Resources

Buying and selling credit cards

💳 eBay: eBay.com is arguably the best source for buying and selling credit cards. There is a dedicated category for credit cards under Collectibles > Collective Credit & Charge Cards. It is also possible to find credit cards on international eBay sites, however, they don’t have a dedicated credit card section, so you have to use eBay’s search function.
💳 Delcampe: This is a website for buying and selling collectibles. There is a category for credit cards.
💳 Colnect: A source for buying, selling, and managing cards. There is a marketplace for bank cards.
💳 Facebook: There is a public group on Facebook for Vintage Credit Cards with hundreds of members.

Articles and general information on credit cards

💳 The Airline Passenger Experience Association: Credit History: The Birth of the Air Travel Card.
💳 American Heritage: How we became a nation of instant, constant borrowers.
💳 Bank of Canada Museum: National Currency Collection including sections for Payment Cards and Credit Cards.
💳 Bankrate: What to do with an old or expired credit card.
💳 BBC: The Secret Genius of Modern Life: Bank Card (video).
💳 Diaphanes: A praxeological history of the credit card.
💳 Emojipedia: Information about the credit card emoji.
💳 Federal Reserve Bank of Boston: Credit History: The Evolution of Consumer Credit in America (pdf) from a publication called The Ledger.
💳 Get Out of Debt Guy: Indebted to Plastic: This History of Credit Cards (infographic).
💳 Harvard Business School: A Brief Postwar History of U.S. Consumer Finance (pdf).
💳 KSEC: What Is A Smart Card?
💳 New Numismatics: New Numismatics 
💳 PBS (Public Broadcasting Service): The Secret History of the Credit Card (video).
💳 Personal Finance Digest: What should you do with old credit cards and gift cards?
💳 Phonecard Muesum: Phonecard Museum is a comprehensive collection of technologies in card format.
💳 The Points Guy: The complete history of credit cards, from antiquity to today.
💳 Polymath Consultancy: A Brief History of Payments (pdf).
💳 Pymnts.com: More Than Money is one of the most complete and accurate overviews of credit card history we have found online.
💳 Relatively Interesting: The Evolution of the Credit Card.
💳 Time.com: Now You Know: What Was the First Credit Card?.
💳 The UK Cards Association: History of plastic cards in the UK.
💳 Weebly: Credit Cards: Fantastic Plastic by Rylee Gorman and Austin Staubs.
💳 Wikipedia: There is a detailed page about credit cards on Wikipedia, plus many further pages about all manner of related topics.
💳 Wirecutter – The New York Times: The First American Credit Card Was a Coin.

Clubs and societies related to credit cards

American Numismatics Association
American Numismatics Society
Society of Paper Money Collectors
The Numismatic Bibliomania Society

We welcome new members to the American Credit Card Collectors Society all the time, from beginners to experts and everyone in between.

  • Receive the ACCCS newsletter,
  • Post unlimited adverts in the ACCCS newsletter
  • Access all old newsletters from 1994 to the present day
  • Receive an invitation to the biannual ACCCS Convention
  • Connect with a community of fellow enthusiasts
  • Forge relationships with experienced collectors
  • Gain access to the members-only area of our website

BECOME A MEMBER

If you want to expand your credit card collecting hobby, learn more, and befriend like-minded people, become a member of the ACCCS.
JOIN TODAY!

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Got questions about your credit cards?

Wondering if your cards are valuable?

Looking to sell, trade, or donate your cards?

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Frequently asked questions

You can find out the value of old credit cards by checking how much similar cards sell for. There are several ways to do this.

The simplest way to determine the value of old credit cards is to ask an experienced collector. If you submit an inquiry via our contact form, we can connect you with an expert who can assist you and point out if there is anything rare or unusual in your collection.

Alternatively, you can become a member of the American Credit Card Collectors Society. Membership in our credit card collecting club provides access to resources and knowledgeable members who can help. Benefits of membership include access to a gallery containing thousands of cards with historical pricing information, and access to our entire collection of newsletters, from 1994 through the present day.

You can look at recent sales on auction sites, however, there are some considerations to keep in mind when doing this. Firstly, it’s important to look at selling prices, rather than asking prices. Selling prices are the prices people actually paid, while asking prices can be very different. Secondly, historical sales on some sites are only saved for 3 months, so you may not find something that exactly matches what you have. Thirdly, it is sometimes possible to see rare or unusual cards sell for lower prices than they should have because people do not understand their worth, the ads don't do justice to the card, they're listed in the wrong category, or any combination thereof.

There are always people in our club who are actively buying cards. Collectors tend to focus on a niche, like gas cards or retail cards, or they might focus on a slightly broader area, like bank cards or travel and entertainment cards. Many of the rarest or most unusual cards will exchange hands in private sales. Please contact us if you are thinking of selling your collection.

You can also sell your old credit cards on online marketplaces. You will get the highest price if you sell each of your cards individually, although this approach requires the most effort. At the opposite end of the effort scale would be selling all cards as a job lot, an approach which typically results in the lowest price on a per-card basis. Halfway between these two approaches would be to group cards into different categories and to sell these individual groups, e.g., BankAmericard, Master Charge, oil and gas, retail, and so on.

To join the club, visit the membership section and complete the registration form. You can pay by check or PayPal. We offer annual or lifetime memberships. If you have any questions please contact us via the form on our website.

Credit cards are more worthwhile collecting if they are rare, in good condition, have historical significance, or are associated with famous personalities or events. Valuable modern cards might include those that are difficult to obtain, such as American Express Centurion (a.k.a. ‘black’) cards, while older credit cards might include early independent bank cards, American Express, Diners Club, or BankAmericard (Visa) cards from the 50s/early 60s, or Master Charge (MasterCard) cards from the late 60s. Rare or unusual cards can also be sought after, such as those issued in small numbers, like small independent department stores or gas stations, or cards with appealing aesthetics.

Consulting with other collectors or experts in the club can provide valuable insights. Contact us for more information via the form on our website.

We do not offer an appraisal service in a traditional sense (such services are normally a paid service) but we can connect you with an expert who should be able to assist for free and point out anything rare or unusual in your collection. The simplest way to do this is to submit an inquiry via our contact form.

The American Credit Card Collectors Society accepts donations and is most grateful for any we receive. When donations happen, we strive to find good homes for cards where they will be looked after, matching cards with collectors who will appreciate them. The club may charge members a nominal fee for donated cards, and the proceeds are offset against the running costs of our club. We are a non-profit organization. Running costs include expenses like our convention and website hosting. Donations are most popular for people getting out of the hobby, or when someone has inherited a collection and doesn’t know what to do with it.

If you wish to donate your collection, please contact us via the contact form above.

American Credit Card Collectors Society