Skip to main content

Throwback video shows what happened when Burger King first let customers pay with credit cards, and the reactions are priceless

Honestly, though, the price of a meal just might make you want to cry

The outside of a Burger King restaurant.
Justin Wolff / Unsplash

We love a good throwback, especially when it reminds us of simpler days when we could afford to leave the house. Get ready to go back to a time before the internet, when the dollar menu was actually a dollar, and when Burger King blew our minds by accepting credit cards at their fast food locations. Watch for the warm embrace of nostalgia but stay for the comments. Witness history in the making when Burger King started taking credit cards for that Whopper craving.

A Burger King meal on a tray.
Jacky Watt / Unsplash

When cash was king, Burger King flipped the script

Well, well, well, how the turns have tabled. These days, we see signs at places that say, “Card only,” “No coin change,” or “No cash accepted,” but it wasn’t always that way. Before we swiped, tapped, or used Apple Pay, cash was the way to pay.

Recommended Videos

In a video posted on social media, be taken back on a journey to 1993, when Burger King introduced credit cards as a form of payment. You might want to solely listen to the video first, or you’ll be distracted by the clothing and hairstyles.

@noesox

♬ original sound – noesocks

The customers were divided

Like all change, some people are for it, and some people fight it. During the video, customers spoke their minds about using a credit card for a burger.

  • The lady with the hair says we are too poor.

Being shamed for using a credit card for a $3.10 bill shouldn’t be the issue. The issue should be that $3.10 won’t get you much at Burger King anymore. As someone who has had to swipe a card for a total under $1 before, that’s just rude.

  • The guy who was going to buy a truck was onto something.

Using those rewards points and cashback before it was cool, the guy who was going to get a truck from eating Burger King was living in the future. And with what cars cost back then, he probably made it happen.

  • The guy who doesn’t want us to call New York and hold up the line wasn’t entirely wrong.

We worked in retail for a long time, and sometimes you do have to “call New York” (the credit card company) to get a verification code and the line gets held up, so he was sort of right.

The way things were

  • Signatures were perfected.

These days, everything is paperless, from paying your bills to grabbing your coffee. Seeing customers sign a paper copy brings back memories, and we’ll tell you that sorting those receipts at the end of the night probably still gives those employees nightmares.

  • Math skills were not needed.

Not having to count back change or argue with a customer about if they gave you $10 instead of $20 are the perks of credit cards becoming the main form of payment.

With the prices of groceries, gas, and just existing getting ridiculously more expensive, a nostalgic reminiscence of the way things used to be always hits home. We love that Burger King let you have it your way — with a credit card. We just wish you could still feed a family for around $10.

Topics
Dannielle Beardsley
Dannielle has written for various websites, online magazines, and blogs. She loves everything celebrity and her favorite…
‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ is being rebooted at Hulu
Sarah Michelle Gellar is in talks to return in her most iconic role
Sarah Michelle Gellar in Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Buffy is coming back. The generation-defining TV show, which ran for seven seasons from 1997 to 2003, is reportedly returning for a sequel series with Sarah Michelle-Gellar returning as Buffy.

Variety is reporting that a pilot order is becoming closer to a reality at Hulu and that Gellar's role in the series would be as a mentor to a new slayer instead of as the show's central character.

Read more
February binge guide: The best shows on Amazon Prime
An ultimate list of the best shows available to stream on Amazon Prime
Alan Ritchson in Reacher

Even if you've picked a streaming service, it can be impossible to narrow down what you're really looking for. If you've run out of the best Netflix movies and Netflix Original series to watch, you'll need to find somewhere else to turn. Fortunately, Netflix is far from the only game in town. Anyone who uses Amazon Prime to get packages delivered to them quickly also has access to a library of fairly impressive shows and movies.

Amazon is a mega corporation, and you and I both know that it might not care that much about its streaming offerings. It's not it makes its money, or at least most of it. Even still, I was shocked at how many great shows you can watch on Prime, including some you might not expect.

Read more
The 6 best Super Bowl commercials of all time (and the 5 worst)
What's your favorite Super Bowl commercial?
Watching the Super Bowl on TV

If you're watching the Super Bowl, you're likely interested in at least one of at least three different things. You might be watching for the game itself, which is often exciting and is the culmination of months of football. You might be watching for the halftime show, which also varies in quality but is always worth discussing. Or, you might be watching for the Super Bowl commercials (you could also just be hanging around for the food).

Personally, it's some mixture of all three for me. The ads are definitely a draw, though, and it can sometimes be just as entertaining to see a massive campaign crash and blur in real time, as it is to see something brilliant.

Read more