@njnyjobs said: “creating a copy of the card is still considered counterfeiting…”
By who? It doesn’t say this in the State Laws of Texas or in my card holder agreement. I suspect you’re just voicing an opinion.
According to a law dictionary, counterfeiting is defined as: “The process of fraudulently manufacturing, altering, or distributing a product that is of lesser value than the genuine product.”
If you make a copy of your card, it is not of lesser value than the genuine product, because it can be used subject to the same cardholder agreement. The fact that you can buy things on the internet without a physical card (just knowledge of card details) is further evidence that credit cards are not subject to the same laws as currency.
Using any card that you are not on the cardholder agreement for is fraud, so if someone makes a copy of your card and tries to use it they are committing a crime. However, it’s anybody’s guess if you could be prosecuted for copying your own card and using it. The law doesn’t cover it, from what I have found.
FWIW
@Ltryptophan wrote: “I would definitely want to show off my card more if it was custom, and the only way I can think to do that is to buy something”
I find this amusing. I don’t think of credit cards as something to show off at all. They’re just pieces of plastic. I wouldn’t pay for a personalized card and I wouldn’t use it more if I had one.
But I think a significant percentage of people would, because card companies are starting to spend a lot of advertising on it.