Today I visited Durham Wine and Spirit and again witnessed a young woman being told that she did not meet the minimum $10.00 credit card purchase requirement. She did not have any other means of paying so the counter person coaxed her into purchasing something else to up her total to $10.00.

They do have a sign at the counter that states $10.00 minimum credit Card/Debit Purchase and as of July 2008 No American Express or Discover card excepted.

Please NOTE: Visa and MasterCard do not allow merchants to require a minimum purchase amount. It is in their contracts. This is not legal.

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.

OR Please Contact

Visa USA
Consumer Relations
P.O. Box 8999
San Francisco, CA 94128

MasterCard International
Public Relations
2000 Purchase Street
Purchase, NY 10577