At the time of Hawaii statehood in 1959, consumer credit cards as we know them were not yet in general use.
Instead, individual merchants extended credit to their regular customers, and provided a card that could be shown to get credit.
I ran across a small stack of my father’s credit cards from 1959 and the next sereral years.
They make an interesting glimpse of life in a simpler time.
Just click to view a slightly larger version.
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I remembered being surprised when my mother-in-law mentioned that one of the last things she did before moving was to be sure to clear the credit account with her grocer. They lived on my father-in-law’s one paycheck and she said the credit extended by her grocer sometimes meant the difference between feeding her family and not in between paychecks. Definitely a kinder and gentler time in Hawaii and an example of the aloha spirit on the outer islands.
Wow, I am sure he treated you to some of the places, and more. He must have been a fun, high energy guy, lol.
This year marks the 75th anniversary of the very first multi-establishment charge card — Diners Club. It was an innovator and high-prestige card for decades, but it was slowly eclipsed by American Express.
It is still popular worldwide, but is really only a corporate spending card in the U.S. these days. And the most rare of cards, Carte Blanche, created by Hilton Hotels, faded away after Diners Club bought them.