Credit Cards Plus

When a new credit card arrives there is often the temptation to simply put it in the wallet with all the other credit cards.  This is a mistake and it should be resisted.

If the credit card is intended to replace another card then the old credit card should be cancelled.  This is for a number of reasons.  Firstly having two credit cards open can mean that the cards are harder to track and so fraud is far easier.  There is also the fact that many credit cards save their best offers for people who are new customers.  If there is still an active card for the card holder then this person will not qualify as a new credit card user and will therefore not be able to get the best offers.

Once the old card is cancelled it should be cut up.  This means that it cannot be put in the wallet accidentally and used.  Old cards are also a very useful thing for identity thieves.  If a paper shredder can dispose of plastic (most new ones can, but the package should be checked first) then this is by far the safest way of disposing of the card.

After the old card has been disposed of then the new card needs to be activated.  This can usually be done on line, although many people still prefer to do this over the phone.  In recent years credit card companies have stopped sending pre-activated cards through the mail, as this has meant that the cards were more likely to be used for credit card fraud.  In the past unsolicited cards were sent that were pre-activated.  Now almost all cards, even when they have been asked for, need to be activated.  This usually takes a couple of minutes.

The next thing that should be done is to learn the pin number of the card, if the card is going to be used for spending.  Many new cards that are issued are now chip and pin cards which means that at chip and pin terminals the pin number needs to be used.  The pin number is sent separately to the card.  As this is a very effective way of cutting down on credit card fraud it is widely used in many other countries, particularly in Europe, and it is being increasingly widely used in America – particularly at unmanned sales points.