Credit Card maybe not the best option then?

billy954

Following on from the recent "Strip Club Scam" thread, im kinda wondering what the best/safest option regarding money is when going for a night out that will include drinking a fair bit of alcohol?

At the moment I leave my day-to-day wallet at home as it contains multiple credit/debit cards, loyalty cards, stamps etc - i definitely dont want want my santander debit card out with me as the a/c contains close to £20k!!

Instead, I use what i call a mini-wallet... its actually one of those free plastic ones you get from train stations!

In the mini-wallet I put what should be enough cash to cover bar costs (say £50), and also one credit card which i use for train fares, obligatory mcdonalds meal on way home etc etc. its also a safety net in case i somehow lose/run out of money.

I thought this was a pretty secure set-up, given that the credit card will need the PIN in order to be used. but the strip club thread is making me have second thoughts about leaving the house with a credit card now!

does anyone else adapt their usual cash/card-carrying habits on a big night out? if so what do you do exactly?

Paully232000

If you are sensible you (in the general sense) wouldn't need to change your habits and not carry a CC with you.
I always take a CC and my debit card out with me on a night out, but then i never get so drunk that i don't know what i am signing/entering my PIN for.

Tixy

I always take a little more cash than I expect to spend and a debit card out with me.
If I run out of cash I use the debit card to draw more cash, I don't spend on it in a busy bar.

But then I never get so drunk that I don't know what I am doing.

I guess if someone does get so drunk they were worried about such an incident they could either take a prepaid credit card only loaded with however much they felt comfortable with, or have a low limit credit card that they take out with them.

meer53

Simple solution. Don't go to a strip club.

InsideInsurance

I have a jacket wallet and a trouser wallet. When I'm not at work then most the time I am using my jacket wallet and so if going out and not being suited and booted then I just transfer a credit card, debit card and cash into the trouser wallet and take that.

If its an after work thing or for some reason I am going suited or its during holidays where my trouser wallet becomes my main wallet then I just take my full wallet with me.

As others have said, I just dont get so drunk that I dont know what I am doing and have never felt the need to pay for anything by credit card in a strip joint.

After almost 20 years of doing the same I'm still yet to lose a wallet/ card/ money or be scammed - assuming you exclude pretty girls at the bar that you buy drinks for who then disappear

Kim_13

Your card carrying habits sound pretty secure to me. If you want a little extra security, consider getting a new credit card and when received, ask for the limit to be lowered so that at worst, you'll lose a little more than that limit (any overlimit fees and refused transaction fees, plus the full limit.)

I don't take my debit card out unless I know I'll need it either, and take (at most) cash, a backup which I transfer to an old savings account through online banking - the savings account is empty except for £1 to keep the account open and whatever I take to potentially use that day (my current account pays more interest, so most of my money stays in there.) Crucially, as it's a savings account, there's no overdraft which could be maxed out, or in the case of a current account with no overdraft, forced into an unauthorised overdraft.

shiv87

Is anybody on here that could offer advice please I keep commenting on things and have posted but dont know how to even see replies :-( Thanks in advance x

Anthorn

The fact and it is indeed a fact is that you don't need a credit card nor a debit card if you want to pay with funds on a card wherever you go: You could use a prepaid card instead and load it with the funds you need.

The other future fact could be that if the much heralded but never quite reaching fruition end to free banking ever happens it will not only be the small to medium size (Challenger) enterprises to benefit. It will also benefit the prepaid sector who will be able to compete on fees. Who knows? Perhaps in the future we will all be using prepaid financial products simply because they will likely be cheaper.

Look for example at the new incarnation of the Pockit card which you can get for just 99p or £1 if you pay by mobile phone SMS with free POS and 99p ATM and no monthly fee.

Related link: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/personal-current-account-and-small-business-banking-face-full-competition-investigation