Credit Card Debt Management

Did you ever wonder what your credit card number means? It’s not random selection, unlike the way your interest rate may often appear to be. The numbers do have meaning, according to Best of Me blog:

The first digit or two will show what network your card belongs to. Three is for travel and entertainment cards. Four is for Visa. Five indicates MasterCard and six indicates Discover. A 37 at the front of your credit card number indicates American Express, while Carte Blanche and Diners Club use 38.

American Express: The rest of the credit card number includes one digit indicating the type of card and one digit indicating the currency, followed by a seven-digit account number and a three-digit number indicating the card number within that account. The 15th and final digit is a “check digit,” which validates the authenticity of the credit card’s number.

Visa: After the number showing what network the card belongs to, there is a five-digit bank number. This is followed by an account number of six digits or, in some cases, nine digits. Of course, the card is completed with a check digit at the end.

MasterCard: After the network number, this card features a bank number of anywhere between two and five digits. The rest of the digits, except the last one, make up the account number. The last digit is the check digit.

And there you have it! Everything you (never) really wanted to know about the convoluted formula that is your credit card number. Consider yourself informed.