If you’ve had the unpleasant experience with canceling a lost credit card and then discovering it involving the couch cushions the next day, the Nerds feel for you. And so does Discover: The issuer recently released a brand new card perk that permits you to freeze your lost credit card temporarily, rather than canceling it.
What this means to ‘freeze’ your credit card
Cardholders happen to be known to freeze their plastic?in a block of ice to avoid using it in nonemergency situations. But?there is no frozen water involved here. In this instance, after freezing your card online, around the Discover app or over the telephone, the card?won’t authorize new purchases, payday loans or balance transfers before you unfreeze your account. This provides you time to find your lost card and also the peace of mind which comes from knowing your card won’t be used to pay for someone else’s purchases.
One of the very most annoying reasons for canceling a card may be the need?to keep in mind to update all the accounts you’ve set to be automatically paid from your charge card. With the freeze feature, this isn’t an instantaneous concern. Certain card activity — like recurring bill payments, returns, rewards redemption and credits — continues to undergo normally while your bank account is frozen.
Discover also has a choice to temporarily deactivate your card, instead of freeze it. This lets you use your card number for?card-not-present transactions — like online or over-the-phone purchases — but your physical card can not be used. This can be a decent option if you are sure that your card is somewhere in your possession and you desire to make an online purchase or two. However it isn’t a good option?in case your card has potentially been stolen, since someone might rack up a tidy balance on your card via an online shopping spree.
? MORE: How to Dispute Fraudulent Credit Card Charges
‘Unfreeze’ with ease
Once you find your card, you are able to unfreeze it within a few moments online, with the Discover app or over the telephone. Your account number will remain exactly the same, and transactions will go through normally again.
You can freeze and unfreeze your card as often as you would like.
If you don’t find your card, it may be necessary to cancel it and get a new one. Discover cards come with $0 fraud liability, but it can be a hassle to handle the aftermath of the stolen charge card even with no monetary expense. If you think your card has been stolen or lost for good, you need to cancel and ask for a new card immediately. And remember, you’ll need to update any payment accounts together with your new card information.
Bottom line: Should you lose your Discover card, but you’re pretty confident that you’ll think it is, you might want to consider freezing, instead of canceling, your card. Your recurring transactions will still go through,?so?you won’t need to improve your automatic payment information on all of your accounts. Once you discover your card, unfreeze your account in seconds. Alternatively, should you don’t find your card, cancel it immediately and Discover will ship a new one.
