I closed three accounts in 2025. Each for a varying reason. Each for an account with a $20,000 limit or more. Those closures did not destroy my credit score, damage my credit history, or have any meaningful impact whatsoever. It is also true that I have many, many accounts, so in the balance of other activities, these did not represent meaningful change. The main point is to say that closing an account or two is not a death knell for credit, but it is something to be deliberate about.
Why did I close these accounts?
Three distinct reasons for three distinct cards.
1) Mesa Card – This was closed as a result of the issuer terminating all cards. No choice. Also no impact on credit as they did not report good standing accounts.
2) Wells Fargo Autograph – This was closed because I did not want to pay the annual fee. It was a 1 year old account with more than $20k limit.
3) Citi Business AA – This was closed because I did not want to pay the annual fee. I like the benefits, but I opened a consumer card with waived fee for the first year instead.
What considerations should you have?
The quick hits here are:
1) Is this one of your oldest trades? If so, that does have a meaningful potential to impact your score (credit issuers want to see length and breadth of bureau file.)
2) Is this going to have a large impact on your available credit? For example, your total open credit line drops from $40,000 to $20,000. If so, that may not be worthwhile due to credit impacts.
3) Is there an opportunity to keep the account open & inactive/dormant? If so, you can potentially still take advantage with the card/credit contributing to your history, with limited downside (in my experience, closure for inactivity takes 3+ years)
The most important thing is to make sure you feel comfortable managing your wallet, and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with closing cards (particularly if you’re paying fees!) even if that may have some impact on your credit.
