A credit card expiration date is the month and year when the credit card will stop working, and it appears on the front or back of a credit card in an MM/YY format. For example, if the expiration date on a credit card is 02/28, you can use the card until the end of February 2028.
The expiration date on a credit card is usually three to five years after the card is activated, and you can use the card without interruption through the end of the listed month. All credit cards have expiration dates, and they actually serve a number of important functions, including fraud prevention.
How Credit Card Expiration Dates Work:
- The first two digits indicate the month the card expires.
- The second set of numbers indicates the year the card expires.
- You can use the card through the last day of the stated month.
- The card isn’t supposed to work after it expires, but you should still cut it up to be safe.
You’ll receive a replacement card a few weeks before your old card expires, and you must activate it to continue using your account. Below, you can learn more about credit card expiration dates and what to do when your card expires.
Where Is the Expiration Date on a Credit Card?
The expiration date on a credit card is usually located on the front of the card, but it may be on the back of some cards. When it’s on the front of the card, it’s typically printed below the 15-16 digit credit card number.
It should be relatively easy to find the expiration date because it’s the only set of numbers on the card listed in an MM/YY format, such as 12/26 for December 2026 or 01/27 for January 2027. In addition, the expiration date will be labeled clearly.
Common Ways an Expiration Date Is Labeled
- Expiration Date
- Expires
- Good Thru
- Valid Thru
How to Find Your Credit Card Expiration Date Without Your Card
To find out what your credit card expiration date is without your card, you will likely need to call customer service and answer questions proving your identity to receive that information from the representative. Your expiration date usually won’t be listed in your online account or on your account statements.
Why Do Credit Cards Expire?
There are a few logical reasons why credit card expiration dates exist. While they primarily serve to benefit card issuers, a credit card company’s interests aren’t always counter to ours as consumers.
Fraud Prevention
The inclusion of expiration dates on credit cards is mandated by fraud prevention agreements between card issuers and card networks (e.g. Visa, Mastercard), as they give payment processors one additional piece of account data to cross-check and verify. This makes it harder for criminals to use stolen credit card numbers (which are much easier to come by than expiration dates) to make unauthorized transactions online or over the phone.
Refresh Inventory
Credit card companies regularly introduce new card designs and security features, and expiration dates give them an opportunity to get as much fresh inventory into circulation as possible. Creditors also have a monetary incentive to improve the ease with which you can use your card. The more you spend, the more issuers make in transaction costs and interest.
Since it’s difficult to use a beaten up card, expiration dates allow issuers to keep their customers’ cards functional and keep revenue flowing in. Expiration dates have also helped credit card issuers make the transition from cards with only magnetic stripes to chip cards and cards that enable contactless payments.
Reengage With Consumers
Expiration dates give credit card companies a built-in excuse to get in touch with you, maybe reminding you of an unused card that you’d forgotten about or providing the issuer with an opportunity to upsell you on other products and services. In this sense, expiration dates actually help with customer retention.
What Happens When a Credit Card Expires?
When a credit card expires, you can’t use it for purchases or other transactions anymore. If you try to use it, it will be declined. However, that just applies to the plastic or metal card itself. Your account remains open unless you specifically choose to close it.
Shortly before your credit card expires, your issuer will send you a new one in the mail. Once you activate this card, you can use it for transactions until its own printed expiration date. Typically, the number on the new card will be the same as the old card number. The expiration date and security code will be different.
What to Do When Your Credit Card Expires
1. Be ready ahead of time.
You should always know what your expiration date is. When you first receive your card, be sure to locate your expiration date so you know how long your card is valid.
2. Keep an eye out for replacement cards.
A few weeks before your card expires, you will get a replacement by mail. If it’s only a week or so before the expiration date and you haven’t received your new card yet, you should call your issuer’s customer service line to inquire and make sure you get a new card by the time the old one expires.
3. Activate the new card.
Your new card will come with a letter or a sticker telling you what phone number to call to activate the card. Many credit card issuers also allow you to activate your new card online or through their mobile app.
You must activate your new card in order to use it, so you should do that as soon as possible. You don’t need to wait until the day your old card expires to activate the new one. Once you have received and activated your new credit card, even if it's before the expiration of your old card, your old card will no longer be valid.
4. Dispose of your old credit card.
You should dispose of your old card by cutting it up if it’s plastic, or by sending it back to your issuer if it’s metal. You might wonder why destroying the old card is necessary since it can’t be used anymore anyway. The reason is that fraudsters can still take advantage of the sensitive information on the card to commit identity theft, so it’s better to be safe than sorry. For example, your new card may have the same number as the old one, even though the expiration date and security code will be different.
5. Keep the new expiration date a secret.
You will need to provide your expiration date when making a purchase online or over the phone, but you shouldn’t give out the date to anyone aside from that. The more information someone has about your credit card, the easier it is for them to make an unauthorized online purchase.
6. Update your credit card information for bills.
Many people have bills automatically charged to their credit card each month. This can be anything from big, important expenses like health insurance premiums and utility bills to less-essential recurring payments like streaming service subscriptions.
Once your credit card expires, you’ll need to update any recurring bill payments with your new card information. Otherwise, your next automatic transaction will fail, and you could end up losing service or owing late fees.
Bottom Line
Credit card expiration dates are vital for account security, and it’s important to be aware of them so you’re not blindsided when your card expires. It’s best to take care of activating your replacement card as soon as it comes in the mail, rather than waiting right until your expiration date. That way, you can ensure there are no interruptions in your ability to use your card or in any recurring payments you may have set up.
Expiration dates are also one of several important card details that get used for payment verification, alongside card numbers and security codes, which you can learn more about here on WalletHub.
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