The Money Mustache Community
Learning, Sharing, and Teaching => Ask a Mustachian => Topic started by: HipGnosis on December 07, 2017, 12:22:42 PM
-
My finances went thru a horrendous inversion when I divorced many yrs ago.
I used 0% teaser rate credit card offers to scratch my way out of debt and other credit cards since to rebuild and manage my credit rating and utilization.
And all of my current credit cards have been replaced with chip cards.
From these, I have a substantial stack of old credit cards...
I bought a disposable loaf pan - to melt them into a blob in the oven, but I've realized that will (probably) stink like crazy. So...
How do I dispose~destroy these old credit cards?
-
I just cut mine up into pieces and throw them in the garbage
-
Shred them. If you're feeling extra paranoid, dispose of the shredded pieces in different places.
-
I just cut mine up into pieces and throw them in the garbage
That's what I do as well.
Shred them. If you're feeling extra paranoid, dispose of the shredded pieces in different places.
And the superior option! I don't have a shredder, though.
-
Cut them up with scissors and distribute the remains into various trash cans.
-
If they have been replaced by new ones, I would just throw them away
-
I operate on the assumption that my credit card number has already been stolen and distributed on countless lists on the internet, and it's just a matter of time before someone tries to buy something with it. This doesn't bother me, because I check my credit card account every 2-3 days and quickly see any fraudulent charges. When this happens (has been 2-3 times in the past decade), I call the bank, they reverse the charge, and send me a card with a new number. No inconvenience to me except for an unnecessary phone call. (I'm much more worried about identity theft in the form of someone opening a new line of credit that I have no easy opportunity to review or check, other than checking my credit three times per year).
So, I just cut my old cards into three pieces and put them in different wastepaper baskets in my house. If someone is enterprising enough to open all of the bags in my apartment complex dumpster, sort through them, put the number together, and then make a single purchase (at which time I will see it and report it and not have to pay for it), well ... maybe they deserve that random thing they bought, I guess.
-
My credit union shreds them. But now I have a metal card (Chase Sapphire Reserve). Not sure what to do with that when it's done.
-
My credit union shreds them. But now I have a metal card (Chase Sapphire Reserve). Not sure what to do with that when it's done.
I added an authorized user on our Chase Sapphire Preferred card (also metal) and they sent an envelope along to dispose of old metal cards. Apparently they will shred them for you. They'd probably send you one if you message them.
-
Just cut with scissors and throw in trash assuming you closed the account or that number at least. The card and number are useless if the account/number isn't current.
-
My credit union shreds them. But now I have a metal card (Chase Sapphire Reserve). Not sure what to do with that when it's done.
I haven't had to dispose of one of these yet, but if I was concerned about someone stealing the number I'd probably drill a few holes through the last few digits, another hole through the chip part of the card, and run over the magnetic stripe with a strong magnet.