You have decided you want to cancel a Visa credit card account. The best reasons for
this decision are you overspend and can’t seem to stop, or you have an annual
fee on a credit card you are not using. Unless you are in one of these cases,
closing credit accounts may damage your credit score more than help it. Assuming
you decided you must close your account here is what you should do.
Find the Credit Issuers Phone Number and Mailing Address
To cancel a Visa credit account, you will have to get in contact with a customer
service representative and let them know you want to cancel your account. They
will be able to help do this on the phone, or you can write to them directly
and ask them to close the account. You will want to ask for written
confirmation when the account has been closed. Once you have the confirmation,
hold onto it and cut up your credit card. The customer service number for your
credit issuer will be both on the back of your credit card and on the website
of the credit company. The address to mail your request to close a credit
account in writing will be on their website as well.
While you need to call or write to cancel your Visa credit card, after you find the
contact information, there are a few more things you may want to do before
officially canceling:
Use Any Points
If you have a credit card with rewards on it, you will want to make sure you
transfer or redeem those points before canceling. This bonus of the credit card
can be permanently lost if you cancel before using or transferring.
Pay Off Any Balances
When you have an open credit card account, you have agreed upon repayment terms and
interest terms. The moment you close an account, those terms change and can
become significantly more burdensome. Payment can become due immediately in
full, and interest rates can skyrocket. Before officially closing a credit
account, you will want to pay off any balances on the account and maintain two
months worth of payment in full, to avoid any lingering interest charges. Once
you pay off balances and use rewards, cancel your account, and make sure you
get written confirmation the account is closed.
