Credit card lock: A quick guide

Quick insights

• Locking your credit card can be a way to help prevent new charges while allowing recurring payments to continue.
• Credit card locks can help prevent unauthorized usage and encourage more disciplined spending habits for yourself or your authorized user(s).
• Locking your credit card can sometimes be completed as easily as a few clicks in an app.

What is a credit card lock?

A credit card lock or freeze allows users to temporarily turn off certain features of their credit card. Locking your credit card prevents new charges and cash advances while allowing recurring payments to continue going through. How to lock or freeze your credit card varies from bank to bank, but doing so can be a useful tool for combatting unauthorized transactions or dealing with a missing card – along with many other situations.

When you should consider locking your credit card

There are many different reasons a user might want to lock their card, and the reasons for doing so include, but go well beyond, responding to a lost or stolen card.

• Lost/stolen card: If you misplace your credit card, a lock can be a useful first step while you try to locate it. Rather than canceling the card before ruling out the possibility of finding it again, a lock could help protect your account without having to worry about missing your recurring payments.
• Control spending: If you have trouble saying no to a little late-night shopping on your smartphone, a credit card lock might be an effective method to help you control spending. Because a lock is typically both instantaneous and easy to turn on and off, short-term locks may help prevent spending on something you don’t need.
• Designated card for recurring payments: If you want a card to be used primarily for recurring payments without the risk of new charges, locking your credit card can be a good solution.
• Seldom-used cards: For any account you want to keep open but know you are unlikely to use very often, a credit card lock can be a good option to help prevent unauthorized charges.
• Authorized users: Credit card locks can prevent authorized users from making new purchases.

How to lock your credit card

How to freeze or lock your credit card largely depends on the procedures established by your specific bank. In many cases, locking your card involves logging into your bank’s app and clicking the appropriate button. In other cases you may be able to call a customer service number or lock the card through your credit card account online. One thing that remains standard, though, is that a locked credit card can prevent new charges while allowing recurring payments, making it a useful tool for dealing with a variety of situations.

Locking vs freezing your credit cards

In some cases the difference between a credit card lock and a credit card freeze can be little more than semantics, depending on your lender’s unique branding. However, there are some unique differences between the two, including:

• Credit card lock: Credit card locks are usually instantaneous. As previously mentioned, locking your credit card can prevent any new charges or cash advances until the card is unlocked while allowing recurring charges to still go through. Other charges, like fees, interest, points accrual and more are frequently still permitted as well.
• Credit freeze: Credit freezes can sometimes take a little longer to process. If you freeze your credit, it has the added benefit of preventing the opening of any new accounts in your name or using your social security number. While some banks may use the term “credit card freeze” to mean “credit card lock,” a credit freeze can be processed through any of the three credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion) and is usually processed within five days.

Bottom line

Locking or freezing credit cards can have many useful benefits, including preventing unauthorized usage, controlling spending, designating a card solely for recurring charges and more. Freezing your credit, in contrast, can prevent the use of your identity for the creation of any new accounts, which may be a useful tool for combatting identity theft. Whether used for account security or budgeting purposes, credit card locks and freezes are helpful, convenient tools that can revolutionize the way you think about your credit.