In my head: “Hmm… Interesting. You know how these cards are - the bank will stop everything but actual fraud!”
Out of my mouth: “Hehehe, weird, I swear I’ve got enough money… Err… Ah… Let me just, um, let me check if the app is acting up. No? Hrmmm… Let me try again…”
Cash. I always have a few € in cash with me
“ah, that’s a bother. I’ll try one of my American Express cards instead, or perhaps my Schwab card.”
Gotta start with the mediocre card first, so you can spin the situation in your favor.
Get to spend more time with cute cashier. Win!
This would be my luck.
I’m telling you, they kill millions of us every year in the name of something that they call “science.”
I have this happen all the time because I have a separate account for my card. It’s so I stay aware of how often I’m transferring into it to pay for things. If I’m transferring another $100, it’s because I’ve gone through the last $100 whether I realised it or not.
Works great until it works too well and the card gets declined because I don’t realise how much I’ve spent earlier that day.
It’s honestly more embarassing when the cashier is a highschool kid and they’re probably thinking, “God, I hope I’m not this bum in ten years…”
I can promise you clerks do not care. It’s very rare that the declined card means they don’t have the money and when they don’t your the 100th unique scenario that day and their mind has been on supper for the last 5 hours. Most don’t got the care to be judgy
Or when the card declines in a taxi on your first date with someone
That happened to me with my now-wife somewhere in the distant past when I was young and beautiful (I’m still young and beautiful but less young)
