Took a date to a fancy restaurant and my credit card got declined for a $85 bill

I had this whole thing planned at a place in Portland, nice dress and everything. The waiter came back with the terminal and my card just kept saying denied. I had to call my bank right there while she stared at her napkin, turns out they flagged it as fraud. Anyone else have a payment fail at the worst possible moment?

3 comments

3 Comments

angelar572mo ago

Call your bank before any special dinner and ask them to put a travel note or known transaction on your account. Saved me from this same mortifying moment at a steakhouse last month.

the_tessa1mo ago

That "mortifying moment" part really hits home. I actually read an article a while back about how banks are getting so aggressive with fraud detection that even normal spending patterns can trigger a block. It mentioned that anything outside your usual average or location gets flagged automatically. So @angelar57 is totally right, that pre-call is a lifesaver because the system just sees a random big charge at a steakhouse on a weekday and assumes it's stolen. I've started doing it for any meal over $100 now, just to avoid that awkward card decline dance in front of everyone.

sagew502mo ago

Went through the exact same thing at my anniversary dinner last year. Got that awkward look from the waiter and had to pull out my credit card to make it work. Called my bank the next morning and the guy said 'oh yeah, we flagged that as suspicious because you never spend that much on a Tuesday.' Now I just give them a heads up before any big meal out. Been smooth sailing ever since.