Eldergays, what charge-a-plates did your parents (grandparents) have?

Carte Blanche

Marshall Field's and Shell.

BankAmericard. DinersClub.

Filenes, Jordan Marsh, Diners Club, Sears Roebuck

Everybody's mom had a Penny's and Sears card.

Ugh, I remember having to run those through in the mid 80’s , carbon copies were a pain.

I remember my mother had a Penney’s and a gas card, maybe Gulf?

[QUOTE]charge-a-plate

Truly an elder gay thread. I'm 61 and had never heard this term before, though it makes sense. How long were cards actually made of metal before transition to plastic?

Bamberger's/Macy's

Tepper's

R7 that’s because Op is mistaken.

The trademarked name for the specific type of card was Charga-plate. The common parlance by users and retailers was charge plate. Soon to be succeeded by the generic term term credit card.

The only charge a plate I ever saw was in the owners manual of my grandmother's '62 Buick..

Those tin circles that went under a dinner plate?

None. We just ate right off the coffee table like Highlanders.

Jordan’s, Filenes, Gilchrist’s, Raymond’s, RH Stearns, C. Crawford Hollidge in Boston and Remick’s in Quincy.

The Diners Club had its own card as did Cities Service for gas, and SS Pierce for groceries although I don’t there was a notch for them - they billed you themselves. You just called the store and they delivered your order.

R5: Sears, yes, but not Penney's

Probably Bamberger's, but I really couldn't swear to it.

THIS is a charga-plate. My mother had a similar one from Capwell's, a department store HQed in Oakland.

I only called it charge a plate, because that's what they called it on I Love Lucy, and charge a plate was what came up in the closed-captioning.

Well that’s not a very good reason is it?

If you don't know that I Love Lucy is a good reason for everything, then turn in your DL Card... or plate.

My mother had a Two Guys card. She loved Two Guys.

Just one more way I’m totally her son.

Actual "Charge-a-Plates" were used by a consortium of stores--usually the main downtown department stores and a few specialty stores. Individual stores started doing their own credit cards in the 1960s.

Eaton's

Simpson's

The Bay

Who remembers the Washington Shopping Plate? When I moved from CA to DC in 1978, I was surprised to discover there was a card that could be used at multiple different retailers in the area (mostly the major department stores at the time, all of which are gone now.) We had nothing like that in California; each store (Ior chain, like Broadway-Hale) had its own proprietary card.

American Express, Visa, and MasterCard

Saks, B Altmans, Macy's, Lord & Taylor, A&S

Visa had other names though. BankAmericard and Chargex

And Mastercard was Mastercharge.

Visa and MC under their various early names were identified as credit cards, not charge cards. They were the main reason charge cards fell from favor. Charge cards being specific outlets rather than the “travel cards” like Diners Club / Carte Blanche or the later “universal” credit cards.

Why, Phipps of course!

I seem to recall that early on the actual card was kept in the store, they retrieved it for the transaction?

I recall Altmans, etc. at Short Hills, but as a youngster, can't swear how we paid there? I'm pretty sure my wealthy aunt had an account at Saks/Lord & Taylor.

[quote]Why, Phipps of course!

That would be the iconic Phipps-a-Plate!

I used to collect store credit cards from all over (don't ask why!) This was back in the day before there were issues with fraud, too many credit applications, etc. I had them from stores all over the country - and in Canada, too. I'm sure I still have a bunch of them - probably collectors' items now, since most of the issuers are long gone.

I never paid attention until I went away to school and dad gave me an Amex.

In college (1980s) when I needed dress shoes, my mom mailed me the Macy’s card—along with a “to whom it may concern” note—so I could shop in Union Square. A manager had to OK it.

Yeah Penney’s and Sears. I got to use one when I bought my 3 or 4 new clothing items for school.

R32, my Mom did the same with her B Altmans' charge plate.

Bullock's.

She gave it to me and didn't even ask why, because she was worried about my brother's gay friend who'd been thrown in jail.

Similar experience as R32 at the time with the family Sears card.