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Does Locking Your Credit Card Affect Your Credit Score?
July 1, 2025
Quick Answers
- Locking your credit card is a security measure that does not directly impact your credit score.
- Credit bureaus are not notified when you lock or unlock your card, as this action isn't part of the data reported by lenders.
- Your score is calculated based on factors like payment history and credit utilization, which are unaffected by the card's lock status.
What Does It Mean to Lock Your Credit Card?
Locking your credit card is a security feature that allows you to temporarily prevent most new transactions from being approved on your account. This action is typically managed through your card issuer's mobile app or website, giving you a quick way to stop unauthorized use if your card is lost or stolen. While locked, recurring payments like subscriptions and bills will usually still go through, but new purchases will be declined.
This security measure has no direct impact on your credit score. Because the account remains open and active, your payment history, credit utilization, and account age continue to be reported to the credit bureaus as usual. Locking your card is simply a preventative tool that doesn't penalize your credit standing, allowing you to protect your account without any negative repercussions to your credit report.
How Locking Your Credit Card May Affect Your Credit Score
Locking your credit card is a security measure that doesn't directly harm your credit score. However, the circumstances surrounding the lock could indirectly lead to a negative impact.
- A Card is Locked:You first lock your card, typically via your bank's mobile app, to prevent unauthorized transactions if it's lost or stolen. This is a temporary security hold.
- Account Obligations Continue:Even while locked, your account remains open. Your existing balance is still there, and your payment due date doesn't change. Any scheduled automatic payments will also likely still process.
- The Potential for a Missed Payment:The primary risk comes from forgetting to pay your bill on time while the card is locked and out of mind. A missed payment can occur if you're not actively monitoring the account.
- The Score Takes a Hit:If a payment becomes 30 or more days late, the issuer will report it to the credit bureaus. This reported delinquency is what actually damages your credit score, not the lock itself.
How Much Will Locking Your Credit Card Affect Your Credit Score?
While locking your credit card is a smart security move, it's wise to understand its relationship with your credit score. Here are a few key points to consider.
- No Direct Score Impact. Locking your card does not directly affect your credit score. Credit bureaus are not notified when a card is locked, so this action is not factored into their scoring models.
- Prevents New Charges. A lock primarily blocks new transactions, preventing fraudulent charges from increasing your balance. This indirectly protects your credit utilization ratio, a major factor in your score.
- Recurring Payments Continue. Be aware that recurring payments, credits, and interest charges may still process on a locked card. You are still responsible for making timely payments to avoid negative marks on your credit report.
How You Can Avoid Locking Your Credit Card Affecting Your Credit Score
Continue Making Payments
Locking your card does not pause your payment due dates. You must continue making on-time payments to avoid late fees and negative reports to credit bureaus. A missed payment will harm your credit score, regardless of whether the card is locked or active.
Monitor Credit Utilization
Your credit utilization ratio remains a key factor. The balance on your locked card still contributes to your overall debt. To protect your score, aim to keep your total credit usage low across all accounts, even while one card is temporarily disabled for new purchases.
Ways to Improve Your Credit Score
Improving your credit score is an achievable goal that has a significant impact on your overall financial health. Through consistent, positive financial habits, you can boost your FICO® score or VantageScore over time.
- Monitor your credit reports. You can obtain free credit reports from Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax to check for inaccuracies or signs of identity theft that could be harming your score.
- Set up automatic payments. Since payment history is the single most important factor in your score, automating payments ensures you never miss a due date.
- Lower your credit utilization. Aim to use less than 30% of your available credit, as a lower ratio signals to lenders that you are a responsible borrower.
- Become an authorized user. Being added to a credit card account with a long history of on-time payments and low utilization can give your own credit a boost.
- Diversify your credit mix. Lenders like to see that you can responsibly manage different types of credit, such as revolving credit from cards and installment loans like a car payment.
The Bottom Line
Locking your credit card is a temporary security measure that blocks new transactions but does not affect your credit score, as the account itself remains open and in good standing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does locking my credit card lower my credit score?
No, locking your credit card does not directly impact your credit score. It is a temporary security measure that has no bearing on your credit history.
Can I still make payments on a locked credit card?
Yes, you can and should continue making payments on a locked card. Recurring bills and scheduled payments will also typically continue to process without interruption.
Will locking my card affect my credit utilization ratio?
Locking your card does not change your credit limit or your outstanding balance, so it has no effect on your credit utilization ratio, a key credit score factor.
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