When canceling a credit card account, there are various aspects to consider. Some of them include paying down the balance before closing it, avoiding letting rewards expire, and closing a card in a way that minimizes the harm to your credit score. In this article, we’ll examine the benefits and drawbacks of closing a card while avoiding common pitfalls.
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Paying Down Your Balance
Before you close your credit card account, you should pay off its balance. This will ensure that your utilization ratio stays low. Additionally, you can transfer your balance to another card with a 0% introductory APR. Using the 0% introductory APR will prevent you from accruing new interest charges, which may result in higher monthly payments.
Closing your account will not negatively impact your credit score but will also remove the temptation to make purchases. You can also cut the account from your wallet or store it securely if needed. When your account is closed, finance charges will begin to accrue, so it’s important to pay down the balance before closing it. In addition, by closing your account, you will lower the average age of your accounts.
Paying down your balance before closing a card safely can be challenging for some people. Credit card companies may look negatively at accounts with outstanding balances, so paying down your balance before closing them is essential. This can help you avoid the high annual fees associated with credit cards. However, it would help if you still considered how closing your credit card account can affect your credit score. Keeping a clean credit report can improve your score.
Avoiding Damage to Your Credit Score
When closing a credit card, it’s important to consider its impact on your credit. You can reduce the damage by paying off any outstanding balance on your other cards and evaluating the age of your other accounts. It’s also important to understand how your credit score works to minimize damage when closing an account.
Credit card accounts affect your credit score differently, and closing an account can have both positive and negative impacts. The age of accounts and the credit utilization ratio are all impacted by closing an account. While the age of the account is not as significant as your debt, closing a credit card account will lower your score.
It’s important to avoid closing an account that you’ve had for several years. This will decrease the average age of your account, which is 7.8 years. By closing an account over four years old, you will only have four years of credit history, which will negatively impact your score. Also, closing a card with a high credit limit squeezes your credit utilization ratio, affecting your score.
Pay Attention to the Age of Your Credit Report
In closing a credit card, you should pay attention to the age of your credit report. The longer you’ve held the account, the older it will be on your report. If you’ve paid your credit card balance in full, it will show up on your credit report less often.
The best way to avoid damaging your credit score when closing a credit card account is to call the issuer and ensure you are aware of any terms before closing an account. In most cases, you can avoid damaging your score by paying off the entire balance and canceling recurring payments. After this, consider transferring the balance to another card with a lower interest rate or writing to the card issuer and asking about a payment plan.
Resources:
https://current.com/blog/does-closing-a-credit-card-hurt-your-credit-score/
https://www.investopedia.com/how-to-cancel-a-credit-card-4590033#:~:text=Call%20your%20credit%20card%20issuer,status%20be%20mailed%20to%20you.
https://www.cnbc.com/select/how-to-cancel-credit-card/