# Do you memorize your credit/debit card numbers? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 18, 2007, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-memorize-your-credit-debit-card-numbers/430456 "2007-12-18T15:27:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2007, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-memorize-your-credit-debit-card-numbers/430456/21 "2007-12-18T17:37:21Z")
[QUOTE=Hockey Monkey] Yep. I shop online often enough that it just happens. [/QUOTE] Ditto, although since our last cc# was compromised (stolen), we got a new # so I haven’t memorized that one yet. Still, with enough online and over-the-phone transactions, it’s only a matter of time before this one becomes ingrained as well. ---
**Author:** ![Harriet\_the\_Spry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e56c9b/32.png) [@Harriet\_the\_Spry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harriet_the_Spry)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2007, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-memorize-your-credit-debit-card-numbers/430456/22 "2007-12-18T17:39:08Z")
Yes. I wouldn’t complain about a number change for a lost or stolen card, but wasn’t especially pleased when we got a new number for no particular reason a while back (some kind of upgrade we didn’t ask for or need). But if the card were lost or stolen I wouldn’t be mad at the company. I’d either be mad at myself, the thief, or the merchant with the security failure. I originally thought a CC number would be too long to memorize, but now that I know I can do it, I really prefer it to grabbing my purse whenever I order something by mail, phone, or internet. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2007, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-memorize-your-credit-debit-card-numbers/430456/23 "2007-12-18T17:47:56Z")
[QUOTE=Otto] I can’t fathom why someone would go to the trouble of doing that. [/QUOTE] There’s no trouble at all. After saying/typing it enough times, it’s just there. Do you know any phone numbers by heart that you’ve never bothered to try and memorize? Perhaps someone that you call several times per week? ---
**Author:** ![jacquilynne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/67e7ee/32.png) [@jacquilynne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jacquilynne)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2007, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-memorize-your-credit-debit-card-numbers/430456/24 "2007-12-18T18:00:45Z")
[QUOTE=Otto] Do you also memorize the expiration date and the CVV code from the back? [/QUOTE] Relative to remembering a completely random 16 digit number, remembering a partial date and a 3 digit number is nothing. I always remember those long before I get the rest of the card number down. ---
**Author:** ![PuddingCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b4bc9f/32.png) [@PuddingCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PuddingCat)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2007, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-memorize-your-credit-debit-card-numbers/430456/25 "2007-12-18T18:01:22Z")
Yeah. It’s 6759 1… Err, scratch that 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2007, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-memorize-your-credit-debit-card-numbers/430456/26 "2007-12-18T18:19:47Z")
[QUOTE=tdn] Do you know any phone numbers by heart that you’ve never bothered to try and memorize? Perhaps someone that you call several times per week? [/QUOTE] Actually I don’t recall phone numbers _per se_. I recall the finger patterns used to punch the buttons. I have two phones, one with the 3x4 keypad and one with the buttons in a rotary-style circle and I have a hell of a time dialing from the latter. But I’m talking about people who sit down and deliberately memorize their numbers. Not people who absorb it through repetition (and I’ve never absorbed a CC number through repetition) but who make a conscious effort to remember it. Oddly, many of these same people can’t remember a four digit PIN nor can they recall their Social Security numbers. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2007, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-memorize-your-credit-debit-card-numbers/430456/27 "2007-12-18T19:42:39Z")
I do, but it’s not intentional. Once I input a number a few times it’s locked in; I still remember my Discover card number, and I haven’t had that card since the 90s. When I worked in retail I used to freak out customers when I was, for instance, opening a credit card account because I could hear the social security card number all the way through once and then input it without error; finally I decided to cut it out before someone punched me. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2007, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-memorize-your-credit-debit-card-numbers/430456/28 "2007-12-18T19:58:14Z")
No. I always use a virtual number for my online purchases, but in general couldn’t be bothered anyway. ---
**Author:** ![brad\_d](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@brad\_d](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brad_d)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2007, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-memorize-your-credit-debit-card-numbers/430456/29 "2007-12-18T20:03:34Z")
I don’t. I do a fair amount of online buying, but I use eWallet to store card info and stuff (encrypted) on my machine - I cut-and-paste the number into the proper field. It’s quicker and less error-prone, I’ve found. It’s not like I have actively tried _not_ to remember the numbers, but the way I tend to do things there’s little occasion for them to get repetitively imprinted in my brain. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2007, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-memorize-your-credit-debit-card-numbers/430456/30 "2007-12-18T21:57:00Z")
I’m good at memorizing series of numbers, even if I don’t intend to. I have both my credit card and debit card numbers memorized, as well as the expiration date and CCV numbers. I also have my checking account number, social security number (is there anyone who _doesn’t_ have this memorized?), driver’s license #, and several of my old locker combinations memorized. (19-39-09 was my first ever locker combination.) ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2007, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-memorize-your-credit-debit-card-numbers/430456/31 "2007-12-18T22:13:50Z")
[QUOTE=Otto] I can’t fathom why someone would go to the trouble of doing that. [/QUOTE] It’s a lot less trouble to remember the number than it would be to haul out the card every time I want to log in to my bank’s website. It’s a lot easier to memorize if you don’t think of it as a big 16-digit number - instead, think of it as one 4-digit number followed by four 3-digit numbers. That’s only five numbers. Uh, works for me anyway 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2007, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-memorize-your-credit-debit-card-numbers/430456/32 "2007-12-18T22:32:22Z")
[QUOTE=Manduck] think of it as one 4-digit number followed by four 3-digit numbers. That’s only five numbers. Uh, works for me anyway 🙂 [/QUOTE] 😕 Why would you do it like that, instead of just four 4 digit numbers? Every CC I’ve seen has 16 numbers in four groups of four. ---
**Author:** ![essell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/34f0e0/32.png) [@essell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/essell)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2007, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-memorize-your-credit-debit-card-numbers/430456/33 "2007-12-18T22:36:49Z")
[QUOTE=Otto] Why?! Part of my job is shutting down lost or stolen cards. I routinely get people who are quite upset that I’m sending them a new card with a different number because they have the old number memorized. I can’t fathom why someone would go to the trouble of doing that. [/QUOTE] No trouble, it’s fun to learn things. Even daft things like credit card numbers. I don’t understand how people can _not_ know their bank account number. ---
**Author:** ![lizardling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f4b2a3/32.png) [@lizardling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lizardling)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2007, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-memorize-your-credit-debit-card-numbers/430456/34 "2007-12-19T02:07:53Z")
I memorized my CC info since I frequently buy things online and don’t stick it in a password keeper out of sheer paranoia. This tripped me up when my CC company had an “oops” and had to give me a whole new account. :mad: That was fun, all right. At least I’ve got most of the number memorized through repetition by now. I’m mildly synaesthetic so numbers are… easier. I don’t hit my bank often enough to have my bank account number memorized. And when I do, I just whip out the member card since it’s easier than trying to recite the number and have the clerk understand my voice. Bah! ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2007, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-memorize-your-credit-debit-card-numbers/430456/35 "2007-12-19T02:11:26Z")
[QUOTE=bouv] 😕 Why would you do it like that, instead of just four 4 digit numbers? Every CC I’ve seen has 16 numbers in four groups of four. [/QUOTE] My original Visa card had a 13-digit number, arranged like this: 9999\_999\_999\_999 So I memorized it that way. A few years ago they added three digits and arranged it like this: 9999\_9999\_9999\_9999 but I already had the first 13 digits memorized, so it was easier just to memorize the next three digits than to re-memorize the entire number. The main point is that it’s easier to remember the number if you mentally break it into smaller numbers - it doesn’t necessarily have to follow the way it’s printed on the card. ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2007, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-memorize-your-credit-debit-card-numbers/430456/36 "2007-12-19T02:48:30Z")
Yes, at least the one I use most often, including (of course) the expiration date and CVV. I use it probably on average five times a week to buy or order stuff online, often while sitting at my computer in my pajamas, and it’s very nice not to have to find my wallet to dig out the card to type in the number. I used to find it very easy to memorize phone numbers. I was a walking phone book for all my friends and family’s numbers. Then came the cell phone and its built in address book with speed dialing and Caller ID, and now I don’t know anybody’s phone number except my own home, work and cell phone numbers, because I give them out all the time. It’s funny: I still remember most of the _last one I memorized_ phone numbers for many of my friends, even if that is now an outdated number many times over. There’s at least 4 or 5 phone numbers I can still rattle off that were my best friends’ numbers when they lived with their parents in high school (I graduated over 19 years ago), but if I wanted to call them up right now, I’d have to dig out my cell phone or email them to ask for their number. In fact, I even still remember my grandparents’ phone number in Taiwan. They’ve both passed away and last used that phone number almost 20 years ago. We only used to call them five times a year or so, because international long distance calling was so expensive. What’s funny about it is that it’s one of only three telephone numbers I’ve ever memorized in Chinese rather than English. ---
**Author:** ![ParentalAdvisory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@ParentalAdvisory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParentalAdvisory)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2007, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-memorize-your-credit-debit-card-numbers/430456/37 "2007-12-19T03:21:31Z")
Now that we know why people want to remember their numbers for convenience, I’m interested to know why people would be upset with getting a new number after their card was lost/stolen. Past convenience, Isn’t the whole point to get one that OTHERS DO NOT KNOW? People are funny. ---
**Author:** ![wouldn\_t\_you\_like\_to\_know](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/eb8c5e/32.png) [@wouldn\_t\_you\_like\_to\_know](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wouldn_t_you_like_to_know)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2007, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-memorize-your-credit-debit-card-numbers/430456/38 "2007-12-19T05:51:37Z")
I have one card memorized that i got and have used since college. Not sure how or why I memorized it (i’ve had it for over 20 years - same number, same exp. date). When they started the number on the back thing it through me for a while. If that card number changed, I doubt I’d make the effort to memorize another, but it would probably happen anyway. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Skara\_Brae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f0a364/32.png) [@Skara\_Brae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skara_Brae)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2007, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-memorize-your-credit-debit-card-numbers/430456/39 "2007-12-19T06:11:40Z")
To my utter horror, I recently realized I know my [Amazon.com](http://Amazon.com) visa number, expiration date and back up code by heart. I think I order too much online… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-memorize-your-credit-debit-card-numbers/430456.md?page=1)