How to Freeze Your Credit Cards

If your credit card is lost or stolen, you'll have to freeze the account right away to ensure it isn't used by an unauthorized individual. Also, if you want to keep a particular credit card account active but don't want access to the credit limit just now, you can freeze your credit cards. This is a good strategy to use if you're seeking short-term relief from credit card debt and don't want to deal with the temptation of easy access to a credit card.

Instructions

1. Contact customer service by telephone. You will need to answer any security questions (typically your date of birth, Social Security number, mother's maiden name or a customized question) and provide the credit card number of the account you want to freeze.

2. Provide the customer service representative with detailed information about when and where you last used the card, if you're freezing it because you discovered it has gone missing or been stolen. That will assist the credit card company in tracking the fraudulent use of your card, if it happens, and increase the chances that the perpetrator will be caught.

3. Ask for a freeze on your high-interest credit cards if you're having problems managing your credit card debt and want to limit your access to credit funds. Your access to the card will be revoked virtually instantly, and you'll have to complete a form stating that your account will be frozen for a specified period of time. You will not be able to unfreeze your account until that period elapses.

4. Pay down the balances owing on your frozen credit cards, reducing them to zero as quickly as possible. Remember that you don't necessarily improve your credit score by never using credit. If you want to restore your credit after unfreezing your credit cards, use them regularly but pay off the balances, in full, every month.

5. Choose to cancel rather than freeze credit card accounts that charge exorbitant annual fees or high rates of interest. Instead, limit your credit card spending to a card or two, keeping the cards with the best annual percentage rates and lowest fees.

Tips & Warnings

• Make a separate note of all your credit card information, including account numbers and toll-free hotlines to customer service, and keep this information in a separate area in your wallet or purse. That way, you'll have immediate access to everything you need to put a hold on your account.

• If you don't freeze your credit card promptly after losing it and someone uses it to make a purchase, you may wind up being held liable for the money. Always report a lost or stolen card as soon as possible.