How to Deactivate or Cancel a Credit Card

Whether you’ve stopped using an old credit card or you just paid one off and want to prevent yourself from running up a new balance, closing an account the proper way is important. In some cases, though, it may be better for your credit health to leave your accounts open.¹

Here’s what you need to know about closing a credit card, how to do it the right way and the impact it could have on your credit.

Reasons You May Want to Cancel a Credit Card

People have a variety of reasons for wanting to close a credit card account. Some of the most common ones include:

• You feel like you have too many cards. With so many credit cards available today, it’s common for people to try out different products over the years. As cards accumulate and take up wallet (or junk drawer) space, you might decide to nix a few of them. With fewer accounts to monitor, you feel like it will help streamline your finances.
• You're trying to be more responsible with your spending. Credit cards can be a great tool, but if you’re having trouble managing your money and you struggle with debt, minimizing your access to credit for a while might be wise.
• You no longer want a joint account with someone. When couples split up, they may wish to be removed from any shared credit accounts. Because there is often no way to remove just one party, to come off a joint account, you will typically need to close the account.²
• You have a card with a fee but no longer reap that card’s benefits. Some premium travel cards charge a yearly fee, but if you know you’re not planning any trips or taking advantage of the other features of the card, it might make sense to cancel the card.

What to Do Before You Cancel a Credit Card

If you decide that canceling a credit card is the right move for you, there are a few things you should do beforehand:

• Pay off your entire balance. You should pay any remaining amount owed and then confirm that you have a $0 balance before you move forward with canceling a credit card account. If there are any lingering charges, or if a recurring bill posts to the account before you get around to canceling, you run the risk of missing that payment and being charged a late fee.¹
• Redeem rewards. If you have any cash back or points in your account, you should cash out before you cancel the card. Once the card is deactivated, you will likely lose any unredeemed rewards. Some cards may have a short grace period in which you can redeem remaining rewards, but it varies.³
• Check if there are recurring charges and switch to a different payment method. Go through your past statements to remind yourself if that card is used to pay any streaming subscriptions or other monthly bills and update those accounts accordingly. This will help prevent your payment being declined, and possibly being charged a late fee.
• Download and/or print past monthly statements you may want to keep. You may lose access to past credit statements once your account is deactivated. If you used that card for any expenses claimed on your taxes, you might want to save those paper trails while you still can.

How to Cancel a Credit Card Step by Step

Each card may have a specific process for canceling, so it’s always a good idea to check with the card issuer by phone or chat or see if your online account or app has instructions.

For example, to cancel a CareCredit credit card account, you can send a letter to the address shown on your billing statement or call customer service. Once your account is closed, you must stop using it, but you are still responsible for any remaining balance.

For all other credit cards, these are the general steps you can follow:

1. Call the toll-free number on the back of your card, initiate a chat after logging into your online account or app or send an email to customer service to explain that you’d like to cancel your account.
2. In some cases, such as if you're canceling a card with a fee, the issuer may offer you an alternate card product to keep you as a customer.⁴ If you’re sure about canceling, stand your ground.
3. Request a letter from the card issuer that states that your account is closed.⁵
4. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recommends you also follow up with a written letter to the card issuer requesting cancellation.⁶

What Happens After You Cancel a Credit Card?

After you cancel a credit card, you have a couple of things left on your to-do list:

• Destroy the physical card. If it’s a plastic card, you can put it through a shredder or cut it up into tiny pieces. For metal cards, ask the issuer to send you a prepaid envelope to return the card.
• Check your credit reports. After a couple of months, the card cancellation should be reflected on your credit reports. The account will still be listed in your credit file for up to 10 years, but it will be labeled as “closed.”⁷

How does canceling a credit card impact your credit score?

Soon after closing a credit card, your credit score will likely take a temporary hit.⁸ As such, experts often recommend that you think carefully before closing a credit card account. That's because your credit score is calculated based on several factors — the most important being your payment history, which represents 35% of your score.⁹

Some of the other major score factors, however, can be impacted by closing credit card accounts as well:

• Credit utilization. This refers to the amount of available credit you are using, or how high your balances are relative to your credit limit, and it’s the second most important factor in the FICO^® score calculation (30% of your score).⁹Credit scores favor consumers who keep their utilization low, so if you have $10,000 in available credit and owe $2,000, you’re utilizing just 20% of your credit. Suppose you close a credit card with a $5,000 limit. Now, with the same balance owed, your utilization goes up to 40%, which can have a negative impact on your score.
• Length of credit. The next most important factor is length of credit history, accounting for 15% of your score. It considers how long your credit accounts have been established, the age of your oldest account, the age of your newest account and an average age of all your accounts.⁹ That's why, when deciding to close a credit card account, the age of that card matters. The older the account you close, the more potential impact it could have. On the other hand, if you’ve been using credit for a long time and you close a card you just opened last year, it shouldn't have as much of an effect.
• Credit mix. Having different types of credit products — like credit cards, loans and/or a mortgage — and managing them well is good for your score as well. If you have several credit cards and you close one, it probably won't matter too much as far as credit mix goes. But if you have a thin credit file with just one or two revolving credit lines, closing an account may hurt.⁵

It’s worth noting that any drop in credit score from closing credit accounts is temporary. With good credit behavior over time, your score should recover.⁵

The bottom line: If you have a good reason for closing a credit card account, just know that it can cause your score to drop. As long as you're not applying for a mortgage or loan in the coming months, it's probably fine. But if you are planning to work with new lenders in the near future, you should try to hold off on any activities that can decrease your score.¹

Managing Health and Wellness Costs With the CareCredit Credit Card

If you are looking for an option to help manage your health and wellness costs, consider financing with the CareCredit credit card.* Get the care you want or need with easy, flexible financing options that allow you to pay for out-of-pocket expenses over time. Use our Acceptance Locator to find a provider near you that accepts CareCredit. Continue your wellness journey by downloading the CareCredit Mobile App to manage your account, find a provider on the go and easily access the Well U blog for more great articles, podcasts and videos.

Your CareCredit credit card can be used in so many ways within the CareCredit network, including vision, dentistry, cosmetic, pet care, hearing, health systems, dermatology, pharmacy purchases and spa treatments. How will you invest in your health and wellness next?

Author Bio

Dawn Papandrea is a journalist with more than two decades of experience covering personal finance and consumer issues. She has written for leading financial publications and organizations, including U.S. News & World Report, Investopedia, Bankrate and others.