There’s a number of reasons you might want to cancel a credit card, for example:
You’ve finished paying off the balance at the end of a 0% interest free deal
The interest is too high and you’ve moved your balance to another card with a better rate
You have more credit cards than you need
While it may seem to make sense to cancel cards you’re not using, it could affect your credit rating. That’s because if you cancel an old card but have outstanding balances on other cards and loans, you’ll effectively be using more of the overall credit available to you. Read about the pros and cons of cancelling credit cards.
If you want to cancel your credit card, it’s not enough to simply snip it up into tiny pieces. This just means you’ve stopped using the card, but your account remains open. You should contact your credit card provider and let them know you want to close the account. You’ll also need to pay off any balance left on your card. The account may stay active for a few days to allow for any remaining transactions to come through. Once you receive your final statement, check it to make sure the last payments are shown and the balance is fully cleared.
Once the card is cancelled, cut through the number and name and throw it away.