Edited by Michelle TipswordWhat Happens When Your Credit Card Expires?
Edited by Michelle Tipsword
Quick Answer
When your credit card expires, you’ll receive a new one in the mail about a month before the expiration date printed on the card. You’ll need to activate the new card and destroy or return the old card, which will no longer work.
If you have a credit card that's about to expire, you'll receive a new card from the issuer in the mail shortly before the printed expiration date.
Credit cards expire for security reasons and because they might start showing signs of use. Issuers update their credit card security standards periodically, and older cards may not have the features required to meet those standards. Over time, credit cards also encounter issues such as faded account numbers and damage to the chip or magnetic stripe that can make them harder to use.
Here are the basics to know about expired credit cards.
What Happens When Your Credit Card Expires?
The company that issued your credit card will mail you a new one about a month before your credit card's expiration date, which is generally printed on the back of the card. You'll then be required to activate the new card before you can start using it. Once the card is activated, you can destroy the old card and start using the new one, even if the expiration date hasn't yet passed.
When your credit card expires, you'll no longer be able to use it to make purchases. Subscription payments set to autopay may still be able to go through if the merchant uses technology that automatically updates your card's details when they change. But it's best to manually update your card's expiration date to ensure all of your automatic payments are accepted.
The card number will stay the same. The new card will have a new expiration date and card verification value (CVV), a three- or four-digit number that is an additional piece of information needed to make purchases, which can help prevent fraud during phone or online transactions.
Learn more: How Do Credit Cards Work?
Why Do Credit Cards Expire?
Credit cards expire for a range of reasons, such as:
- Technology improvements: Credit card issuers often make changes to their cards' security measures and usability features. Expiration dates allow an issuer, for example, to send out new contactless cards to replace those with only a magnetic stripe.
- Fraud prevention: The expiration date is an additional data point that scammers need to make a purchase with your credit card account. Updating the expiration date regularly means someone who gains access to the rest of your account details won't be able to commit credit card fraud.
- Design updates: You may also get a new credit card after expiration that looks different because it aligns with the credit card issuer's new branding, logo or design standards.
- Physical damage: Several years of use may impact the card's functionality, including how well the magnetic stripe, embedded microchip or contactless technology works. Receiving a new credit card regularly ensures you'll always be able to use it when desired.
How Often Do Credit Cards Expire?
Credit cards typically expire two to five years after the date of issue.
The expiration date appears on the credit card as a two-digit month followed by the last two digits of the year of expiration. The last day of allowable use will be the final day of that month. That means that if you see "06/28" on your card, it will expire on June 30, 2028.
What to Do When You Receive Your New Card
Here are the steps to take when you get your new credit card in the mail.
1. Review the Terms and Activate Your New Card
The issuer will send you a credit card agreement explaining the card's terms and conditions. Your credit card's terms may have changed since you originally applied for it or since it was last renewed, so read them carefully.
Check items like your payment due date, credit limit, annual percentage rate (APR), late fee and penalty APR (the rate you may be charged if you pay a bill late). Most of this information can be found in a standardized table in your agreement (called a Schumer box).
When you're ready, activate the card before using it. You can do so over the phone, in the issuer's mobile app or on its website.
Learn more: What Is a Schumer Box?
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2. Update Your Bills on Autopay
Once the card is activated, identify the monthly bills you pay automatically with the card. If you don't update your card details with each merchant, your payments may not be processed, depending on the merchant's policies. That could lead to a disruption in services you count on.
Take a look at your previous month's statement and note which bills are currently on autopay. Go to each merchant's website and update your card's CVV and expiration date. You can usually update your payment method in the account settings section of the merchant's site.
Learn more: Can Automatic Bill Payments Help My Credit Score?
3. Shred or Mail Back Your Old Card
Because your card number won't change when you receive a new one, it's important to properly dispose of the old card. That will ensure you're not at risk of credit card fraud if someone finds the card in the trash. You can shred a plastic credit card using a heavy-duty shredder with cross-cutting capability, or cut the card into small pieces before throwing it out.
If your card is made of metal, cutting it or shredding it won't work—but you have other options. Call the issuer and request a prepaid envelope that you can use to mail the card back to the company, or bring it to your card issuer's local bank branch for disposal if there is one in your area.
It's also possible to destroy a metal card yourself with heavy-duty cutters if you have them.
No matter how you destroy a credit card, cut up the magnetic stripe and chip so it can't be used if it's found, and take the extra step to separate the pieces of the card into multiple trash bags so no one can put it back together.
Frequently Asked Questions
The Bottom Line
When a credit card expires, that's a natural time to reflect on your experience with it. Assess whether you're using it regularly and whether the rewards and benefits it offers are in line with your spending habits.
If you're looking for a new credit card, try Experian's credit card comparison tool. You'll be able to get an apples-to-apples comparison of cards matched to your unique credit profile so you can easily compare features.
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About the author
Brianna McGurran
Brianna McGurran is a freelance journalist and writing teacher based in Brooklyn, New York. Most recently, she was a staff writer and spokesperson at the personal finance website NerdWallet, where she wrote "Ask Brianna," a financial advice column syndicated by the Associated Press.
Read more from Brianna