 TITLE: What to Consider Before Canceling a Credit Card CONTENT: What Happens When You Cancel a Credit Card?\n-------------------------------------------\nAs previously mentioned, there are a couple of ways that closing a credit card account can impact your credit score. The first way concerns a card cancellation's effect on the average age of your accounts, which won't be immediate or drastic, but can hamper future credit score growth.\nThe second way is how it changes your credit utilization rate, which is something that can damage your credit score more quickly and significantly. Creditors typically report account activity monthly, so you may see a change as soon as the account is no longer reported as usual.\nKeep in mind, though, that your credit score may not be immediately impacted at all, especially if you have low balances on your other credit cards—an increase from 3% to 10%, for instance, likely won't make major waves.\nAlso, remember, card issuers usually report balance information monthly. So if your balances drop significantly from one month to the next, you could see your credit score bounce back. END