 TITLE: Do I Lose My Rewards When My Credit Card Closes? CONTENT: How Does Canceling a Credit Card Affect Credit?\n-----------------------------------------------\nClosing a credit card can sometimes be the best option, particularly if you won't lose any rewards and can avoid paying fees for a card that's not helpful right now.\nWhile closing a card can hurt your credit, the reasons are often misunderstood. For example, closing a card won't shorten your credit history or immediately impact the average age of your accounts. A closed card that's in good standing can stay on your credit reports for up to 10 years, and continue to count toward your age-related credit scoring factors during that time.\nClosing a credit card will, however, decrease your available revolving credit, which directly impacts your credit utilization rate—an important scoring factor.\nFor example, if you have two credit cards with $5,000 credit limits, your total available credit is $10,000. Closing one credit card will lower your total available credit to $5,000. If you have a $2,500 balance on the card you keep open, your utilization rate jumps from 25% to 50%.\nA lower utilization rate is better for your credit scores, which is why closing a card can hurt your credit. However, if you can maintain a low utilization rate (such as below 10%) after you close your card, you might not see a big score change. END