Closing a credit card usually lowers your credit score, but how much depends on what else is in your credit history
When you close a credit card account, your credit score typically drops. The damage is not permanent — your score will recover over time — but the hit is real and when ready. The size of the drop depends on how much of your available credit that card represented, how long you have held it, and what your overall credit profile looks like.
The main reason is that closing a card reduces your total available credit. Credit scoring models care about the ratio between the credit you are using and the credit available to you. If you close a card with a $5,000 limit and you are carrying balances on other cards, your available credit shrinks, and that ratio gets worse. A worse ratio signals higher risk to lenders, so your score falls.
A secondary reason is that closing an old account can lower the average age of your accounts. Credit scoring models reward you for a long history of responsible borrowing. If the card you are closing is one of your oldest accounts, removing it makes your credit history look younger on average, which also hurts your score.
Key Takeaways
- Closing a credit card reduces your available credit, which worsens your credit utilization ratio and typically lowers your score when ready.
- The damage is usually temporary — your score will recover within a few months to a year as you continue paying on time and keeping other accounts open.
- Closing an old account can lower the average age of your credit history, which compounds the damage if that card was one of your oldest.
- If you want to close a card but protect your score, paying down balances on other cards first will reduce the impact of losing that available credit.
Why available credit matters to your score
Credit utilization — the percentage of your available credit that you are actually using — makes up about 30 percent of most credit scores. If you have $10,000 in total available credit across all your cards and you are carrying a $3,000 balance, your utilization is 30 percent. That is generally considered healthy.
When you close a card, your available credit shrinks but your balance does not. If you close that $5,000 card in the example above, your total available credit drops to $5,000, and your utilization jumps to 60 percent. That higher ratio signals to lenders that you are more dependent on credit, which is riskier. Your score drops as a result.
The impact is larger if you are already carrying high balances. If you are using 80 or 90 percent of your available credit, closing a card will push you even higher and cause a bigger score drop. If you are using only 10 or 20 percent, the impact is smaller because you still have room to spare.
How the age of the account affects the damage
Credit scoring models also track the average age of your accounts — how long you have held credit in your name. Older accounts signal a longer track record of managing credit responsibly. If you close an account you have held for 15 years, you are removing a major piece of that history.
The damage is worst if the card you are closing is one of your oldest. If you have five credit cards and one of them is 20 years old while the others are 5 years old, closing that 20-year-old card will drop your average account age significantly. If you have many old accounts and you are closing a newer one, the impact is much smaller.
The good news is that closed accounts stay on your credit report for up to 10 years after you close them. During that time, they still count toward your average account age. So the damage to this part of your score is temporary — it fades as the closed account ages off your report and as you continue to hold your other accounts open.
How much your score typically drops
There is no fixed number — the drop depends on your individual situation. Someone with a strong credit history, low balances, and many old accounts might see a drop of 5 to 10 points. Someone with fewer accounts, higher balances, or a shorter credit history might see a drop of 25 to 50 points or more.
The worst-case scenario is closing an old card while carrying high balances on your remaining cards. That combination hits both factors that matter most: utilization and account age. The best-case scenario is closing a newer card while your utilization is already low.
Your score is not static — it changes every time your credit report updates, which usually happens monthly when your card issuer reports your balance to the credit bureaus. A drop from closing a card is not the end of the story. As you continue to pay on time and keep your balances low, your score will climb back.
How long it takes your score to recover
Most people see their score recover within three to six months of closing a card, assuming they continue to pay their other accounts on time and keep their balances low. Some recover faster; others take longer. The timeline depends on how much damage was done and how active your credit use is.
The recovery is usually faster if you pay down balances on your remaining cards right after closing the card. If you close a card and then when ready reduce your utilization on your other cards, you offset the damage from losing available credit. Your score can bounce back in weeks rather than months.
If you close a card and then run up balances on your other cards, your score will stay depressed longer. The utilization ratio will be worse than it was before, and it will take longer to recover.
Steps to minimize the damage before closing a card
If you have decided to close a card and want to protect your score as much as possible, take these steps before you call the issuer.
First, pay down balances on your other cards. If you can get your overall utilization below 10 percent before you close the card, the impact of losing available credit will be much smaller. This is the single most effective thing you can do.
Second, if the card you are closing is relatively new, close it rather than an older one. If you have a choice between closing a card you opened two years ago and one you opened 15 years ago, close the newer one. The damage to your account age will be much less.
Third, do not close multiple cards at once. If you need to close more than one account, space them out over several months. This gives your score time to recover between closures and prevents a single catastrophic drop.
Fourth, keep the card open if you can, even if you are not using it. If you do not want to use the card, put a small recurring charge on it — a streaming service or a gas station — and pay it off in full each month. This keeps the account active and preserves your available credit without costing you anything.
When closing a card might be worth the score hit
A temporary drop in your credit score is not always a reason to keep a card open. If the card charges an annual fee and you are not using it, closing it might make financial sense even if your score takes a hit. The fee costs you real money every year, while the score drop is temporary.
Similarly, if you are carrying a balance on a high-interest card and closing it will help you stop using it, the long-term benefit might outweigh the short-term score damage. A lower score for a few months is better than years of paying interest on a card you do not need.
The key is to make the decision based on your full financial picture, not just the credit score impact. If closing the card solves a real problem — a fee you do not want to pay, a temptation to overspend, a card with a predatory interest rate — then the temporary score hit is a reasonable trade-off.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will closing a credit card hurt my credit score when ready?
Yes. Your score typically drops within a few days of closing the account, as soon as the closure is reported to the credit bureaus. The drop is when ready, but it is also temporary. Your score will begin to recover as you continue to pay on time and keep your other accounts in good standing.
Does it matter which credit card I close?
Yes. Closing an old card hurts more than closing a new one because it lowers the average age of your accounts. Closing a card with a high limit hurts more than closing one with a low limit because it reduces your available credit more. If you have a choice, close a newer card with a lower limit.
Can I reopen a closed credit card account?
It depends on the issuer. Some will reopen a recently closed account if you ask within a certain window, usually 30 to 60 days. Others will not. If you are unsure whether you want to close a card, call the issuer and ask about their policy before you close it.
What if I close a card and then need to use it?
Once a card is closed, you cannot use it to make new purchases. You can still pay off any remaining balance, but you cannot charge anything new. If there is any chance you might need the card, keep it open and straightforward do not use it. The score impact of keeping it open is zero.
Does closing a card affect my ability to get approved for new credit?
A closed card itself does not disqualify you, but a lower credit score might. If closing a card drops your score significantly, you might find it harder to get approved for new credit or you might get a higher interest rate. Wait a few months for your score to recover before you explore for new credit if possible.