Rails PUT/POST request fails on first try, works on next - ruby-on-rails

Question

I have a VueJS Frontend application with a Ruby On Rails API backend. I need to change information about a user in the database.
I have a PUT/POST request that removes the creditcard information. The basic rails code is below. The issue I am having is that I get the, very popular, error:
NoMethodError (undefined method []' for nil:NilClass):
But the catch is that it only happens on the first attempt. Subsequent attemps are successful. Can someone point me in the right direction here? Should you need additional informaiton, please don't hesitate to ask.
class AccountsController < ApplicationController
before_action :load_account, only: [:show, :update, :destroy, :formats, :charges, :destroy_card]
def destroy_card
#account.card_last_4 = nil
#account.card_type = nil
#account.card_exp_month = nil
#account.card_exp_year = nil
#account.plan_id = 1
#account.save!
render json: { account: #account }, status: 200
end
private
def load_account
if #current_user.admin?
#account = Account.find(params[:id])
else
#account = #current_user.accounts.find_by_id(params[:id]) unless #account.present?
end
end
end
Errors:
Started PUT "//accounts/20/destroy_card" for ::1 at 2020-08-17 20:24:47 -0400
Processing by AccountsController#destroy_card as */*
Parameters: {"id"=>20, "account_id"=>"20"}
User Load (0.4ms) SELECT `users`.* FROM `users` WHERE `users`.`id` = 10 LIMIT 1
↳ app/controllers/application_controller.rb:18:in `load_user'
AccountUser Load (0.2ms) SELECT `account_users`.* FROM `account_users` WHERE `account_users`.`user_id` = 10 AND `account_users`.`account_id` = 20 LIMIT 1
↳ app/controllers/application_controller.rb:28:in `load_user'
Account Load (0.1ms) SELECT `accounts`.* FROM `accounts` WHERE `accounts`.`id` = 20 LIMIT 1
↳ app/controllers/application_controller.rb:30:in `load_user'
CACHE Account Load (0.0ms) SELECT `accounts`.* FROM `accounts` WHERE `accounts`.`id` = 20 LIMIT 1 [["id", 20], ["LIMIT", 1]]
↳ app/controllers/accounts_controller.rb:97:in `load_account'
(0.1ms) BEGIN
↳ app/models/account.rb:148:in `assign_plan'
Plan Load (0.1ms) SELECT `plans`.* FROM `plans` WHERE `plans`.`id` = 1 LIMIT 1
↳ app/models/account.rb:148:in `assign_plan'
Account Update (0.2ms) UPDATE `accounts` SET `accounts`.`card_last_4` = NULL, `accounts`.`card_type` = NULL, `accounts`.`card_exp_month` = NULL, `accounts`.`card_exp_year` = NULL, `accounts`.`plan_id` = 1, `accounts`.`updated_at` = '2020-08-18 00:24:47' WHERE `accounts`.`id` = 20
↳ app/controllers/accounts_controller.rb:82:in `destroy_card'
Account Update (0.3ms) UPDATE `accounts` SET `accounts`.`plan_updated_at` = '2020-08-18 00:24:47' WHERE `accounts`.`id` = 20
↳ app/models/account.rb:60:in `stripe_subscribe'
(9.1ms) ROLLBACK
↳ app/controllers/accounts_controller.rb:82:in `destroy_card'
Completed 500 Internal Server Error in 1150ms (ActiveRecord: 10.4ms | Allocations: 22601)
NoMethodError (undefined method `[]' for nil:NilClass):
app/models/account.rb:71:in `stripe_subscribe'
app/controllers/accounts_controller.rb:82:in `destroy_card'
Code from account.rb
def stripe_subscribe
s = stripe_customer.subscriptions.first
self.plan_updated_at = Time.now
save!
if coupon.present? && plan.id != coupon.plan_id
self.coupon = nil
save!
end
if plan.price == 0
# Downgrading from a paid tier
if s.present?
meta = s.delete
self.changed_plan = Plan.find(previous_changes[:plan_id][0])
self.changed_plan_date = Time.at(meta['current_period_end']).to_datetime
save!
end
else
s.delete({ prorate: true, invoice_now: true }) if s.present?
params = { items: [{ plan: plan.short_name }] }
if coupon.present?
params[:coupon] = coupon.token
end
stripe_customer.subscriptions.create(params)
if Rails.env == 'production'
client = Slack::Web::Client.new
client.chat_postMessage(channel: '#somechannel', text: "some random message", as_user: true)
end
end
end