Dispose of your credit card: At some point, you will have to dispose of your old card safely and securely. Any person at home can do this. However, if you do it wrong, it can be disastrous. In this article, we'll show you the safest ways to throw away your old and unused credit card.
Why you should get rid of your credit card
Get rid of your credit card to pay off debt
Many people have hundreds or thousands of dollars in credit card debt. It may be nearly impossible to pay off these debts without first eliminating the costs. Once the cardholders decide to get rid of the credit card, the liquidation process can begin.
Get rid of your credit card if the cardholder has bad credit
Credit card debt weighs heavily on credit scores. Bad credit can prevent cardholders from ever owning a home, car, or anything else that requires good credit. Getting rid of credit cards is the best way to restore credit and restore creditworthiness so that potential lenders can provide credit.
Get rid of your credit card if cardholders get a new card
Credit card companies send out new cards when the old card expires. As soon as the new card is received by mail, the old card must be destroyed.
Dispose of credit cards to prevent identity theft
Incorrect disposal of credit cards can cause problems for the cardholder. It can take months before the cardholder realizes that someone has used a credit card, and by then the damage has already been done.
What to do before getting rid of your credit card
If you are canceling, do not plan to destroy your card right away. It is recommended that you take a few steps to ensure that there are no unresolved issues with your account. These are the moves:
How to properly manage your credit card
Recycling a credit card is essential if the cardholder wants to protect their identity. Below are tips for recycling credit cards:
Shred and slice credit cards
Some shredders can shred a credit card. The shredder cuts the credit card into equal pieces, but that's not enough. Grab a pair of scissors and make sure you cut out the security code, account number, and any additional numbers on your credit card. Throw away a few each each day of your garbage collection. Someone will not be able to recover a credit card if you follow these steps.
Burn your credit card
An outdoor fireplace or campfire is great for destroying a credit card. Make sure the process is being tracked. The fire should destroy any credit card existence.
Destroy the magnetic stripe
The magnetic stripe contains all the information about the card holder. Take a strong magnet and run it over the magnetic stripe several times. This will demagnetize the card and render it unusable. The next thing to do is place the credit card in a powerful blender to chop it up. Throw the card into various trash bags.
Sending metal cards
Destroying a metal card on your own is more difficult and potentially dangerous. Contact the issuer. You can usually send it back for recycling.
What to do after destroying the card
You're not done yet! There is another very important step to be taken: pay off the outstanding balance. Yes, your card is no longer there, but most likely your balance is missing. Make sure you take care of this, hopefully paying on time to avoid interest charges.
Conclusion
Destroy the card carefully to ensure it is unusable and to limit any fraudulent activity. Demagnetize the magnetic stripe, destroy the chip, cut the card and put the fragments into several bags. If the cardholder misuses the credit card and ends up falling into the wrong hands, this simple mistake can cause problems for years.
Why you should get rid of your credit card
Get rid of your credit card to pay off debt
Many people have hundreds or thousands of dollars in credit card debt. It may be nearly impossible to pay off these debts without first eliminating the costs. Once the cardholders decide to get rid of the credit card, the liquidation process can begin.
Get rid of your credit card if the cardholder has bad credit
Credit card debt weighs heavily on credit scores. Bad credit can prevent cardholders from ever owning a home, car, or anything else that requires good credit. Getting rid of credit cards is the best way to restore credit and restore creditworthiness so that potential lenders can provide credit.
Get rid of your credit card if cardholders get a new card
Credit card companies send out new cards when the old card expires. As soon as the new card is received by mail, the old card must be destroyed.
Dispose of credit cards to prevent identity theft
Incorrect disposal of credit cards can cause problems for the cardholder. It can take months before the cardholder realizes that someone has used a credit card, and by then the damage has already been done.
What to do before getting rid of your credit card
If you are canceling, do not plan to destroy your card right away. It is recommended that you take a few steps to ensure that there are no unresolved issues with your account. These are the moves:
- Close account - To do this, you need to contact your issuer. They will walk you through the process as soon as you inform them that you are canceling your subscription.
- Notify Other Users - Any authorized cardholders in your account should be aware that their cards will no longer be valid. It would be nice to suggest that they destroy their cards too.
- Change / Cancel Automatic Payments - We all love convenience and automatic card payments are commonplace these days. If you have any settings with your future credit card, they will need to be transferred to another payment method.
How to properly manage your credit card
Recycling a credit card is essential if the cardholder wants to protect their identity. Below are tips for recycling credit cards:
Shred and slice credit cards
Some shredders can shred a credit card. The shredder cuts the credit card into equal pieces, but that's not enough. Grab a pair of scissors and make sure you cut out the security code, account number, and any additional numbers on your credit card. Throw away a few each each day of your garbage collection. Someone will not be able to recover a credit card if you follow these steps.
Burn your credit card
An outdoor fireplace or campfire is great for destroying a credit card. Make sure the process is being tracked. The fire should destroy any credit card existence.
Destroy the magnetic stripe
The magnetic stripe contains all the information about the card holder. Take a strong magnet and run it over the magnetic stripe several times. This will demagnetize the card and render it unusable. The next thing to do is place the credit card in a powerful blender to chop it up. Throw the card into various trash bags.
Sending metal cards
Destroying a metal card on your own is more difficult and potentially dangerous. Contact the issuer. You can usually send it back for recycling.
What to do after destroying the card
You're not done yet! There is another very important step to be taken: pay off the outstanding balance. Yes, your card is no longer there, but most likely your balance is missing. Make sure you take care of this, hopefully paying on time to avoid interest charges.
Conclusion
Destroy the card carefully to ensure it is unusable and to limit any fraudulent activity. Demagnetize the magnetic stripe, destroy the chip, cut the card and put the fragments into several bags. If the cardholder misuses the credit card and ends up falling into the wrong hands, this simple mistake can cause problems for years.
