Mark Cuban's Black Amex Card Got Declined Buying A $140,000 Bottle Of Champagne To Celebrate Team's NBA Win – 'Can I Please Spend Some Money?'

Mark Cuban is famous for straightforward financial advice, such as, "Don't use credit cards. If you use a credit card, you don't want to be rich." It's a message he's shared countless times, from blog posts to chats with financial gurus like Dave Ramsey. But even Cuban couldn't avoid his ironic run-in with a credit card – one that's become the stuff of NBA legend.

It happened in 2011, after his Dallas Mavericks clinched their first-ever NBA championship by taking down the Miami Heat. Naturally, Cuban wanted to celebrate in style. He and the team headed to LIV nightclub in Miami, where Cuban decided to treat himself to a 15-liter bottle of Armand de Brignac Champagne (aka "Ace of Spades") with a jaw-dropping price tag of $140,000.

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When it came time to pay, Cuban confidently handed over his American Express Centurion Card, better known as the "Black Card." And then? Declined.

In a 2018 Fox Sports 1's Fair Game interview, Cuban laughed as he retold the story. "I had to go into the back office and call Amex," he said. "They told me, ‘Sir, this hasn't been authorized. It's a new card.'"

Always quick on his feet, Cuban explained the situation to a seemingly unimpressed customer service rep. "I asked to speak to a supervisor and said, ‘Did you see the NBA game tonight? Are you a basketball fan?'" His pitch? Classic Cuban charm. "This is Mark Cuban. We just won the championship. Can I please spend some money?"

David Grutman, the owner of LIV, remembered the chaos, too. "We were in the back because his credit card was denied," he said, shaking his head at how surreal the moment was.

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Here's the thing: the Amex Centurion Card is technically not a credit card – it's a charge card. What's the difference? A charge card typically requires you to pay off the balance in full each month, unlike credit cards, which allow you to carry a balance (and rack up interest). Charge cards also don't have a preset spending limit, but that doesn't mean charges won't get flagged based on spending patterns or payment history. So, while Cuban's card might not have had a specific limit, Amex played gatekeeper that night.

The story is even funnier when considering Cuban's longtime stance on credit cards. He's spent years warning people against them, claiming, "The best place to invest is to pay off all your credit cards and burn them. " But to be fair, he also acknowledges credit cards can work – if you pay off the balance in full every month.

Reflecting on the lesson, Cuban has said, "The 18%, 20%, even 30% interest you're paying is going to cost you way more than you could ever earn elsewhere." It's sound advice, even if Cuban once had to plead with Amex to let him splurge on Champagne.

That night might've started with an awkward pause at the register, but it ended with a Champagne toast in true Mark Cuban fashion.

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