If My Credit Card Expires This Month, Can I Still Use It? (2024)

You’re out to dinner with friends and you offer up your credit card to cover the bill. You look at your card and realize that it expires this month. Uh-oh. Now what?

Take a breath and relax. The credit card expires on the last day of the month, not the first. No need to worry about your card getting declined and having to sit through that ignominy, even if you are surrounded by friends.

That credit cards even include expiration dates may seem a bit strange, but there are solid reasons for it, including managing wear and tear and upgrading outdated security technology. As your credit card expiration date nears, there are some actionable steps to take and some things you should know.

When your credit card eclipses its expiration date, any charges you attempt to make will be declined because all the data points don’t match up properly. Your name and card number may be accurate, for example, but the expiration date no longer is.

However, well before the expiration date on your credit card arrives on the calendar, a new card with a new expiration date will likely have already arrived in your mailbox.

This new card will have the same account number, of course, but it will bear a new expiration date – usually about three to five years down the road – and a new card verification value, or CVV. (That’s the three- or four-digit security code found on the back or front of the card, depending on the issuer.)

When you receive the new card with the updated expiration date, you’ll want to activate the new card by following the instructions provided by your card issuer. After activation, update any autopay bills that are charged to this particular card. Otherwise, your payments might be declined.

Then destroy the old credit card, so no one else can access the card number. Assuming it’s a plastic card, you can cut it up with scissors or a shredder and discard the pieces – in separate trash bags for extra security.

Part of the allure of metal credit cards is the cachet they carry and the feeling of exclusivity they evoke. But destroying such cards when they expire takes a little more work than scissors and shredders. Scissors won’t cut a metal credit card, and shredders could get ruined. Instead, your card issuer might offer you a return or recycling option by sending you a prepaid envelope to securely mail your metal card back.

Alternatively, you can use tin snips or similar handheld tool designed to cut sheet metal. If your card issuer has a brick-and-mortar branch nearby, they may be able to securely take it off your hands.

An expired credit card is exactly that – expired. Or, as the dictionary says, “ceases to be valid.”

Even though the account number on the new card is the same as the one on the old card, charges to an expired card likely will get declined. Credit card expiration dates and CVV numbers serve as additional data points and security checkmarks. When they don’t match up, charges won’t go through.

This is another reason why updating any autopay bills on the account is important. Forgetting to do so could cause you to miss a payment, which can lead to late fees. Missed payments might also cause you to lose any promotional benefits based on autopay. For example, some cellphone and cable/internet providers offer small discounts on monthly bills if you set up autopay. If that automatic payment doesn’t go automatically, you risk losing that discount for that month and perhaps longer.