You’re standing at the checkout counter, your ice cream is melting, and the line behind you is getting restless. You swipe. Declined. You chip-read. Error. You start wondering if that MagSafe wallet on your phone or that magnetic clasp on your purse finally did it. It’s a classic panic. People have been whispered warnings about magnets and plastic since the 1970s, but the truth is a lot messier than "magnets are bad."
Basically, the answer to do magnets hurt credit cards depends entirely on which part of the card we’re talking about and what kind of magnet you’re waving around.
If you’re carrying a card from ten years ago, you’re at risk. If you’ve got a modern metal card with an EMV chip, you’re probably fine. But "probably" is a heavy word when it’s your lunch money on the line. Let's get into the physics of why your fridge magnet is harmless but your neodymium hobby magnets are actual credit card killers.
The Science of the Stripe
The dark band on the back of your card is a "magstripe." It’s made of tiny iron-based magnetic particles. Think of them like microscopic compass needles. When the card is manufactured, these needles are aligned in specific patterns to represent your account number and name.
When you ask if magnets hurt credit cards, you’re really asking about "coercivity."
Coercivity is just a fancy way of measuring how much magnetic force is needed to scramble those tiny needles. There are two types: Low Coercivity (LoCo) and High Coercivity (HiCo). Most bank cards are HiCo. They are designed to resist everyday magnetic interference.
LoCo cards are the ones you get at hotels or as gift cards. They are incredibly flimsy. A weak magnet—like the one in a phone case or a tablet cover—can wipe a LoCo hotel key in seconds. This is why your hotel room key always seems to die if it’s in the same pocket as your phone.
HiCo cards, the ones issued by Chase or Amex, require a much stronger field. We’re talking about a concentrated magnetic force to actually "hurt" the stripe.
Do Magnets Hurt Credit Cards with Chips?
Here is the good news. The EMV chip—the little square metallic contact on the front—is not magnetic. It’s a tiny computer.
Magnets don't bother it.
The chip communicates via electrical contact with the reader. Because it doesn’t rely on aligned magnetic particles to store data, a magnet won't "erase" your chip. This is why you can stick a card to a magnetic mount and it will still work at a chip-enabled terminal.
The same applies to contactless payments. Tap-to-pay uses Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) or Near Field Communication (NFC). This involves a tiny antenna coiled inside the plastic of your card. While a massive, industrial-strength electromagnet could theoretically induce a current that fries the chip, the magnets found in consumer electronics simply aren't strong enough to destroy the NFC functionality.
The iPhone MagSafe Dilemma
Apple’s MagSafe chargers and wallets use a ring of magnets to snap into place. When these first launched, people lost their minds. They thought their wallets were going to be nuked.
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Apple actually addressed this. Their leather and silicone wallets are shielded. But if you put your credit card directly against the back of a MagSafe-enabled phone without a shielded wallet?
It’s risky.
While the magnets in the iPhone aren't likely to kill a HiCo bank card immediately, repeated exposure and friction can degrade the magnetic stripe over time. It’s a slow death rather than an instant wipe.
Real World Killers: What to Avoid
You don't need to worry about your refrigerator. You don't need to worry about most speakers.
But you should worry about neodymium magnets.
These are the "super magnets" often found in high-end magnetic clasps on heavy-duty bags or hobbyist sets like Buckyballs. If you slide your card directly across a neodymium magnet, the stripe is toast.
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MRI machines are another story. If you take a credit card into an MRI suite, the magnetic field is so powerful it won't just erase the card; it might actually pull the card (especially if it's a metal one) out of your pocket at high speed.
Hospital staff generally warn you about this, but it’s worth repeating: MRI magnets are a different beast. They will scramble everything.
Does the Material Matter?
Metal cards are all the rage now. The Apple Card, the Amex Platinum, the Chase Sapphire Reserve. These are mostly made of titanium or stainless steel alloys.
Does this change the magnetic risk?
Not for the chip. But the stripe on a metal card is still just a coating. It can be erased just as easily as the stripe on a plastic card. In fact, metal cards can sometimes be more annoying because they are more likely to be attracted to powerful magnets, leading to scratches or physical damage that ruins the card's ability to slide through a reader.
Why Your Card Might Actually Be Failing
Usually, when people think a magnet hurt their credit card, it’s actually just physical wear and tear.
The magstripe is a physical layer on top of the plastic. It gets scratched. It gets "plowed" by grit and dirt inside card readers. If a scratch is deep enough, the reader can't get a continuous signal.
Also, card readers themselves are often the culprit. If a reader has a dirty head, it won't read your card regardless of how "healthy" your stripe is.
If your card stops working, look at the stripe in the light. If you see a bright silver line through the middle of the dark stripe, that’s physical damage. The magnetic particles have been scraped off. No magnet did that—your wallet or the gas station pump did.
Actionable Steps to Protect Your Plastic
You don't need to live in fear of magnets, but a little common sense goes a long way.
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- Orientation matters. If you use a magnetic phone case, face the "chip" side toward the magnets and the "stripe" side away. Most magnetic wallets are designed to shield the cards, but if you’re using a DIY solution, keep the stripe toward the outside.
- Ditch the hotel key/phone combo. Hotel keys are the weakest link. Never put them in the same pocket as your phone or near a magnetic money clip. They will fail.
- Check your bag clasps. If your purse or messenger bag has a very "snappy," powerful magnetic closure, don't rest your wallet directly against that spot.
- Embrace the tap. The magnetic stripe is legacy technology. It’s 50 years old. Whenever possible, use the chip or the contactless tap. Even if a magnet "hurts" your stripe, the card remains 100% functional at most modern terminals that prioritize the chip.
- Inspect your wallet. If your wallet has a magnetic closure, ensure there is a layer of leather or fabric between the magnet and your cards.
The era of magnets being a primary threat to our finances is mostly over. We’ve moved from magnetic storage to semiconductor storage. But until the very last magstripe reader is ripped out of a vending machine in the middle of nowhere, keep your cards away from those neodymium desk toys.
Honestly, the physical friction of your jeans is probably a bigger threat to your card than your MagSafe charger will ever be. Just keep the stripe clean, use the chip whenever you can, and don't take your wallet into an MRI room. You’ll be fine.