diff --git a/docs/index.rst b/docs/index.rst
index c77a4f1..6a0db95 100644
--- a/docs/index.rst
+++ b/docs/index.rst
@@ -352,6 +352,7 @@ Spotipy authored by Paul Lamere (plamere) with contributions by:
   - Tim Balzer // timbalzer 
   - corycorycory // corycorycory 
   - Nathan Coleman // nathancoleman
+  - Michael Birtwell // mbirtwell
 
 License
 =======
diff --git a/spotipy/oauth2.py b/spotipy/oauth2.py
index 7574f88..3e79e5a 100644
--- a/spotipy/oauth2.py
+++ b/spotipy/oauth2.py
@@ -21,6 +21,11 @@ def _make_authorization_headers(client_id, client_secret):
     return {'Authorization': 'Basic %s' % auth_header.decode('ascii')}
 
 
+def is_token_expired(token_info):
+    now = int(time.time())
+    return token_info['expires_at'] - now < 60
+
+
 class SpotifyClientCredentials(object):
     OAUTH_TOKEN_URL = 'https://accounts.spotify.com/api/token'
 
@@ -52,7 +57,7 @@ class SpotifyClientCredentials(object):
         If a valid access token is in memory, returns it
         Else feches a new token and returns it
         """
-        if self.token_info and not self._is_token_expired(self.token_info):
+        if self.token_info and not self.is_token_expired(self.token_info):
             return self.token_info['access_token']
 
         token_info = self._request_access_token()
@@ -73,9 +78,8 @@ class SpotifyClientCredentials(object):
         token_info = response.json()
         return token_info
 
-    def _is_token_expired(self, token_info):
-        now = int(time.time())
-        return token_info['expires_at'] - now < 60
+    def is_token_expired(self, token_info):
+        return is_token_expired(token_info)
 
     def _add_custom_values_to_token_info(self, token_info):
         """
@@ -131,7 +135,7 @@ class SpotifyOAuth(object):
                 if 'scope' not in token_info or not self._is_scope_subset(self.scope, token_info['scope']):
                     return None
 
-                if self._is_token_expired(token_info):
+                if self.is_token_expired(token_info):
                     token_info = self.refresh_access_token(token_info['refresh_token'])
 
             except IOError:
@@ -154,9 +158,8 @@ class SpotifyOAuth(object):
 
         return needle_scope <= haystack_scope
 
-    def _is_token_expired(self, token_info):
-        now = int(time.time())
-        return token_info['expires_at'] < now
+    def is_token_expired(self, token_info):
+        return is_token_expired(token_info)
 
     def get_authorize_url(self, state=None):
         """ Gets the URL to use to authorize this app
diff --git a/tests/test_oauth.py b/tests/test_oauth.py
index 98f7548..76ff8f5 100644
--- a/tests/test_oauth.py
+++ b/tests/test_oauth.py
@@ -39,16 +39,16 @@ def _make_oauth(*args, **kwargs):
 class OAuthCacheTest(unittest.TestCase):
 
     @patch.multiple(SpotifyOAuth,
-                    _is_token_expired=DEFAULT, refresh_access_token=DEFAULT)
+                    is_token_expired=DEFAULT, refresh_access_token=DEFAULT)
     @patch('spotipy.oauth2.open', create=True)
     def test_gets_from_cache_path(self, opener,
-                                  _is_token_expired, refresh_access_token):
+                                  is_token_expired, refresh_access_token):
         scope = "playlist-modify-private"
         path = ".cache-username"
         tok = _make_fake_token(1, 1, scope)
 
         opener.return_value = _token_file(json.dumps(tok, ensure_ascii=False))
-        _is_token_expired.return_value = False
+        is_token_expired.return_value = False
 
         spot = _make_oauth(scope, path)
         cached_tok = spot.get_cached_token()
@@ -58,10 +58,10 @@ class OAuthCacheTest(unittest.TestCase):
         self.assertEqual(refresh_access_token.call_count, 0)
 
     @patch.multiple(SpotifyOAuth,
-                    _is_token_expired=DEFAULT, refresh_access_token=DEFAULT)
+                    is_token_expired=DEFAULT, refresh_access_token=DEFAULT)
     @patch('spotipy.oauth2.open', create=True)
     def test_expired_token_refreshes(self, opener,
-                                     _is_token_expired, refresh_access_token):
+                                     is_token_expired, refresh_access_token):
         scope = "playlist-modify-private"
         path = ".cache-username"
         expired_tok = _make_fake_token(0, None, scope)
@@ -74,22 +74,22 @@ class OAuthCacheTest(unittest.TestCase):
         spot = _make_oauth(scope, path)
         spot.get_cached_token()
 
-        _is_token_expired.assert_called_with(expired_tok)
+        is_token_expired.assert_called_with(expired_tok)
         refresh_access_token.assert_called_with(expired_tok['refresh_token'])
         opener.assert_any_call(path)
 
     @patch.multiple(SpotifyOAuth,
-                    _is_token_expired=DEFAULT, refresh_access_token=DEFAULT)
+                    is_token_expired=DEFAULT, refresh_access_token=DEFAULT)
     @patch('spotipy.oauth2.open', create=True)
     def test_badly_scoped_token_bails(self, opener,
-                                      _is_token_expired, refresh_access_token):
+                                      is_token_expired, refresh_access_token):
         token_scope = "playlist-modify-public"
         requested_scope = "playlist-modify-private"
         path = ".cache-username"
         tok = _make_fake_token(1, 1, token_scope)
 
         opener.return_value = _token_file(json.dumps(tok, ensure_ascii=False))
-        _is_token_expired.return_value = False
+        is_token_expired.return_value = False
 
         spot = _make_oauth(requested_scope, path)
         cached_tok = spot.get_cached_token()