How to Use a Credit or Debit Card with a Damaged Magnetic Strip

I recently took a vacation, being that it lasted for a couple of months when my debit card's magnetic strips became damaged I ran into some fairly big problems. Fortunately, through some very knowledgeable store clerks, I ran into a couple of different methods for getting my debit cards, and one credit card, to run just fine even with their magnetic strip brought to the point where they functioned hardly anywhere. Here are some great methods and tips for how to use a credit or debit card with a damaged magnetic strip.

The first trick, if you have had a card with a damaged magnetic strip for any period of time, is probably the most widely known. A good number of clerks ad cashiers will be able to help you with this one so you can see it in action if you do not understand quite how to properly implement it after reading this. The basic idea is to use a plastic bag, which should be at your disposal in nearly any store, to lay over the magnetic strip to help it read better. Simply put your card inside of the plastic bag and pull it tight around the card. Now your credit or debit card should swipe through the machine just as good as if it were new.

If you card is really badly damaged, perhaps a piece of the card missing altogether, most stores are perfectly capable of typing in the number if asked. In larger stores you may have to go to customer service counters as they will want to take an imprint of your card as a fraud prevention measure. At most convenience stores and gas stations they will type in your number no questions asked. And send you on your way. The real trick here is courtesy, a clerk with no manager can easily tell you their policy prohibits this - and it very well may - but putting on your polite face will usually get you your desired outcome.

If you have a debit card and the damage is semi-severe there are a couple of great tricks for you. The first is that having the cashier run your card as credit rather than debit, even though it is the same card and same scanner, seems to work when your card is unreadable as a debit card. If you are wanted to use an ATM then in my experience Bank of America and US Bank ATMs work for cards that come back as unreadable nearly everywhere else, try these out if you are having troubles getting cash.

Hopefully now you have learned some great tips for how to easily get your credit or debit card with a damaged magnetic strip to scan in machines where it previously failed.