Should You Decline Premium Credit Cards?

Where the settlement stands

A federal judge in Brooklyn gave the revised Visa and Mastercard merchant settlement preliminary approval in June 2026, and the final approval hearing is set for November 16, 2026. Some merchant groups have objected and said they may appeal. Under the agreement, each network would change its rules within 90 days after the settlement approval date. Until then, the current honor-all-cards rules still apply. The changes cover merchants in the United States; they do not change card acceptance rules in Canada.

What would change in the honor-all-cards rule

Today, a merchant that accepts Visa credit cards accepts every Visa credit card, and the same goes for Mastercard. The settlement agreement would let a US merchant accept or decline, in any combination, four categories per network: all debit cards, all commercial credit cards, all standard consumer credit cards and all premium consumer credit cards. You could not pick by bank or by single card product: the networks can still require you to take every card within a category you accept. The agreement defines premium consumer credit cards as Visa Signature, Signature Preferred and Infinite, and Mastercard World, World High Value, World Legend and World Elite, plus similar cards issued later. It also requires each network to make technology available, free of any network charge, so merchants can work with their acquirers to identify a card's category at the point of sale before authorization.

Read your card mix from your statement

If your statement lumps everything into one rate, ask your processor in writing for a breakdown by card category for the last three months. Without that, any decision is a guess.

Weigh the lost-sale risk

The fee gap is only half the calculation. A customer whose only card is a premium rewards card may pay with another card, pay cash, or leave. Businesses with high average tickets, travellers, or business customers who expense purchases may see more premium cards than a corner café. Estimate what you would save on premium-card volume, then ask how many of those sales you could lose before the saving disappears. If you cannot answer that with some confidence, test less drastic options first, such as asking customers to pay with a lower-cost card, which the agreement says is not disparagement.

Compare the alternatives: Surcharging premium cards under the settlement · Interchange-plus vs flat rate

Notice, signs and staff

Under the agreement, a merchant that declines a category must give its acquirer at least 30 days' advance written notice naming the category or categories it will decline and any payment facilitator, processor or third-party agent it uses to do so. Customers must get clear notice of what you accept at the point of sale, worded so it does not disparage the network, the brand or the card category, and it must not suggest the network made the decision. Put the notice where customers see it before they pay, online as well as in store. Give staff one short, polite line to use when a declined card is presented, and a list of the cards and payment methods you still take.

What it does not change

The proposed settlement covers Visa and Mastercard only; American Express and Discover acceptance follows their own agreements. It does not let you decline cards from one bank while accepting the same card type from another. It does not override state law or your processing agreement, so read both before acting. And it does not take effect on its own: final approval, any appeals and the network rule changes come first.

What changes for multi-location and enterprise operations

Card mix often differs by location and channel, so measure premium-card share per store, online and for invoiced business customers rather than for the group as a whole. A decision to decline at one location still needs notice to the acquirer for that merchant account, consistent signs, and staff trained the same way. Enterprise teams should confirm that every terminal, online checkout and invoicing tool can identify the card category before authorization, and should keep a record of which accounts decline which categories and when notice was sent. If a network offers a negotiated agreement in exchange for continuing to accept every category, the settlement allows that only for a fixed term without automatic renewal, so read those terms closely.

Start with your own numbers

Declining premium cards may suit some businesses and cost others more in lost sales than it saves in fees. CELER Merchants is an independent agent, not a processor. Send us a recent statement and we will show you your card mix, what premium cards cost you today and how that compares with a lower rate on every card, free.