hoosierdraft - 6:57 pm on Mar 29, 2006 (gmt 0)

I think you're barking up the wrong tree ispy. The card issuers are the ones that decided to entice consumers to choose their card for their credit needs by offering rewards programs. Merchants did not make that decision. But now the card issuers are requiring merchants to foot the bill. I think the merchants are the ones getting it "through the rear end".