What is the correct way to go about this. I know you would call the company, but do you notify anyone else such as credit bureau's? Also do you cut up the card and mail it back to them, or just dispose of it? I never did this before and I am getting rid of two. I hear it can make your credit score go down, but frankly, I don't care about that. Just looking for the right way to get rid of them. One is General Motors, and one is Wachovia. I am thinking maybe the latter one I could just cut up and take to bank? Thanks for any input!

I have never called anyone but the company. I call them and tell them to close the account and send verification that it was closed. I have never had a problem then I just shred the card. Hope this helps and good luck!

You have to notify them that you want to close account and you can cut up cards and despose of them yourself. Make sure you notify them because I didnt and i just didnt use it but they sent me a new one when the old one expired. nancy

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When you don`t know what to do-Walk fast and look worried.

The best thing to do is to just stop using... cut them up... but DO pay them off!

If you call them and alert them that you want the account closed, it could put a bad mark on your credit score. I'd think that if you can prevent your credit score from going down, why risk it?

Here's an article on this topic:
Closing Credit Cards - 5 Credit Cards You Should Never Close

I was told by our bank when applying for a home equity loan to pay off credit card debt to write to the company to tell them to close the account and request a letter from them confirming that they had done so. AND be sure to destroy the cards.

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Along with the above link I found this one

Closing Credit Cards - The Right Way To Close a Credit Card

We closed all our cards. We decided that we did not want to have any credit cards at all. We use only our debit cards, and if we have an emergency we have either savings or a home equity line that charges much lower interest if we need to use it.

I called each card company, requested a payoff amount and sent it the next day so we wouldn't have any increased interest charges. To be honest with you it's a huge load off having no credit debt!

BTW, when I told the card companies that I was closing my accounts to decrease my credit debt, they told me that I could re-open the accounts at any time if I wished, to just give them a call if I wanted to re-open them.

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It depends on whether or not you are planning on making a large purchase in the near future. If you are not planning on one, then I would go ahead and close them.

I've heard that you should request that they indicate that the account was closed by customer request. That helps to prevent the problems with your credit score.

When you received your c/c you should have received a little pamphlet type paper that spelled out how they compute your interest, and all that other boring stuff. In there it should tell you what to do to close out your account.

Definitely be sure you receive that confirmation letter stating that your account has been closed AT YOUR REQUEST.

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Doing the right thing isn't always the same as doing the easy thing.

I'm learning a lot! So, all of those Sears', Home Depot, etc. cards that I no longer receive statements for and have long since lost or cut up,could be closed at my request and it wouldn't effect my score. Actually all of it sounds like a lot of work. LOL.

Thanks for all the answers! After reading this, I might hang on to the one I had the longest, even though I haven't used it in years, and just close the newest one. I will ask for it to be noted that I requested it closed. I never carry a balance on my cards. I have one other besides those two that gives me points for gift certs, etc. I use that one quite a bit. The GM Was the longest one, but our last two cars were Honda's. I just don't plan on buying a GM, as they only let you use so much toward a car, and it just wasn't for us. Thanks again!