What To Know Before Closing A Credit Card With A Balance | Bankrate (2024)

FAQs

What To Know Before Closing A Credit Card With A Balance | Bankrate? ›

While it is possible to cancel a credit card with an outstanding balance, it's not recommended. You'll still be responsible for making minimum payments and interest will still accrue. If you can't pay the card in full, consider freezing the account until you can close it.

If you close a credit card with a balance, you'll still be responsible for that debt. Card issuers will continue to send statements in the mail, and interest will still be applied to that balance. It's best to leave your account open, as there can be negative impacts on your credit score if you close a card.

You can't close a credit card with an outstanding balance. In case, you want to close the credit card, you will have to clear the balance that may be on the card. Will closing a credit card affect your credit score? Closing a credit card might affect your credit score.

In general, keep unused credit cards open so you benefit from longer average credit history and lower credit utilization. Consider putting one small regular purchase on the card and paying it off automatically to keep the card active. At Experian, one of our priorities is consumer credit and finance education.

If you pay off all your credit card accounts (not just the one you're canceling) to $0 before canceling your card, you can avoid a decrease in your credit score. Typically, leaving your credit card accounts open is the best option, even if you're not using them.

You can close a credit card with a balance, but there are a few things to keep in mind. First, by closing the credit card you can no longer use it to make purchases. Second, you are still responsible for paying off the rest of your balance. Third, the outstanding balance can still accrue interest.

How Long Does a Closed Credit Card Remain on My Credit Report? A closed credit card account will stay on your credit report for seven to 10 years. If you made all of your card's payments on time, or at least within 30 days of the due date, it will remain on your credit report for up to 10 years.

You can keep a credit account open as long as you'd like without harm to your credit. Even if you've stopped using the card regularly, it could still make sense to keep the account open, depending on how extensive your credit history is and the amount of debt you currently owe.

A closed credit card or loan that was in good standing when it was closed will stay in your credit file for 10 years. In other words, you were current on your payments and either paid off the loan or the credit card was closed and you paid the balance.

Keep the card for small payments

If you have an unused credit card you don't want to cancel, consider keeping it in your wallet for occasional small purchases, like parking fees. Another option is to set up an automated payment from the card for a recurring monthly bill, like a streaming subscription.

When should you not close a credit card? ›

It's a good idea to avoid closing the credit card you've had the longest, as this will significantly decrease the length of your credit history, and thus more negatively impact your credit score.

While there's truth to the idea that closing a credit account can lower your score, the magnitude of the effect depends on various factors, such as how many other credit accounts you have and how old those accounts are. Sometimes the impact is minimal and your score drops just a few points.

However, multiple accounts may be difficult to track, resulting in missed payments that lower your credit score. You must decide what you can manage and what will make you appear most desirable. Having too many cards with a zero balance will not improve your credit score. In fact, it can actually hurt it.

Highlights: Closing a credit card could change your debt to credit utilization ratio, which may impact credit scores. Closing a credit card account you've had for a long time may impact the length of your credit history. Paid-off credit cards that aren't used for a certain period of time may be closed by the lender.

If so, the short answer is usually no, you don't need to close the accounts. Paying down or paying off your credit cards is great for credit scores, but closing those accounts will likely cause your credit scores to dip, at least for a little while. This is especially true if you close more than one card.

While closing an account may seem like a good idea, it could negatively affect your credit score. You can limit the damage of a closed account by paying off the balance. This can help even if you have to do so over time.

This can cause your credit score to dip. That's because 30 percent of your FICO credit score is based on the amount of money you owe your creditors, so even carrying a small balance on a credit card could temporarily lower your credit score.

“Ideally, if you want to protect yourself, pay every balance down to zero before picking the card you want to close,” says McClary. If your CUR is 0%, it's still going to be 0% when you close a card. No jump in CUR or late payments means no credit score penalty.

Experts generally don't recommend you ever cancel a credit card, unless you're paying for it (such as in the form of an annual fee) and not ever using it. And if this is the case, canceling a card once probably won't hurt you as long as you have a healthy credit history otherwise.