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Credit Card: Best Before the Expiration Date?

By: Noelle A. Mitchell

When shopping at a supermarket for food or cosmetics, you are sure to look at the expiration date of each product. If the date expires, the food will be spoiled and cleansers will be ineffective or harmful. It is absolutely clear as far as our everyday purchases are concerned. Credit cards have expiration dates, as well. Does it mean they won’t do after the date expires?
Credit cards are made of plastic which is rather a vulnerable material. The most fragile part of a credit card is the magnetic strip which can be easily damaged, after which the card should be replaced by the new one. However, this is not the major reason why banks apply expiration dates to credit cards.
As a matter of fact, credit card companies set expiration dates due to different reasons. First of all, an exp. date is known as one of the ways of protection from identity theft and credit card fraud crimes. Expiration dates are of great help when you need to protect your ID in offline credit card transactions. In purchases made online (i.e. via Internet) the expiration date of a credit card does not play such a significant part.
Many credit card providers are aware of the fact that the magnetic stripe of a plastic card disintegrates over a few years. Since most of us use credit cards on a regular basis, there is a risk that someday the credit card’s stripe won’t work and you won’t be able to make the necessary purchase. If the plastic of your credit card (especially the card number area) gets too worn out, you can be even suspected for credit card fraud: there are scammers who shave the digits from old plastics and make new cards, just sticking the plastic digits on to a shaven plastic. Besides, the card provider from time to time needs to update the information on the magnetic stripe.
In addition to these obvious roles of the cards’ expiration dates, there are a number of others which probably would never come to your mind. Sometimes, banks set shorter expiration dates to be able to contact the customer and remind him of the available credit card credit card terms or offer a new credit card deal.
As a rule, the life of a credit card is no more than three years, the common term of service is 1 year. So, if a credit card of yours has not been in use for a long time, you can either cut it into pieces or contact your bank to exchange this plastic for a new one.
If your plastic is nearing the expiration date, watch your mailbox for letters from your credit card company. Creditors generally send a new card the month before your plastic expires. Though, it mostly depends on the issuer, so call them if you've got some questions.
When you receive a new credit card, check its terms and conditions first. They may change. If you are not satisfied with the new terms, notify the creditor in writing. In this case, your creditor may let you pay off your balance under the old terms.

Article Source: http://ezine-articles-planet.com

After Noelle A. Mitchell had worked a number of years at credit and finance help centre, she started to write credit educational articles for specialized web-sites. A lot of her credit card tips are published at AcclaimDomains.com.

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