Comments on: Why do Credit Cards Expire?

By: Justin

Justin — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 14:43:37 +0000

Companies don’t do anything more than send a new card when the old one expires. They assess your credit worthiness and continued worthiness on an ongoing basis.

One big problem I have with my daily use card is that the signature panel wears off after a few months. Fortunately now the CID is printed on the plastic on most cards

By: nickel

nickel — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 21:05:39 +0000

I’ve had this happen, too, which sort of makes the whole expiration thing pointless, doesn’t it?

By: MITBeta

MITBeta — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 19:35:57 +0000

I have found that some merchants have no problem getting around the expiration date to charge a credit card. This happened to me with a certain anti-virus software company that had my card on file and renewed my subscription (to keep me safe, of course) using the information from the expired card. I was never able to get a satisfactory explanation as to how this was possible…

By: nickel

nickel — Thu, 11 Jan 2007 00:42:39 +0000

Please do check and let me know what you find out. Thanks!

By: 2 Pennies Earned

2 Pennies Earned — Thu, 11 Jan 2007 00:36:16 +0000

Actually, it never occured to me that they would have automatically bumped me down to the lower rate. Wouldn’t they have to at least mail me a letter if they decided to do that? I’ll have to check my cash back carefully on my next statement, which should be easy since I’m severely limiting my spending this month. Thanks for the heads up.

By: nickel

nickel — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 17:09:42 +0000

Shiva: As far as I know, it doesn’t. I’ve never seen such inquiries on my own credit reports.

By: Shiva

Shiva — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 17:08:31 +0000

Does the automatic renewal of a credit card account result in a hard credit inquiry?

By: GDA

GDA — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 04:18:19 +0000

I think credit cards have an expiration date because it gives them a contractual “out” by saying a contract was only for a stated period and not an open-ended contract.

The magnetic strip is a bunch of hogwash. The credit card companies do not want to send out millions of cards just because they might wear out. You can call and request a new one very easily and they would do anthing that saves them money.

The extra security may have been a reason at one point but that can not be a valid reason because there are now 4 digits codes that are printed on the card.

The other reason might be that it allows a ‘check’ on the consumer but credit card companies can do that at any time.

By: nickel

nickel — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 17:29:28 +0000

It’s just a new card, not a new account, so I don’t think you’d automatically roll onto the new plan. That being said, they could just put you on the lower payout plan if they wanted to. Have you been able to verfy that you’re still getting the higher payout? I’ve wondered this myself, but our rewards were maxed out so I couldn’t test.

By: 2 Pennies Earned

2 Pennies Earned — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 17:26:59 +0000

I have a Citi Dividend card as well (the old one with the great 5% cash back deal) and I’ve been wondering if, when my card expires in November, I won’t be able to get the same 5% deal anymore? I know they changed the card a couple months ago so that the deal is now 2% back on groceries, drugstores, gas, and utilities instead of 5% back. If they sent you a new card and kept you at 5% back, I’ll be thrilled!