Tweeting from India, rhea91 writes about her interesting collection:

I just found an old stack of expired credit cards that I’ve collected over the years. I still collect them btw *hint hint*

That led us to consider a couple of important questions (in addition to checking out some cool dish scraping advice for expired cards). First, why do credit cards expire at all? Second, what should you do with your expired cards?

Credit cards expire for a couple of reasons: security and usability. By having expiration dates, credit card companies maintain the ability to give consumers new cards every couple of years. That helps decrease identity theft and other types of fraud. Expiration dates are also used as an additional security measure when a consumer is making a purchase (like when you have to enter your expiration date when buying something online).

Expiration dates also ensure that in addition to your card being safe, it’s also usable. Just as paper dollars are taken out of circulation, credit cards are too. Those magnetic strips on the back of your card have a relatively short cycle, and they need to be replaced in order to be operable. In addition to these practical concerns, there are financial ones as well. Consumers might note that expiration dates also give companies and consumers an opportunity to review new types of credit cards as well as rates and conditions.

Once your credit card does expire, you shouldn’t  have to worry too much about it. Starting a collection is fine, and throwing your cards away is fine too. Since cards can’t be charged, identity theft isn’t as huge of a risk. Even refunds on a purchase made with an expired card are usally credited to a new account. Financially, an expired credit card is truly expired.

However,  a credit card does represent your identity regardless of its usability. Some people accept credit cards as a means of identification without charging them. More importantly, your card probably has your signature on the back, which can be a key tool for identity thieves.  So as nice as a collection may look, cutting up the expired credit card is the best practice to safeguard your identity. But please, make sure you cut up the right card.