How do I cancel a BankAmericard credit card?

Closing a credit card with zero balance is not a good idea if that card has no annual fee. Any credit card you manage responsibly, even an unused one, reflects positively on your credit history. So closing such a card will have a negative impact on your credit standing. But it can be worth it if your card is costly or if you’re worried about falling victim to fraud while you’re not keeping a close eye on it.... read full answer

Here are the arguments against closing a credit card with zero balance:

1. Average account age suffers. This makes up at least 15% of your overall credit rating, so shortening it can hurt. Here’s a quick example: Imagine you have three credit card accounts, which have been open for 3 years, 5 years and 10 years, respectively. The average account age is 6 years. If you close the 10-year-old account, the age of your average account falls to 4 years. Older accounts are better for your score because a long track record of responsibility tells issuers you’re likely to behave the same way in the future.
2. Utilization increases. “Utilization,” or how much of your credit line you use, is important to your score. Creditors care about both your utilization on individual cards and your total utilization. Generally, the lower each is, the better. And closing an account with zero balance will increase your total utilization.Let’s say you have three credit cards, each with a $1,000 credit line. You use 0% of one and 25% of the other two. Overall, that’s 16.7% utilization. But if you cancel the unused card, it jumps to 25%. That’s troublesome because credit score damage typically worsens if your utilization rises above 30%, and you’d be close to that milestone.

So closing an account will be a blow to your credit. You can improve your score afterward by paying on time with your remaining account(s). But it’s usually best to just keep accounts open and avoid the damage entirely. There are a few exceptions, though.

Here’s when to close a credit card with zero balance:

• It has an expensive annual fee.
• You’re worried about fraud and won’t be monitoring the card as closely. All credit cards give you a $0 fraud liability guarantee, but you might not want to count on the issuer to flag every fraudulent charge on its own.
• Keeping it open becomes a hassle, for one reason or another.

By the way, in case you’re wondering, it is possible to close a credit card that has a balance. But you’ll still be responsible for paying and will continue to accrue interest until the balance is fully paid off, even after the account is closed. You just won’t be able to make any new purchases.

If you’d like to monitor how your credit changes after you’ve closed an account, you can track your credit report and score for free on WalletHub, the only site where reports and scores update daily.

It is better to keep unused credit cards open than to cancel them because even unused credit cards with a $0 balance will still report positive information to the credit bureaus each month. It is especially worthwhile to keep an unused credit card open when the account does not have an annual fee.... read full answer

Still, there are times when it may be beneficial to close your credit cards, such as to avoid expensive annual fees. And if you’re worried about your credit score, you can use WalletHub’s free credit score simulator to see the potential impact closing a credit card will have

Why It Is Better to Keep Unused Credit Cards

Just keeping unused credit cards open helps your credit by maintaining the total amount of credit you have available and preserving the length of your credit history. If you don’t use a credit card, your account will still get reported to the credit bureaus as being in good standing every month, assuming you have a $0 balance. This will continue to add positive information to your credit reports, helping your credit score.

On the other hand, when you close a credit card, especially if it’s one of your oldest credit accounts or one that has a high credit limit, your credit score will likely suffer a bit.

When It Is Better to Cancel Credit Cards

Despite the potential for credit score damage, it’s important to remember that there are a few situations when it might be better to close unused credit cards rather than leave them open. If your unused credit card charges an annual fee, for example, and you don’t need your credit score in its best shape for a while, it’s probably best to save the annual fee and close the account.

On the other hand, if you want to cancel your credit card because you are concerned about overspending, try locking it away in a safe place first. If that doesn’t work, it will likely work out better for you and your financial future to close the credit card account, even if your credit score takes a hit.

Six or more credit cards might be too many for most people, given that the average American has a total of five credit cards. Everyone should have at least one credit card for credit-building purposes, even if they don’t use it to make purchases, but the exact number of cards you should have... read full answer differs by person. It depends on how well you can manage one credit card, then two, and so on.

If you’re not sure how many credit cards is too many for you, there are a number of factors you can think about when making your decision. In particular, consider your recent spending and payment history. If you’re having trouble paying the full statement balance by the due date on each account you already have open, think twice about applying for another credit card account.

How to Determine How Many Credit Cards Is Too Many For You

1. Look at your credit report and score.

   If you have a history of financial mistakes, such as missed payments, you probably don’t want to get more than one card until you prove yourself to be a responsible borrower. Besides, it may be hard to get more than one worthwhile cards with damaged credit, anyway.

2. Review your utilization and payment history.

   If you’re maxing out all the cards you have, credit card companies probably won’t want to give you more spending power. Plus, credit card debt can be very expensive, and you don’t want to rack up balances that exceed what you can repay comfortably.

3. Consider credit card company rules.

   Some issuers have unofficial rules regarding how many credit cards is too many for an applicant to have. For example, there are lots of rumors floating around that Chase will deny a credit card application if you’ve already opened five accounts (from any issuers) in the past 24 months. Such restrictions could limit your options for opening a new account, or just serve as a sign that you might want to slow down the pace of your applications.

4. Determine how well you’re keeping track of your credit cards.

   Even if your credit is good and you’ve never forgotten to pay a bill, that doesn’t mean you never will. Having too many open accounts to keep track of can lead to forgotten due dates, interest charges from simply forgetting to pay a credit card in full, and other issues. If you have trouble listing your credit cards from memory, you’re likely to forget to pay one at some point.

There are benefits to having more than one credit card account. Having several credit cards can help you save money by allowing you to get the best collection of rates and rewards for your biggest transactions. For example, you could get a flat-rate cash back credit card for everyday expenses, a bonus rewards card for travel, and a balance transfer card to reduce the cost of existing debt. Having multiple cards can also help your credit score if you keep your credit utilization low and your payments on time.

What you should watch out for is applying for too many credit cards too quickly. It’s best to not apply for more than one or two per year, as each application puts a hard inquiry on your credit report and temporarily hurts your credit score.

The more data that’s at your disposal, the easier it will be to decide how many credit cards you should have. WalletHub can help with free daily credit score updates and personalized credit-improvement advice.