I don’t mean by that bit on currency. We all know about “debts public and private”, but I seem to remember a thread here about hotels being required to accept cash, though I didn’t have time to read all the posts.
Cash seems to be on it’s way out anyway.
Woodman’s accepts cash, checks or debit cards* ONLY.
*With a PIN, not signed for like a credit card.
So, to see if I understand your link corrctly, if Cosco required me to use an AE card, and I had to pay for that card, that would be a tying arrangement?
Thats because generally AmEx Charges a higher percentage/per transaction fee than Visa/MC. I accept Amex at my biz, but I lose about another .7% of the total for each transaction.
I prefer to use a credit card, then pay the balance when due, because CC transactions are protected. True debit card transactions are not.
So, no Woodman’s for me. Wassat? Like Cabela’s?
Possibly. You’d still need to make out the rest of the elements (economic power, for example) and they could still have affirmative defenses.
I’m MORE then aware of why that do it (I do all the accounting for a small business). I was just providing an example.
Another point to bear in mind is that as a “member” of CostCo you have an interest in them doing business as cheaply as possible in order to (theoretically) save you money, thus the AmEx, debit Card, or cash payment scheme. It also helps explain the reason they limit your access into the store and a their quasi-Nazi like security procedure for letting you out of the business, reduced theft rates in exchange for a minor inconvenience to you the member.
I like the fact that if you don’t do a certain amount of business with them over the year to justify a certain level of savings they will refund a portion of your membership fee. Last year I got $33 back on a $100 executive membership fee. 
I also like the free munchies they set up before and after lunch. Sometimes I just go there to chow and shop, probably made up the other $67 in my cost for membership right there alone.
The Blue card is a proprietary Amex lending product. It predates the opening of the Amex network by several years. Before Blue, Amex also issued a lending product called Optima. It has since been discontinued.
Other banks in the US have only issued Amex plastic since 2005, when Amex won a landmark supreme case against Visa.
Perhaps some of the other folks who are reading this thread don’t do accounting for a small business and are therefore less aware than you. 
It’s a Wisconsin-based grocery store, known for very big stores. I miss Woodman’s; there aren’t any down here in Flatland.
And, that gets to why some merchants don’t like to take credit / charge cards. The merchant pays a fee for each card transaction to the card issuer. It’s becoming increasingly rare to find merchants who don’t accept cards; it’s now generally seen as a price of doing business, and a convenience that’s offered to their customers, though I do occasionally see a few places (notably gas stations) that offer a discount for paying with cash.
But, ultimately, to get to the OP’s question…there’s no legal requirement for a merchant to take a credit-card payment.
AmEx was traditionally a “travel and entertainment” card, and, thus, was most likely to be accepted at restaurants, hotels, airlines, etc. As AmEx continues to try to increase their market share, they’ve worked hard at being accepted in more places, in an effort to be used by their members as more of an “everyday card”.
Do you know Collinsville, home of the World’s Largest Catsup Bottle?
I passed through there more than forty years ago.
I see that the question has already been resolved and that they do in fact take any Amex card - I was going to say that I would expect restricting acceptance to one flavour of Amex to be a violation of some article of their merchant agreement with Amex.
Indeed it is. All cards must be accepted, and the price to the merchant is the same for all products.
Fascinating. Do you have more information?
That’s crazy. That’s besides the fortune they make in interest payments. It’s armed robbery. The government should do something about it, because the concept of making it free to consumers but then gouging the merchants distorts incentives. All you would need is a rule like, “CC charges must be paid on top advertised price,” and you’d see how quickly the fees would drop. Also, the current system fosters descriminatory pricing against smaller merchants, which downright hurts the economy.
For a hotel it doesn’t matter, because the sale of a room is almost pure profit. It’s a completely different situation for a merchant working on margins.
I know of it, though I’ve never actually seen it. AFAIK, the bottle’s still there. 
Hop on 88W and get off 23 miles west of Brookfield, IL at the Orchard exit, in North Aurora (just past the Fox River). Take a right on Orchard; Woodman’s is right there.
OOOOOOH!!!
I didn’t know there was one there!
A bit of a trek for groceries, but still!