Why is it that you can buy $50 or $60 worth of gasoline with a credit card without showing anyone the card or signing, but still have to sign, say for $15 worth of pizza?
There’s actually a reason. The credit card companies have exempted certain categories of merchants from the signature requirement and, after all, those gasoline purchases are authorized electronically.
Credit card companies do not require you to show ID. In fact, their rules prohibit a merchant from denying a credit card transaction because you refuse to show ID. They do require your card to be signed and they do expect the cashier to verify some commonality between the card signature and the signature on the receipt (ha, good luck with that).
Putting “Ask for ID” on your credit card instead of your signature is not acceptable and your card should not be accepted without a signature according to the credit card companies. Besides, who wants to be flashing their driver’s license (with your address, etc.) to every Tom, Dick and Sally that asks for ID? You don’t have to according to Visa, Master Card, etc. The credit card companies discourage the use of ID because the ID and the card taken together provide not only the card number but, more than likely, the billing address. And nearly everyone these days has a camera in their pocket if they get a moment with the card and ID out of your sight.
None of the above applies at Best Buy however, which requires a DNA sample for a credit card purchase.