How do I cancel a U.S. Bank Visa Platinum credit card?

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.

You should use your credit card at least once every three months to keep it active (but more often than that if you want your credit score to improve at a faster rate). Not all issuers are the same when it comes to credit card inactivity. Some might never close an inactive card, while others might do it after only a few months. But there aren’t any major credit card companies that state they’ll close your account before it’s been inactive for three months.… read full answer

Here’s how often you should use your credit card to keep it active:

• Amex: No disclosed time limit but will sometimes close based on inactivity. They’ll notify you first and give you a chance to use your card to prevent it, though.
• Barclays: Will close accounts after 6 months of inactivity. They will notify you 2 months in advance and will give you a chance to use your card.
• Capital One: Will close as soon after 12 months of inactivity. They will notify you beforehand and give you a chance to use your card.
• Chase: Will close after 6 months of inactivity. They will send you a letter inviting you to use your card to prevent it from being closed.
• Citi: Will close accounts after 15 months of inactivity. They may notify you beforehand.
• U.S. Bank: Will close account after 18 months of inactivity. May notify you beforehand.
• Wells Fargo: No disclosed time limit but will sometimes close based on inactivity. They will always send a letter ahead of time notifying the cardholder and giving them an opportunity to become active and avoid the closure.
• Bank of America: Will close accounts after 24 months of inactivity. They will send you a letter inviting you to use your card to prevent it from being closed.

Keep in mind that “activity” could be as little as making a $1 purchase. Making a payment or a balance transfer usually counts too, depending on the issuer. And issuers will often contact you if they’re planning to close your account based on inactivity, in order to give you a chance to keep your card by using it. Just make a small charge and you should be all set.

As long as you can afford to, though, you really should use your credit card every month. It’s not a bad thing to have zero balance, but your credit score won’t improve as quickly as it would if you make charges and pay them off. Don’t feel forced to spend, but consider charging at least one small thing.

There are several ways to raise your credit score in 30 days. Reducing your credit utilization is one of the fastest ways to raise your credit score, and you can do it by paying down debt, spending less, paying your bill more often or asking for a higher spending limit. Disputing negative information on your credit report can help quickly, too. The bottom line is that your credit score can change anytime new information is added to your credit report or old information is removed from it. Creditors typically report updated information about loans and lines of credit at least once a month, so making the right moves for 30 days can definitely produce results for your credit score.… read full answer

But you must understand that true credit building is a multi-year process. You’ll still need to manage your money responsibly moving forward for your credit-score gains to last. And that’s one reason why you should never, ever pay for credit repair. Nonprofit credit counselors can be very helpful, but services that make wild promises and charge fees, especially up front, are best avoided.

Now, with that being said, let’s get back to the business of boosting your credit score by next month. Below, you will find a collection of tips that should help anyone improve their credit score quickly. You can also get personalized advice for how to proceed by checking out your free credit analysis on WalletHub.

7 Ways to Raise Your Credit Score in 30 Days:

1. Dispute Credit-Report Mistakes. Removing negative information from your credit report is perhaps the best way to generate substantial short-term credit-score improvement. But you can remove such information only if it’s wrong or the result of fraud. So go over your report with a fine-tooth comb, cross-referencing each item with your own financial records. If you find something fishy, investigate it further and, if necessary, file a dispute with the credit bureau.
2. Make a Big Debt Payment. How much you owe, especially compared to your income, has a big impact on your credit score because it tells lenders how risky it would be to let you borrow more. A credit score measures your risk to lenders, after all. So the more debt you pay off, the more your score should improve.
3. Reduce Your Credit Card Statement Balance. Credit utilization is calculated by dividing your credit cards’ balances at the end of each billing period by their spending limits. So if you reduce the balance listed on your monthly statement, you also reduce your utilization, which in turn improves your credit score. You can reduce your statement balances by spending less, making larger payments, or paying your bill more frequently. For example, paying a credit card’s bill twice per month – once before your statement is generated and again before the due date – allows you to lower your credit utilization and avoid interest.
4. Become an Authorized User. If a family member has excellent credit, ask him or her to add you as an authorized user on an existing credit card (preferably an old one with a high credit limit and no negative records). This might take too long to process to benefit you in a month’s time. But it should provide a bump pretty quickly.
5. Dispute Negative Authorized-User Records. Not many people know this, but if you are or were an authorized user on an account that is dragging down your credit score, you can ask the credit bureau to remove it from your credit report. Authorized users are not responsible for paying the bill, which means they don’t have to suffer the consequences of not doing so. You just have to file a dispute.
6. Ask for a Higher Credit Limit. More available credit will reduce your overall credit utilization ratio, a key component of your credit score. Be careful, though. Many credit-card issuers will re-check your credit history — causing a hard inquiry and short-term credit-score damage — before approving a higher limit. So make sure to ask about your creditor’s policies first. You should also make sure all your credit limits are expressed accurately on your credit reports. If a listed limit is lower than it should be, ask the issuer to report an updated figure to the credit bureaus. Take note, however, that if you have an “NPSL” credit card, there might not be much you can do about an unusually reported credit limit.
7. Write a Goodwill Letter. If your credit report bears only a minor blemish — one late payment, perhaps — and the rest of your credit history is solid, you can try asking the issuer for a favor. For example, you could call and make a case for why your slip-up should be forgiven and stricken from the record, so to speak. Or you could send an official “Goodwill Adjustment Letter,” which formalizes the request. This tactic is most successful before a negative record actually makes its way to your credit report. But it’s worth a shot afterward as well.

You can keep track of your credit score’s latest developments by signing up for a free WalletHub account. WalletHub is the first and only website to offer free credit scores and full credit reports that are updated on a daily basis. Additional information about increasing your credit score can be found in our comprehensive Credit Improvement Guide.