How to Cancel a Credit Card Without Losing Points or Getting Talked Out of It

I had a card I needed to close. The annual fee was coming up and the rewards just didn’t fit our life anymore, because we don’t eat out a lot and we do travel, and the card was built for someone who does the opposite, so it had been sitting in my wallet costing me money for benefits I never touched.

Closing it sounds simple and honestly it is not simple. Banks are really really good at keeping you, and the chat to close a card is basically a long string of small moments where they’re hoping you’ll lose your nerve, and I didn’t, but I also walked in knowing what was coming, which helped a lot.

So I want to walk you through everything I know about doing this right.

Before you close anything, do these four things

This is the part people skip because they just want off the chat, and I get it, but please don’t skip it.

What they’ll say and how to handle it

Banks don’t tell you no, they just keep redirecting you, and every move they make has a name, so once you can see them coming they don’t have nearly as much of a hold on you.

Say it early, because it tells them the keep-it conversation is already over. Then be warm and don’t over-explain, and repeat yourself calmly if they keep pushing, because every extra reason you give them is something they can argue with.

What to say (on chat or on the phone)

Chat is easier because you’re not hearing a real voice being nice to you in real time, and you can honestly copy these almost word for word.

Then: “Great, please go ahead and close it. Can you confirm once it’s done?” And get that confirmation in writing if you can, because it’s nice to have later.

On the phone it’s harder because there’s a real person being kind in your ear. The same rules apply though, so decide before you dial that you’re closing it (and not “seeing what they offer”), keep saying the same calm line, and let yourself be brief, because repeating yourself isn’t rude, it’s honestly the whole skill here.

Will canceling hurt my credit score?

Possibly a little, and only for a while, because two things happen when you close a card.

Your available credit drops, which can nudge your credit utilization ratio up. If you have $20,000 in total credit across three cards and you close one with a $5,000 limit, your available credit is now $15,000, and if you’re carrying any balance that same balance now looks like a bigger percentage of your available credit, which can drop your score a few points.

The account also eventually falls off your credit history, which can slightly shorten your average account age over time (closed accounts stay on your report for up to ten years, so this one is really slow).

Neither of these are reasons to keep a card that’s costing you money. A score dip of 5 to 15 points that bounces back in a few months is not worth paying $95 to $895 a year for benefits you never use, so pay everything on time and keep your other cards open and your score will recover.

When to downgrade instead of closing

This is the move most people don’t know about and honestly it’s often better than closing entirely.

Downgrading means calling your bank and asking to switch your card to a no-fee version in the same family, so your account stays open and your credit history stays intact and your available credit doesn’t change, you just stop paying the annual fee. The card in your wallet changes, but the account number often stays the same.

Chase Sapphire Preferred or Reserve can downgrade to a Chase Freedom, which has no fee. Amex Platinum can drop to a Gold (the Green is closed to new applicants now, so that one’s out), but the Gold still has a fee, so if you want to fully get rid of the fee you’d need to keep a no-fee Amex like the Blue Business Plus open. Capital One Venture can move to the no-fee Quicksilver.

Close when there’s no good no-fee version to downgrade to, or when you really want that bank relationship to end, or when you need to free up a 5/24 slot, and downgrade in pretty much every other situation.

What happens to your points when you cancel

This depends entirely on which card you have and which points program it earns.

The short version if you’re in a hurry

Transfer your points first, and check for a credit balance, and ask about a fee refund if the fee just posted. Tell them upfront you’re not interested in retention offers, and be warm and be brief and repeat yourself if you need to, and get confirmation when it’s done. And if there’s a no-fee version of your card available, think about downgrading instead of closing, because it’s usually the smarter move.

You’re not being difficult and you’re not hurting anyone, you’re just done with the card and that is totally okay.

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xo, Amy