What should a letter to close a credit card account include?

Answer

From what I understand, if you are closing an account in good standing, it is important to include in your letter a request, stated clearly and in no uncertain terms, that your credit record show YOU were the one to request that your account be closed and NOT your credit card company.

This way in the future anyone needing to check your credit will see this and know that the account was not closed for other reasons that could reflect poorly on your rating.

It might not hurt, as a follow up, to check your credit record. I know sometimes it's recommended to check your credit record yearly in order to check for errors and mistakes.

However, I've also read that you shouldn't check it TOO often because this can adversely affect your record or score.

Answer

First, checking your credit score counts as a SOFT inquiry, which has a remotely adverse affect on your credit after like 100 times. And when I say remotely, I mean 1 point. You don't need to write out a letter, just call them and tell them you would like to close the account. Wait 60 days and check your credit report, if it was closed "by credit issuer" according to the credit report, then just call up the company. If you were in good standing, you'll be fine.

Answer

A better question is, why do you want to close your account? If you aren't using the card, that doesn't mean you should close the account; in fact, doing so can hurt your credit score (i.e., the score that tells companies whether you are a good candidate to loan money to). These companies, when they look at your credit report, want to see a few things:

1) Do you have a history of credit being extended to you? They want to see a long history, which is why you should NEVER close the account for the credit card you've had the longest, even if you never plan to use it again (unless, perhaps, you're paying a yearly fee, but--even then--call them to see if they'll waive the fee; tell them you're thinking of closing your account otherwise): keeping the account open keeps it on your credit history, showing that you've have credit for a while.

2) Do you have multiple types of credit (credit cards, mortgage, car loan, cell phone, student loan, etc.)? They like to see a mix.

3) How much of your credit do you use? They like to see that you use no more than around 30% of the credit available to you. For example, let's say you have two credit cards--one with a $10000 limit, one with a $20000 limit--and so, you have $30000 of available credit. You owe $5000 on the card with a $10000 limit and $0 on the $20000 card. That means you're using about 17% of your available credit ($5000 of $30000). That's fine. But let's say you close your $20000 card. Now, all of a sudden, you're using $5000 of $10000 in available credit--50%. That looks horrible--like you are living beyond your means, getting by on credit, even though you owe THE EXACT SAME AMOUNT OF MONEY as you did when you had $30000 of available credit. But, by closing the account, you jacked up your debt ratio past 30%, making you look like a poor manager of credit. People will be less likely to offer you credit now, and they'll offer you worse interest rates when they do.

So--if you want to close the account, make sure it's for the right reason, such as it's costing you an annual fee. Otherwise, if you can hang on to the card, do it. If you are worried you'll use it when you shouldn't, put it in a bag of water and put the bag in the freezer. That way you'll have to wait for it to thaw before you can use it, which will cut down your impulse purchases.

First answer by Erin. Last edit by Sheepgrape. Contributor trust: 208 [recommend contributor]. Question popularity: 556 [recommend question]

Can you answer other questions about Credit and Debit Cards?