Citi closed my credit card with no warning

Money Management
1

I just received an email from Citibank that they have closed my credit card account. No warning, just closed. I have not used the card in some time, as I am trying to keep my use of credit cards very limited. I don’t know whether this will affect my credit score, which is in the high 700’s.

Any thoughts on how to respond, if at all?

Thank you!

2

Call and ask them to reopen it. They don’t want dormant accounts sitting around, as you are costing them money by not using your card. It will affect your credit, as your overall credit worthiness will drop by however much the credit limit was, but your credit score shouldn’t drop too much unless the credit limit was very high.

The only people that can resolve any situation is Citi and if you’ve been a good customer, they will want you back but probably not if you’re going to sit with a zero balance for an extended period of time.

3

Dear Jeremy-

Thank you for your response. The thing is, I actually want to close some of my accounts as I don’t want to have so many cards. Would the same thing apply if I closed the accounts myself? Or, if I continue to use the cards I normally do, and pay them off, would that bring the score back up?

I do appreciate your insight!

Stay safe and be well.

Susan

4

Hi Susan,

If you close your accounts it is likely your credit score will go down. Agencies look at the total amount of credit you have available and the amount being used (ratio) if you have three credit card accounts for example with a limit of $1K but only use one with a balance of say $300.00 your ratio would be good at only 10%, keeping it well under the 30% lenders prefer. However, close two of those credit accounts and your ratio has now skyrocketed to the 30%. The lower the ratio the higher the credit score.

A way to keep your cards and in good standing is to put one small charge on the card the occurs each month, say a Netflix bill or other subscription service, then set your card up with autopay each month to pay off the entire balance. This will show that you use the credit provided and use it wisely. Often times this will increase your score. Of course, if these cards have high annual fees, consider replacing the card, with a no-fee card with the same credit limit.

Hope this is helpful to you,

Mark

5

Thank you for your comments Mark!

Best wishes, Susan

6

Thanks for the response to my question. I ended up closing 2 accounts, and putting a freeze (lock) on those that I am not using. This way no one can charge to them and I still have a great credit rating!