I signed up with LinkPoint (they just recently changed their name) and I've so-so about them so far. I spoke with another credit card processor some time ago, and she explained to me that just about every processor/gateway will charge you more than the quoted discount rate for *special* cards, such as the ones that give cash back, etc. Has anyone heard of this? I won't be able to confirm this myself for a while.
This is called downgrading. The whole credit card interchange argument is basically about these types of fees. Your qualified rate is only good for Visa / MasterCard consumer cards. Rewards, business, corporate, and international cards have higher fees associated with them. These fees are called downgrade charges and are assessed on top of your qualified rate. For online and card-not-present you will also downgrade if you do not use AVS. These are just a few of the reasons for downgrading, there are probably 100 more. Every processor has them because Visa and Mastercard decide what cards have higher fees for processing. However, not all processors charge the same for downgrades. Some may charge an additional .5% while others may charge an additional 2% for the same transaction. Downgrade charges are generally what sets processors apart from each-other.
*sigh* Does anyone know if LinkPoint or if any other company has a good reputation when it comes to downgrading?
Payment processors often change their brand name in response to bad publicity, it happens all the time in this industry. I would double check their old name, and experiences clients have had before aggreeing to their processing.