How to close a Chase credit card account

If your Chase credit card is no longer useful or a burden financially, you may understandably want to cancel your card. The good news is that canceling an account with Chase is a simple process. But, before you decide to cancel your card, consider a few other options that are available to you.

Should you close your Chase account?

There is a multitude of reasons why you may want to close a Chase account. Some of the most common reasons include:

• Avoiding high annual fees
• General lack of use
• Underwhelming rewards
• Interested in a different type of rewards card
• High APR

All of these concerns are valid reasons to reevaluate your credit card. If you applied for a Chase card for the rewards or introductory bonus, but now you’re stuck with a high APR, you may want to find a card offering a better rate.

Or, you could simply have found that you don’t use the card as often as you expected and don’t want the hassle of monitoring it. Whatever the reason, there may come a time when your credit card isn’t meeting your needs. However, before choosing to close a Chase account altogether, you should consider all options available to you.

Upgrading and downgrading your Chase card

When deciding whether or not to keep a card, look into your options for upgrading or downgrading it before making any final decisions.

For example, let’s say that you signed up for the Chase Sapphire Reserve card to earn its 50,000 point sign-up bonus (after spending $4,000 in the first three months), but now that $550 annual fee is too much to handle. Before you cancel your card, consider downgrading to a card like the Chase Freedom Flex℠.

Unlike the Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card, Chase Freedom Flex charges no annual fee, and while it’s a cash back card, the ability to earn Chase Ultimate Rewards points means that you can apply your rewards toward travel as well.

Choosing to downgrade or upgrade your credit card has the added benefit of protecting your credit score, which can be dinged when your utilization ratio changes as a result of your total line of credit decreasing.

See related: What is a good credit utilization ratio?

Before closing your Chase account

If you still decide to close a Chase account it’s important to check your outstanding balance. The best move is to pay off your balance in full, if possible. If not, make a plan to pay off that balance even after you close your account so that you don’t accrue high-interest charges.

Consider asking to transfer your credit limit

If you have more than one Chase card, another option to consider when closing your account is transferring your line of credit to another Chase card. Transferring your line of credit won’t affect your credit score and it could save you from that dreaded dip in your credit score.

However, Chase won’t allow you to transfer a line of credit from a business credit card to a personal credit card, and it may require you to leave a small credit limit on the card you are transferring from.

Credit line transfers are typically simple to initiate and can be processed within 24 hours, but it’s not a guarantee. Contact Chase’s customer service line to see your options when it comes to transferring your limit.

How to close a Chase account

So, you’ve considered all your options and you are ready to close your account. There are three primary ways to go about closing an account with Chase:

Online

You can close your Chase account online through its secure messaging system. To do this, simply log into your Chase online account and go to the management page. On the left side of the screen, you will find a drop-down menu where you will find the “secure messaging” tab.

Once in the secure messaging system, select the option that says “I have a question about one of my accounts.” The last step of this process is to select the account you want to close and to provide a brief explanation of why you are closing the account. From there you should be contacted by Chase confirming that your account has been closed, or requesting additional information if necessary.

Over the phone

You can close your account over the phone by calling Chase customer service. You can find the best number to contact on the back of your credit card. Once you reach a customer service representative you can explain that you want to close your account and they will walk you through the process.

Chase customer service can also be reached at (800) 432-3117

By mail

You can also close your account by mail, though this will be the slowest of the three options available. To close your account by mail, send a letter to Chase with your personal information such as name, address, account number and a message explaining that you want to close your account immediately.

You can mail your letter to Chase at:

National Bank By Mail

P.O. Box 6185

Westerville, OH 43086