Aviation Tin Snips; the simple solution to destroying any metal credit card.
Not all metal credit cards are created the same, but that doesn’t mean they’re indestructible.
Vincent Torres – CEO Metal-CreditCard.com
To destroy a metal credit card you don’t need a master’s degree in mechanical engineering. But you do need to understand what they’re made of and what tools will do the job; correctly and safely.
The vast majority of metal credit cards in the market are not 100% metal. Rather, they’re “made with metal”. That’s the distinction, these cards are constructed with a very thin nonmagnetic stainless steel core; usually 0.3mm to 0.5mm in thickness. The outer layer is a plastic shell or oil resistance layer that allows the manufacture to print the banking institutions brand on the card, numbers, embed an EMV Chip & magnetic stripe, etc.
It’s the combination of a thin metal core and plastic shell that make cards like the Chase Sapphire Reserve™ very difficult to destroy using traditional methods. Kitchen scissors or your office paper shredder are no match for these types of cards. Unfortunately, most of the guidance online advises to ship the card back to the bank; or bend the card in half until it breaks; or worse try melting the card in fire (Don’t do that). Thankfully we’ve found a better and safer way.
As a manufacture of custom metal credit and debit cards, we’re constantly destroying cards. Unlike the normally issued metal credit cards, our cards are, in most cases, twice as heavy and thicker.
Our solution: $5 dollar Aviation Snips or Tin Snips
Now we know what your thinking. What the hell are aviation snips? Aviation snips, AKA Tin Snips, are heavy duty scissors that cut through sheets of aluminum or metal. They come in different sizes and cutting angles.
Tin snips, in our opinion, should be a part of any good home tool box or garage. Not only do they cut through metal credit cards with ease, they can be used to cut various other materials; like rugs, rope, hoses and wire.
Tin snips can be found for as little as $5. We found Harbor Freight to offer the best deals. At the time of this article, we found a set of three Tin Snipes, with multiple cutting angles, for $10. Yet, to cut through a simple metal credit card the $5 yellow 18 gauge aviation snips do a great job.
What Gauge Tin Snip Do You Need?
To destroy a metal credit card we recommend, at minimum, an 18 gauge [straight cut] aviation tin snip. They work really well and can be purchased, inexpensively, at your local hardware store.
How the “gauge” number rating works for Tin snips is simple. The higher the number the thinner the metal the tool with cut. Since the cards we manufacture are 0.8mm in thickness, we use an 18 gauge Tin snip to destroy our cards. 16 gauge would also do a great job, but anything higher than 20 gauge would require more effort by the user to cut through the metal.
Tin snips make destroying metal credit cards almost effortless.