Is it legal for a reception hall to charge a 3 percent additional fee if we put the balance of our payment on a credit card if we use Visa or Mastercard and 5 percent Amex?

Answer 1

Only for the portion that you have put on the cards and only if it is their policy to do so on every credit card transaction. They cannot discriminate on a single transaction based on their whim. Credit card companies charge a certain percentage that some service providers pass over to their customers should their customers elect to use a credit card. They only have to pay the percentage for the amount that is charged. So if on a transaction of $10000 and you pay cash $5000 and credit card charge of $5000, then only a percentage from the charge of $5000 can be passed on to you. Make sure this is the policy of the company as often clerks, and shady businessmen will pocket the extra cash. Usually not practiced widely by quality service providers. Hope this helps.