# Credit Card Declines

Credit Card Declines, also called My Card Declines, took off on Reddit in late September 2020 as image macros showing medical procedures roughly reversed after a failed payment. By early October the format reached Facebook and Instagram, where SpongeBob, Star Wars prequels and anti-meme variants aimed the joke at U.S. healthcare costs.

## Origin
The exact first instance stays unknown, though the theme traced to an earlier Reddit bit called "Imagine Your Card Declines" [4]. One of the earliest widely circulated examples came from Redditor Akameismywaifu, who posted a Prequel Memes variant to r/PrequelMemes on September 20, 2020; it collected over 48,200 upvotes and 298 comments across two weeks [1].

- **Platform:** Reddit (origin) / Facebook, Instagram (viral spread)
- **Creator:** Unknown
- **Date:** 2020

## Overview
A typical entry sets a caption describing a finished procedure, usually surgery, dentistry or a tattoo, against a second image where the work is visibly undone because the customer's credit card got declined [4]. A reattached limb lands back on the floor, a transplant comes right out, a cleaned tooth returns to decay. The humor rides on gag-logic consequences and U.S. medical billing anxieties.

Templates lean on pop culture. The r/PrequelMemes version used Anakin and Obi-Wan dialogue [1], the Star Wars Sheevposting Facebook page posted another take [6], and SpongeBob fan accounts attached the joke to screencaps with lines like "Wiped from your memories" [7]. Anti-meme takes stripped the visual gag and left a plain line about hospital bills [3].

## How to Use
Caption a service that is already finished, typically surgery, dentistry, a haircut or a tattoo, then show a second image where the result reverses. Prequels dialogue and SpongeBob screencaps are frequent templates [1].

## Frequently Asked Questions
### What is Credit Card Declines?
A series of image macros where a service, usually a medical procedure, is shown being reversed because the recipient's credit card got declined after the fact [4].

### Where did Credit Card Declines come from?
It surfaced on Reddit in late September 2020, with one of the earliest widely shared examples posted to r/PrequelMemes by Redditor Akameismywaifu on September 20 [1].

### What does Credit Card Declines mean?
The joke plays on gag-logic consequences running backwards: if payment fails after a service is rendered, the service gets undone. GGarbonzo's anti-meme version pointed it at U.S. healthcare bills specifically [3].

### How do you use Credit Card Declines?
Caption a finished procedure, then follow it with an image where the outcome visibly reverses. KristenK8's r/memes post is a model example of the format [2].

### Is Credit Card Declines still popular?
Its main run came in late September and early October 2020 across Reddit, Facebook and Instagram, with peak traffic concentrated in that window [8].

## References
1. [https://www.reddit.com/r/PrequelMemes/comments/iwq4vf/card_declining_is_the_worst_thing/](<https://www.reddit.com/r/PrequelMemes/comments/iwq4vf/card_declining_is_the_worst_thing/>)
2. [https://www.reddit.com/r/memes/comments/j2hxuc/if_it_happens_it_happens/](<https://www.reddit.com/r/memes/comments/j2hxuc/if_it_happens_it_happens/>)
3. [https://www.reddit.com/r/dankmemes/comments/j2gm6d/sure_i_know_how_free_healthcare_works/](<https://www.reddit.com/r/dankmemes/comments/j2gm6d/sure_i_know_how_free_healthcare_works/>)
4. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/credit-card-declines](<https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/credit-card-declines>)
5. [https://www.facebook.com/1016664018426381/posts/3406709412755151](<https://www.facebook.com/1016664018426381/posts/3406709412755151>)
6. [https://www.facebook.com/149743045537415/posts/993780367800341](<https://www.facebook.com/149743045537415/posts/993780367800341>)
7. [https://www.instagram.com/p/CF4y9HIs3uG/](<https://www.instagram.com/p/CF4y9HIs3uG/>)
8. [https://www.instagram.com/p/CF7a5hrl-QY/](<https://www.instagram.com/p/CF7a5hrl-QY/>)

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Source: https://meme.com/memes/credit-card-declines
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