Mark Cuban has a long history of telling people to ditch credit cards altogether. Back in 2014 on The Dave Ramsey Show, he pushed the same message he had been sharing for years.
He told Ramsey that wiping out card balances was the smartest move anyone could make and joked that people should destroy their cards once they are paid off.
Mark has also funnily said that relying on credit cards is a fast way to keep yourself broke. This same mindset reflects his larger belief that high interest rates are like termites to the wealth you are trying to amass.
Considering all that, you might associate Mark Cuban with a lot of things, but a declined credit card probably won’t be one of them.
But there is a funny twist to that.
Black Amex Declined During Mark Cuban’s Champagne Purchase
Mark Cuban wanted a big celebratory moment after the Mavericks won their first championship. For the same reason, he ordered an extremely expensive bottle of Armand de Brignac champagne. The party was taking place at David Grutman’s luxury nightclub in Miami.
Grutman brought out a massive 15-liter bottle of Armand de Brignac, and after Dirk Nowitzki said that they do indeed need a celebratory champagne bottle, Cuban handed over his card without thinking twice.
The moment fell apart when the payment failed because his new Black Amex had never been activated.
Cuban said it turned into an awkward scene as he stood there with an oversized bottle of champagne and a card that refused to cooperate.
The Black Amex isn’t treated like a regular credit line since the bill has to be cleared each month, and there’s no stated spending ceiling.
You can’t apply for it on your own either. Amex reaches out to a small group of high-spending clients. This clientele includes people who run huge totals through their accounts year after year.
So what caused the card to bounce? In an anti-climactic turn of events, Mark had never activated his card. He said the staff handed him a phone so he could sort it out with Amex, and the rep on the line told him it wasn’t active yet.
Cuban asked to speak with someone on a more senior level. And after some small talk about the NBA and possibly the weather, someone at Amex finally cleared the payment.
A Post-Title Purchase That Still Gets Talked About
Grutman said the moment was pretty hectic. He explained the incident in a conversation with ESPN in 2013, saying, “We were in the back because his credit card was denied.
So he called up the people at the Centurion Card and said, “This is Mark Cuban. We just won the championship. Can I please spend some money?”
Cuban ended up paying ninety thousand dollars for the giant bottle, and added a solid twenty-two percent tip.
The incident still stands out as one of the costliest and most uncomfortable post-title splurges connected to the league.
How the Exact Interaction Unfolded
“I’m like, ‘Dirk, do we want to get this?’ He’s like, ‘F—k yeah we want to get this.’ So I go to the waitress, ‘Alright, we’ll take one.’
10, 15 minutes go by. Dirk’s like, ‘Where’s the champagne? Where’s the champagne?’ I’m like, ‘Let me check.’ All of a sudden, the lady comes up: ‘Mr. Cuban, you’re card was declined.’ I’m like, ‘What the f—k? My card is declined?’
You know how you get a new credit card and you’re supposed to turn it on and everything? I guess they thought [when you] turn it on and all of a sudden there’s a $140,000 bottle of champagne, something’s up, right? So I had to go back into the back office of LIV with one of the managers, and I’m like, ‘Let me call American Express.’
I’m drunk as s—t. They’re like, ‘How do we know this is Mark Cuban? How do we know this is real?’ I’m like, ‘Did you watch the game tonight? Let me just tell you to turn on the TV and see what’s going on,’— because we’re in Miami, right?
So finally, they approved it, got my bottle, and we were good.”
A Moment That Shows Success Doesn’t Erase Human Mistakes
A story like this doesn’t change Cuban’s stance on debt, but it does add a human touch to a guy known for being sharp with money. This incident is a humorous reminder that even someone with his resources can get snagged by a simple oversight.
