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How to Open a Door With a Credit Card

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You see it in the movies all the time. A slick protagonist needs to explore the bad guy's abode, so he whips out a card, wiggles it in the crack of the door, and strolls right on in. However, in real life, it's not a universal lock pick technique, nor is it legal (if you don't have permission to enter). But, it is a pretty cool thing to know how to do, especially if you find yourself locked out of your own home!

Steps

1. Choose your largest, most easily flexible credit card. You may want to use something other than a credit card if it's more flexible and disposable (such as gift cards, membership cards, or any other plastic laminated cards - fake credit cards that you get in the mail are perfect).
   
2. Slide the card into the vertical crack between the door and the frame (where the lock is) as far as it will go at a perpendicular angle with the door.
   
3. Tilt the card so the side that's closest to you is almost or is touching the doorknob. Push it again until you feel it slide in more.
   
4. Bend the card the opposite way, forcing the lock to go back. Quickly open the door.
   

Tips

• An alternative method is to push the card between the door and the frame, as said above, then pull and push at the doorknob while applying pressure on the card. This will pry the lock open eventually, but takes a bit of time, and causes more damage to the card.
  
• Some doors require very little effort, and may be opened by simply pushing a card into the door frame at the same height as the handle (without the above tilting or bending).
  
• Instead of using a credit card, you can also use a strip of plastic cut out from a plastic soda bottle for extra length and flexibility. This also has the added benefit of not ruining your card.
  
• This technique won't work:
  
  • If you are on the side of the door that the lock is not slanted towards, the only way to open it with a card may be to cut it into a wide "U" then hook it around the lock and bend it as described above.
    
  • If the door has a quality lock that is properly installed. Most doors have a special tab that sticks alongside the latch to prevent picking with a credit card. If you can get this tab to drop into the hole that the rest of the latch goes into, then the door is improperly installed and this method will work.
    
  • If the door is an exterior door with an additional deadbolt lock - deadbolts cannot be picked with a credit card and require picking the lock or kicking down the door.
    
  • If the door has trim around it that will prevent you from opening it with a card. Either remove the trim or find an alternative method of opening the door.
    
  
  
• All else failing, you can still use your credit card to open the door by hiring a locksmith. Many are available 24/7 and take credit cards.
  

Warnings

• There is a chance that you may do damage to your credit card. If possible, use a less valuable card such as phone card or grocery card instead.
  
• Be very careful not to let your card slide through the door jamb and get stuck on the other side.
  
• Be prepared to show proof that you have the right to open the lock, or you might find yourself behind the sort of locked door that a credit card won't open!
  
• This is a technique to use when you accidentally lock yourself out. Do not use this technique to break into premises to which you do not have permission to enter! You won't enjoy being charged with trespassing or "breaking and entering".
  
• Do not use I.D. Cards, especially if you failed to heed the previous warnings. If it gets stuck on the other side of the door, you will have a lot of explaining to do.
  

Related wikiHows

• How to Pick a Lock
  
• How to Crack a "Master Lock" Combination Lock
  
• How to Make a Padlock Shim
  
• How to Keep Track of Your Keys
  

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