If you no longer want to use your credit card anymore, contact your credit card company to close down your account. By closing your account, you lessen the chance that someone will improperly use your account number and use it to make purchases. Closing your credit card account will also impact your credit score.
Contact your credit card company
Your credit card bill or your customer agreement will give you the telephone number or the address to contact your credit card company to tell them to close your account.
Stop recurring charges
When closing your account, you will need to contact any company or creditor that automatically bills to your credit card account. For example, you may have your telephone company, newspaper company, or insurance company automatically charge your credit card. You will need to contact each company to ask them to stop billing your credit card account and make arrangements to pay your bill with alternative payment methods.
Pay off your balance
You will also have to pay off any balance you have on your credit card account. The amount may differ from the amount on your most recent credit card bill because of accrued interest. Ask your credit card company for the amount you need to pay to pay off your balance in full and whether you can pay off the balance with monthly payments.
Shred your credit card and access checks
To make sure your account information doesn't fall into the wrong hands and to make sure you don't accidentally use your account, be sure to shred your credit card and any access checks linked to the credit card account.