"No More than 4 Credit Cards" Policy at Restaurants

Multiple credit cards have become a large issue for restaurant owners. So when you are dining out, don't be surprised to see a phrase at the bottom of the menu: "Maximum 4 credit cards per table, please." Most people don't consider such a policy as a problem because they hardly ever take more than two credit cards for the table. The trend of multiple credit cards seems to lead from a new generation of younger diners who couldn't support the entire bill on their plastics. However, processing several cards requires extra time and fees.

Taking multiple credit cards for dinner can cause big headaches for waiters. First of all, most people don't want to have their bill split evenly. So they start to ask a waiter charge "$20 on this card, $30 on this one, $60 on this one and the rest on this one..." It is usually mentioned at the end of the dinner, and as it often happens, when the waiters are very busy.

Then, it takes a lot of extra time to run more than two credit cards, organize the slips, and deliver them back to customers. If you handle 8 credit cards, the transactions can last up to 15 minutes. It's time that took waiters away from their main duties: taking orders, explaining menu and delivering food. No one will enjoy waiting for the waiter for 15 minutes. So multiple credit card transactions can compromise restaurant service.

There have been numerous errors made by even the most experienced waiters when they need to process 4-8 credit cards. The waiter can accidently run the same credit card instead of switching the plastics. It often happens when it is dark or when the waiter is in a hurry. In this case the credit companies call the accounting department and say that their cardholder was double charged. In turn, the restaurant makes the waiter pay for the mistake.

In addition, don't forget about transaction fees that merchants have to pay to credit card issuers on every transaction. Their amount is 2-3% depending on the type of a card and the average purchase. Charge cards, rewards credit cards, corporate cards, debit cards and foreign cards have the highest rate. All fees apply to the total, so restaurants have to pay the fees on the tip and the sales taxes as well. If you leave $20 tip, it will cost the restaurant about 50 cents.

Considering the above information, it can be really difficult to blame restaurants for their disclaimer. However, what can you do if you are going out for dinner with groups of people? We have some ideas how to overcome card-related problem.

• Make someone the "Treasurer" and ask him/her collect the money and pay the bill. You can give that person your cash and the "Treasurer" will settle the bill with his/her credit card.
• Devise a dinner tab for each person to enter their purchases. Write a conversion table on the back to add tip and taxes. You can send an email before the dinner to remind your friends to bring change for a $20 bill and that you will pay in cash.
• Start getting dinners for each other and maintain a "floating balance" of entire meals. That will encourage more dining out.