified the issuer that it has been stolen THEN the assumption is that the transaction is legitimate. 

I would be very interested to know more about your source? Since either technology must identify the owner of the account for billing, why would the chip change anything about their records? My source is our son who writes software for the financial world at Jack Henry & Assoc. He disagrees with your sources if you mean the card company but the issuing bank doesn't keep those records, only the processing company and that has not changed. But chips are more secure and less subject to fraud.

17 hours ago, Blues said:

I had my credit card locked down because I bought both diesel and gas at the same station (filled moho and toad), but nothing whatsoever got triggered when I had 65 Uber charges in just a couple of weeks, totaling over $2,000, even though I'd never had an Uber charge before (and in fact don't even have an Uber account). 

ThI think that I would find a different credit card to use. 

[Barbaraok]

I am amazed at the number of people who don't have alerts set up on their credit cards.   I get an alert for every charge over $0.01 that is made on any of our cards.  Often the phone will buzz with the alert as I'm walking out of the door!  I know before Dave called what the charge was for the oil change for the car, etc.     And why so low, when we had our cards compromised last spring, the fraud specialist at Discover told me the often they will be alert when a very small charge, like less that $0.50 appears on a card, as an attempt to determine whether the card is valid.   She suggested going to the 1 cent level on all cards, or the lowest that they would take.  For us that means 1 cent because all of our card companies allow that to be set.   

[Randyretired]

One of my credit cards will only work one time per day at some gas stations.  At others it will work multiple times.  This can be a nuisance at times.  All of my cards have alerts activated and the alert is on my phone usually before I get out the store door.

[sandsys]

I found out how good our credit card security is when I was in North Carolina late in the day on December 23rd a few years ago when my iPad died a sudden death. I wound up using a debit card to buy a replacement iPad.

Linda

[docj]

4 hours ago, Kirk W said:

But chips are more secure and less subject to fraud.

A "chip present" transaction is much less likely to involve a fraudulently duplicated card that are traditional "card swipe" transactions because duplicating the chip requires a higher degree of sophistication than duplicating a mag stripe.  Therefore, if the card is present at the merchant terminal and it hasn't been reported as lost or stolen then there's a high probability that it is a legitimate transaction and not a duplicated card.  That's all I was trying to say, it didn't involve any more complex issues than that.

[Carlos]

18 hours ago, Ray,IN said:

Website states 3% on groceries: https://www.americanexpress.com/us/credit-cards/card/blue-cash-everyday/

Different page says 6%, don't know what to tell you.

 

 

And here's an actual transaction, it's 6%.

Aug 14

SPROUTS FARMERS MRKT #027

$132.46

Earned

$7.95

Edited October 6, 2019 by Carlos