How to Destroy Metal Credit Cards at Home

Metal credit cards are becoming increasingly popular in the luxury credit card market, but it makes it more difficult to destroy the cards when you close your account. A few years ago I wrote about the “proper” way to dispose of metal credit cards. I received comments with some unique at-home methods so I decided to try out my own way. Here’s what I think is the best method for destroying a metal credit card at home.

Step 1: Destroy the Metal Chip

You can do this pretty easily by jamming scissors into the center of the chip.

Step 2: Destroy the Number on the Back of the Card

We used a lighter to heat the plastic that covered the metal card. The lighter wasn’t hot enough to melt the text itself.

Step 3: Remove the Plastic Layer

Next, we used scissors to scrap the plastic off the metal card. If the plastic is heated enough, it comes off very easily. You can repeat this on the front if you would like to remove your name as well.

Final Thoughts

The metal card itself doesn’t contain any account information so the trick is to destroy the plastic layer. With a little bit of heat and a sharp edge, you can easily remove the plastic. I can’t say the smell of the burning plastic is 100% safe for us to inhale but I personally think it’s easier to do this than to mail the card back to the credit card company.  Of course, if you don’t feel like getting crafty, you can always contact the bank to see where to mail the card so they can dispose of it for you.