Cash or Credit Cards to the Bars?

There has (for a long time) been a debate going on about credit cards and if they actually save you money getting cash back or if you spend more because of the high credit limit.  At the clubs and bars it makes it even more of a discussion because you could tip $1 or $2 after you get each beer or cocktail or put a total of 8 drinks on your tab and tip half that in some cases or $12 on the credit card tab instead of $16 in cash on the bar.  But you see when your drunk “feeling” out the form to sign you end up normally thinking “I love you” and tip like $20 or sometimes it might be $40 if your in a really good mood.  So yes credit cards can be scary in some situations but cash can be too. It is what goes flying out of our hands as soon as we see a drag queen.

Nothing is sexier than having both cash and cards.  When you whoop out an American Express Gold or Platinum card or lucky enough to have a Black card you are definitely showing the bartender needs to attend to your services in a timely manner.  Then again I own several credit cards and use my lower credit limit cards at bars so they probably think I am not so well off with my credit score using cards such as Household Bank.  But the laugh comes back to me because I only have to worry about someone frauding the card up to $2,000 and I am also making a FULL TWO Percent back on every purchase with this card.

If I lose the card or if someone writes down the numbers.. um maybe a shady bartender or shot boy then you can throw it away and get another card issued.  If you have good enough credit to use one designated card just for bar purchases it will help you keep track of the good and evil bartenders and make sense of some of your more drunken nights out on the town.

Credit wins hands down when it comes to security.  Do not bring Debit cards to the club at any risk they are the ones that you need to worry about and you could overdraft your account.  The best cards to bring out are credit cards with a low limit and give rewards so you can earn money back on bar, club, and restaurant purchases.  Try and put everything on your card from ticket purchases, door covers, and bar tabs, then have a few twenties for that other stuff you may get your self into or what ever dancer boy or drag queen you plan on tipping.  Hopefully your not taking a cab or you would need more cash since cabs hate credit card machines.

If you are in a foreign country its 4,000% easier to use credit cards and worth the 3% fee because you will be charged a fee to convert to Euros or Pounds or whatever the currency is in that country and at a bar its way too hard to calculate all the differences.  If they can just put the drinks you order on a credit card you are more likely to come out ahead of the other foreigners traveling in their land and not be ripped off.  You should also find an iPhone app to download to help convert that currency while you look over the credit card slip.

The best credit cards to use for the Nightlife scene are the cards that pay you back for dining which is Discover who gives you 5% during some months for restaurants and  Chase Freedom who gives 5% back on dining during certain promotions.  Both cards still give you money back on all purchases and Chase at least gives you a full 1% back whether the dining/restaurant promo is going on or not.