What You Should Keep In Mind During Your Late-Night McDonald's Run

On especially late nights, sometimes all there is to do is one of two things: Finally go to sleep, or start gearing up for a midnight snack. At such late hours, fast food joints reign supreme as they are often one of the few places that are still open. Of all places, McDonald's is usually one of the top choices thanks to its wide availability, affordable prices, and its strategies to ensure you get some truly fresh fries. Before you decide to make a late-night run to McDonald's, though, remember to do this one crucial thing: Bring cash.

While the card is usually king in the United States, bringing cash while grabbing your late-night craving is essential because employees may have shut the card machines down for the night. What most people don't know about 24-hour establishments is that many have to restart their systems at least once per day — and most chains like McDonald's opt to do it while traffic is slow in the middle of the night. This could mean that McDonald's or your late-night chain of choice is unable to complete card transactions for a certain period of time, usually anywhere from a few minutes to over an hour. While this reality is a bit of a hindrance for those who don't usually carry cash, it's all for a valid reason.

While point-of-sale systems going down can be annoying, most chains have a good reason. These machines must update at some point, and many restaurant owners agree that the middle of the night is the perfect time to do so. A 24-hour establishment like McDonald's doesn't have the luxury of making those updates when it's closed because, well, it never closes. For reference, these computer updates can be anything from adding in new inventory to upgrading software, so you never know how long it will take. As one Reddit user suggested, these computers also need time to do other things like store the transactions of the day, place orders, report earnings, and more. 

Other users on the Reddit page came up with a different potential answer for these machines being down, too. Late-night shifts can be brutal, and employees might even lie about the system being down to avoid having to make orders. Those instances are likely much less common, but either way, it's more incentive to bring cash with you during your next late-night food run to McDonald's. 

If you're jonesing for a late-night bite, McDonald's is a good choice for your cravings because the chain boasts more locations than any other fast food joint. Plus, it's often more affordable than other options with its many menu options, including a robust $1 menu, and there are even other McDonald's ordering hacks you can use to make the meal even cheaper.

If you've got a late-night craving but are not eager to fish out some cash from the bottom of your wallet, you can always opt for delivery with this chain instead. McDonald's partners with three delivery services — Uber Eats, DoorDash, and Grubhub — to dish out meals throughout the night, so there's a good chance you can grab some food at any time without leaving your couch.

Now the last thing midnight snackers should remember is that every McDonald's location is different, and some are not open for 24 hours. Do your research before going on the hunt for a Big Mac at 3 a.m., and you should have everything you need to know.