Closing Out Your Credit Card Accounts Properly

You’ve decided that you want to close some of your credit card accounts. This is generally a wise move since it’s a lot easier to take control of your credit and manage your accounts when you have fewer cards to your name. However, you need to make sure that you follow the proper procedure for closing out your accounts or you might find that your credit rating has suffered as a result of your decision. There are four steps that must be completed in order to properly close out your credit card accounts. The first step that you need to take is to make sure that there is no money owed on the card. You obviously can’t just close a card that has an outstanding balance. You can either pay the card off in full or you can transfer the balance to another card (hopefully a card with better terms than the one you’re closing). You should wait for a full billing cycle after doing this to make sure that all transactions have gone through and that there are no fees or finance charges on the card. Confirm the zero balance by checking your online statement or using the card’s automated system to confirm

The next step that you’re going to need to take is to call the credit card company to let them know that you want to close out the card. Be aware that you’re going to need to be firm in this decision as credit card companies are not going to want to lose your business easily. They will offer you great deals and try to convince you to keep the card. Unless what you’re really hoping is to get a card with better terms and you end up getting the offer from the card, be firm and decisive and insist that you want to close the account. Simply keep stating, “no thank you, I’d like to close the account” every time that they offer you a reason not to close it. Eventually, they will agree to close the account.

This doesn’t mean that the account is closed. In order to officially close the account, you need to immediately send a letter to the company confirming that you have requested for the account to be closed. Sign and date the letter. Make a copy for yourself. Take it to the post office and tell them that you need to send it certified mail or with a return receipt so that you’ll have a record that it was indeed received by the company.

This should now mean that the credit card account has been closed. However, you should never assume that to be the case. Wait for another full billing cycle after you’ve closed the account and then double-check the status on your online account. It should say that the account is closed. At this time, you should order a copy of your credit report to confirm that the account has been closed. The credit report should show the account and should state that it was closed by the card holder. If the account is still open or if it says that it was closed by the credit card company, you will need to investigate and fix the problem by contacting the credit card company and the credit reporting company. Doing so will make sure that you protect your credit rating when closing out credit card accounts.

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