Young woman paying in cafe by credit card reader.

How Does Tipping Work on a Credit Card?

6 min read

Last Updated: November 5, 2025

Table of contents

Key Takeaways

Using your credit card when paying for services offers a convenient way to tip.
Credit card tipping is increasingly welcome at many restaurants, nail salons, coffee shops, and other merchants.
If you add a tip by writing on the receipt, check your credit card statement to be sure the total charge is correct.

After you enjoy a meal at a restaurant, get your hair done at the salon, or take a ride in a taxi, it’s common practice to leave a tip.

Tipping is the act of giving money on top of the standard charge to someone who has provided a service. It’s a way of acknowledging their work and showing your appreciation.

Cash tips are common, but you can also leave a tip with your credit card.

Where can you tip with a credit card?

It’s been common practice to use credit cards or debit cards to leave a tip at certain merchants or for specific services, such as restaurants or riding in a taxi.

Now, you may find that places like nail or hair salons, spas, coffee shops, and more service-oriented businesses accept credit cards for payment. They often accept credit card tips, too.

How does a tip get charged to your credit card?

If you want to tip your server using your credit card, here’s how you do it.

Review your bill. When you receive your bill, if everything looks good, you can give the server your credit card. In some cases, you may have the option to swipe, tap, or insert your credit card into a mobile payment machine.
Decide how much to tip. This may require you to do a quick mental calculation. Then, you can write the tip amount on the line that says “tip” or “gratuity”. Some businesses have mobile payment machines that do the math for you based on your selected tip percentage. 15% and 20% tips are common starting points, but you can usually tip any amount you’d like.
Calculate the total. If you're writing the tip by hand, add the tip to the cost and write the total on the receipt. If you're using a payment machine, the machine will do the calculation for you.
Confirm payment. While there’s an immediate charge to your credit card for the base amount, your tip may not show on your account until later. It’s a good idea to keep the customer copy of your receipt and to fill it out using the same information as the receipt you give back to the merchant. Check your credit card statement to ensure the merchant charges the right amount. If there’s a discrepancy, call the merchant to fix the situation. If they won’t help you, call your credit card company.

How are credit card tips paid to servers?

How a restaurant pays servers for their tips can vary based on the company and state law. For example, according to the California Department of Industrial Relations, California law states that “gratuities are the sole property of the employee or employees to whom they are given”, meaning they’re not subject to business expenses or service fees, like a credit card processing fee.

Sometimes all the tips given to employees are put into a shared tip pool. Then, the pooled tips are distributed to employees based on a tip pooling arrangement. They might be split equally, for example. If the tips are pooled, employees probably share tips with other employees, but not owners, managers, or other supervisors. The timing of the tip distribution may vary.

If you tip with a credit card, the server may not receive it until their next regular payday. Check local laws to determine how and when servers are paid credit card tips.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, employers can pay their tipped employees $2.13 per hour as a base wage—only if this amount, combined with their tips, exceeds the federal minimum wage.

Should you tip with a credit card or with cash?

When trying to decide if you should tip with a credit card or with cash, there are pros and cons on both sides to consider.

Drawbacks to putting a tip on a credit card

Delayed credit card tip processing. When you tip with your credit card, it can take a day or two to process. The employee may have to wait until their next paycheck to receive their tips. Some employees might prefer to have a cash tip so they have immediate access to the money.
Some services don’t accept credit cards. There are still some businesses and services that aren’t set up to accept credit card tips. These include services like a porter delivering your luggage to your hotel room or a valet parking your car. These types of services don’t involve a standard service transaction on your credit card, so you can’t include a credit card tip. Sometimes, it’s necessary to have cash on hand to tip accordingly.

Advantages of tipping with a credit card

Convenience. When you add the tip to a purchase that you’ve already made on your credit card, you don’t have to bother going to the bank or ATM to take out cash.
Safety. It may be safer to carry a credit card than it is to carry cash. If your cash gets stolen, you’re unlikely to get it back. But, if someone steals your credit card, you can immediately cancel your card. Even if someone steals your card and racks up hundreds or thousands of dollars in charges before you notice, you’re never held responsible for unauthorized purchases on your Discover^® Card.¹ For any credit card, you’re only on the hook to pay up to $50 on any unauthorized charges, according to the Federal Trade Commission.
Ability to earn rewards. You can’t earn rewards when you tip with cash, but you may earn cash back or Miles when you use your rewards credit card.

Did you know?

Discover offers credit cards that earn rewards on every purchase. They may also offer additional rewards on purchases from gas stations, restaurants, or other merchants.

Learn More

The bottom line

For many, the convenience, safety, and ability to earn rewards associated with using a credit card outweigh the advantages of carrying and tipping with cash. Whatever way you decide to tip, the tipped employee will appreciate any form of tipping more than no tip at all.

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