Your name doesn't have to be on your credit card? I thought even company cards did that. Is it then all about the signatures matching? Because as often as not, I need to show picture ID when I use the credit card.

Well, often as not when I'm not at a restaurant. They never seem to care.

I don't think I've ever been asked for ID with a credit card.

I do know that restaurant critics often have credit cards with fake names on them to preserve their anonymity when they're eating out (to avoid getting special treatment and skewing the review).

Stores are supposed to care about signatures, but I remember reading a while ago about a guy who decided to test this theory and started signing all of his credit card receipts with increasingly obvious fake signatures. He started with celebrity names, moved on to fictional characters, and eventually just doodles. He never got caught, and ended the experiment only when he got bored with it. [eta: Here's the story.]

Your name doesn't have to be on your credit card? I thought even company cards did that.

I'm assuming they can do that for things like restaurant reviewers - I didn't look to see what this guy actually does, or if that sort of thing would apply. I wonder what you have to do to get them to do that.

I wonder what you have to do to get them to do that.

You can order additional cards for your account and put any name you want on them. There's no special procedure.

I don't think I've ever been asked for ID with a credit card.

I don't remember MI so much, but here my debit card has my photo on it, and it's forestalled a number of requests for photo ID -- I guess that could work with the no name thing. My "real" credit card--as I said, when not eating out, it's about 50-50.

People have gotten credit cards for thier dogs.

I've known people who wrote "Check ID" on the signature line of the credit card so that the clerks will always request ID. Dunno how well that works.

bet it only works for tellers who'd check the signature anyway -- which most don't.

Dunno how well that works.

I did that. And then, because nobody ever does it, I forgot I'd done it. Now every two months or so, someone will read the card and be like, "Can I see some ID?" and as I'm pulling out my driver's license, I ask, "Why do you need ID?"

And then I feel like a moron, but perhaps marginally safer against fraud.

(I also sign the card.)

bet it only works for tellers who'd check the signature anyway

This is pretty much the case. As a cashier, I always check ID if there is no signature, the signature doesn't match, or if the ID says too, but I know a lot of people don't.