Porn & Weed: What Credit Cards Won't Buy

NEW YORK (MainStreet) -- You may think your credit card gives you the same freedom to buy as cash does (if not more), but there are some products and services that credit card companies won’t let you buy. Even if they are legal in your state, some of the seven vices give card issuers pause.

There are about 181 million American credit card holders in 2010, up from 159 million in 2000, and 173 million in 2006, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Cardholders are broken down under the following major card types:

• American Express credit: 48.9 million (Source: AmericanExpress.com)
• MasterCard credit: 171 million (Source: MasterCard)
• MasterCard debit: 123 million (Source: MasterCard)
• Visa credit: 269 million, as of Sept. 30, 2010 (Source: Visa)
• Visa debit: 397 million, as of Sept. 30, 2010 (Source: Visa)

With all those cards, and all that money, on the table, it’s surprising to see that there are actually some purchases credit card firms won’t let you make. After all, credit issuers are in the profit business, not the morality business. Here’s a quick look at some of the restrictions:

1. Medical marijuana. The legality of medical marijuana is a split issue, both on the federal and state levels, and from credit card companies granting or rejecting such purchases. Visa (Stock Quote: V) approves medical marijuana purchases (now legal in 16 U.S. states), but American Express (Stock Quote: AXP) rejects them, citing federal laws against marijuana use.

2. Casino gambling. Credit card companies frown on gambling, too. So much so that some issuers won't let you buy casino gambling chips. But there’s a loophole here big enough here to drive a truck through – you can still use your card to get cash advances at casinos.

3. Online gambling. Most major card providers won’t allow you to use their cards to pay for any online gambling sites, which are illegal in the U.S. Major banks and card providers may not be playing the moral police here – there could be a liability issue if a consumer sues a financial institution over gambling losses that were paid for via a credit card.

4. Pornography. American Express has an in-house policy in place since 2000 that prevents cardholders from buying pornographic material online. While Amex has said that it is happy to fight the proliferation of child pornography through its card ban, industry insiders say that there are way too many disputed charges associated with online pornography purchases to make to make such transactions worth their while.

5. Controversial nonprofits. Mastercard (Stock Quote: MA) and Visa stopped payments made with their cards to Wikileaks last December after the website leaked sensitive U.S. government material to the public. Again, altruism isn’t as much at play as the risk of credit card firms possibly getting dragged into court for tangentially helping the document leaker.

Products and services your card carrier won’t let you make are extremely limited, but they do exist. So if you happen to be a big online gambler with a penchant for online pornography, a taste for medical marijuana, and you want to support whistleblower organizations, don’t be surprised if your next purchase is rejected by your card company.

—For the best rates on loans, bank accounts and credit cards, enter your ZIP code at BankingMyWay.com.