The Right Way to Close Your Credit Card Account in the UAE

However, there could be a lot of reasons as to why you want to shut down your credit card account. You may have multiple credit cards, your credit card provider has raised the annual fee and rate of interest, you are leaving the country, or simply you are not able to manage expenses. Few people think that not using a credit card will automatically close their account but it a myth. Even though, you do not use your credit card either for a few months or years, there would be some charges keep on imposed on it and delaying the payments can ultimately hurt your credit score.

So, follow these useful steps to close your credit card account in the right manner.

Pay Off the Outstanding Balance

The first and foremost thing that you will need to do to settle your remaining balance before you request to close your credit card account.

Choosing to avoid clearing off the outstanding dues and requesting for closing a credit card account first is not the right option. Any sort of delays in repaying the outstanding due amount will eventually increase your liability with your credit card provider since it gets accumulated month after month. In addition to this, your monthly rate of interest will be applicable on your credit card balance making it difficult to settle since it piles up. The quicker you pay off your credit card outstanding balance amount the less of an impact it will have on your credit Score.

So, it is advised to check your credit card balance and if, in case, you have to clear any outstanding dues, clear them and then proceed further to cancel your credit card.

Ask for a Clearance Letter

As you pay off your outstanding balance amount, be sure you keep the payment receipt of the amounts that you have paid. Well, this will be a strong proof of payment in the future and supporting documents in any unforeseen event that an administration error occurs from the side of your credit card issuer.

You will need to get a clearance letter from your credit card provider once you paid all the payments for a strong legal cover. This will be the confirmation that your liability with the credit card issuer no longer exists.

Utilize Your Credit Card Rewards

When you cancel your credit card, you won’t be able to utilize any of the rewards you have earned on your credit card. Before cancelling your credit card, don’t forget to check your rewards balance in order to see how many rewards you have and utilize them.

Supplementary Credit Cards

If you are a primary card holder, you will be liable to pay any debt on the credit card account. So, you must talk to your credit card provider about cancelling the supplementary or add-on card that might be in the name of your wife or children for instance.

If you are a supplementary card holder, you can’t keep the credit card account active if an account is closed by the primary cardholder. You know, why? Deactivation of the primary credit card automatically deactivates the add-on cards.  

Contact the Customer Service

After paying off your outstanding balance amount, call your credit card’s customer care from the registered mobile number. Let the customer care representative know that you are requesting to shut down your credit card account.

However, the representative will try to influence you and talk to you to keep your account remain open, but you can tell them your valid reason and request that the customer care representative confirms your cancellation  request verbally. Also, don’t forget to ask for a confirmation SMS or email to that effect.

Obtain a Printed Document

Once the concerned bank approves your credit card closing request, ask them to provide letter about shutting down your credit card account. This is one of the most important things that you should not avoid because at times bank might miss out in deactivating your credit card account and if you don’t have any valid proof then you might lend in problems. As you will have to pay the late payment charges and these penalties can hamper your credit score significantly.

Conclusion

Don’t skip any of these above-mentioned steps if you have finally decided to shut down your credit card account. These plastic cards are very useful if you get a credit card as per your spending habits. So, know your using preferences and get a credit card in UAE accordingly but don’t forget to close the credit card account properly before you request for a new one.