Aurora AU870MA Paper and Credit Card Shredder Single Product Review

Is the Aurora AU870MA Paper and Credit Card Shredder worth buying?

With identity theft on the rise, many people want to take extra care to protect their personal information. Whether it’s bank statements, credit card bills, health insurance documents or other paperwork with identifying information, tossing documents in the trash makes it easy for other people to get ahold of sensitive details like your social security number, birth date and account numbers.

With a paper shredder, you can make all of your paperwork unreadable before you throw it away, securing your information and preventing it from falling into the wrong hands. Some machines can even destroy old credit cards, so your account numbers aren’t at risk.

The Aurora AU870MA Paper and Credit Card Shredder is a high-security shredder designed for home offices. It can shred paper and credit cards into tiny pieces and offers a five-minute continuous run time. It also has an autostart feature and a manual reverse that easily clears paper jams. 

Testing the Aurora AU870MA Paper and Credit Card Shredder

At BestReviews, manufacturers’ claims and marketing hype aren’t enough to base reviews on. Instead, a team of impartial testers tries out the products in real-world situations to determine how well they really work. The Testing Lab contains both experts who are highly familiar with specific types of products and everyday consumers who are only interested in how an item can enhance their life. 

When trying out the Aurora AU870MA, the BestReviews Testing Lab focused on the machine’s ease of setup, speed and responsiveness, noise level and overall security. 

What is the Aurora AU870MA Paper and Credit Card Shredder?

Unlike the large, bulky paper shredders often found in professional offices, the Aurora AU870MA Paper and Credit Card Shredder is a compact model designed for home use. It’s small enough to move and can fit easily in a corner, weighing just over 11 pounds. It offers a 3.9-gallon basket that can hold a significant amount of shredded materials. 

The shredder has three buttons: on, off and reverse. When the machine is on and paper is placed in the feed entry, it automatically begins shredding. If paper gets stuck, the reverse setting can usually free it. It also has a special slot for credit cards, so you don’t have to worry about plastic getting jammed where you feed in paper. The unit can shred up to eight pages at a time and cuts both paper and cards into strips that are less than the width of a pencil. 

To see how the Aurora AU870MA Paper and Credit Card Shredder compares to other products in its space, check out our reviews for the best Aurora paper shredders.

Aurora AU870MA Paper and Credit Card Shredder price and where to buy

The Aurora AU870MA Paper and Credit Card Shredder usually costs $59.99. It’s available on Amazon.

How to use Aurora AU870MA Paper and Credit Card Shredder

The BestReviews Testing Lab found that the Aurora AU870MA is easy to set up and use. It comes with a manual that has clear instructions, but you only have to mount the shredder top on top of the wastebasket until it's securely in place. The machine will only operate if the top is properly mounted on the basket. 

Once the shredder’s top is on the basket, plug the power cord into a standard AC outlet. Slide the control to the Auto setting, and the unit will automatically shred any paper fed into the slot. To turn the shredder off, slide the control to the Off position. To fix a paper jam, slide the controller to the Reverse setting and pull the paper free. 

Aurora AU870MA Paper and Credit Card Shredder benefits

The BestReviews Testing Lab appreciates how compact and easy to move the shredder is, allowing for placement in the corner of a room without taking up too much space. It shreds paper and credit cards into extremely thin pieces, measuring 5/32 by 15/32 inches, providing excellent protection for your personal information. 

 In addition, the Aurora AU870MA’s large waste bin can hold plenty of shredded materials and is easy to empty. It makes less noise than a vacuum or blender. 

Aurora AU870MA Paper and Credit Card Shredder drawbacks

While there aren’t many issues with Aurora AU870MA’s performance, it can only shred eight pages at a time. If you have a large amount of paper to shred, you may find this capacity to be a bit lacking. It has a top-heavy design that raises some possible tipping issues. However, the shredder never tipped during two months of testing. The Aurora AU870MA can also run into problems with envelopes that have plastic windows. 

Should you get the Aurora AU870MA Paper and Credit Card Shredder?

The Aurora AU870MA Paper and Credit Card Shredder is a fantastic shredder for a home office or small professional office. It offers excellent security by shredding sensitive documents into tiny pieces, providing peace of mind for those worried about identity theft. It’s also easy to set up and use, making it a smart choice even for those who haven’t used a shredder before.