Should you close a paid-off credit card? (2026)

If should close paid off is on your radar, this short guide cuts through the noise. Here is what is worth knowing, and how to put it to work today.

Key Takeaways

• var _informq = _informq || []; _informq.push(['embed']); Finally paying off a credit card and becoming debt free is a great feelin...
• But what you do next is so important, because you could end up doing more harm than good.
• Why you don’t want to close credit accounts Once you get that card paid off, don’t close the account.

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Finally paying off a credit card and becoming debt free is a excellent feeling! But what you do next is so key, because you could end up doing more harm than good.

Why you don’t want to close credit accounts

Once you get that card paid off, don’t close the account. When you close a credit account, it lowers your overall available credit, and you don’t want to do that. Why? Because what makes up one-third of your credit score is how much of your available credit you’re using, and if you lower that total amount, then you’ll be using up a bigger percentage of your overall available credit.

Read more: What is a good credit score?

You only want to use 30% of your total available credit at any one time. If you close an account and lower your overall amount, that will raise the percentage you’re using, and could end up lowering your credit score.

Read more: Clark’s Credit Score Guide

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Final Thoughts

Before you check out, double-check should close paid off against current offers and any coupons you can stack. Small habits like this add up to real savings over a year.

Originally published at clark.com.