Let’s say you’ve had a credit card for a few years. But the deal you signed on for then just isn’t working for you now. You found a better credit card offer that your current credit card company couldn’t match, so you decided that it’s time to leave. How exactly do you do that? How do you close a credit card account?

You might just be tempted to toss the old card in a drawer or even cut it up and forget about it. But that doesn’t actually close your account with the credit card company, and in most cases it’s not a smart idea. Let’s talk about why.

Why You Should Close Your Account and Not Just Get Rid of Your Credit Card

On the surface it makes sense. You paid off a credit card. You owe no money on it. You’re not in debt any longer. So you cut up your credit card so you can’t use it again and run up a balance. It’s over and done with in your mind. It makes sense, right? Wrong.

There are several problems with this approach. First, just because you can’t physically use the card, it doesn’t mean you won’t be tempted to go into debt again. You could always use the credit card information for online purchases for example, or you could request a replacement from the credit card company.

Even if debt isn’t your primary concern, you run the risk of running up a balance without even realizing it. For example, not using your card doesn’t automatically make you exempt from fees. If an annual fee is charged at some point, you’re still responsible for that resulting balance.

It can also complicate your recordkeeping. For instance, do you really want more statements sitting around at tax time? Do you really want to have to go through them every month for a credit card you’re not using anyway, just to make sure you’re not being charged any fees or finding suspicious activity on the account? It’s probably not worth it.

How Open, but Unused, Credit Card Accounts Can Influence Your Credit History

Then there’s another potentially big issue with leaving credit card accounts open when you’re no longer using the card. Your open account will still be in your credit history. That might be fine with you at first, especially if you already were approved for the new credit card you plan to use instead of the old one.

What happens if you need a new line of credit for some reason down the road though? While having unused available credit is certainly better than having credit card debt, you might have too much. And if another creditor feels you already have access to enough credit and adding to it could make it more than you can handle (they don’t know if you’ll run up debt on the old card later since the credit is available to you), they might be more unlikely to approve you.

Don’t just stop using your credit cards. If you want to be rid of them, take the time to contact your credit card company and get them to cancel your account completely for you. You can call them to find out their specific policies, or visit their website to see if they have an account closure form there you would need to fill out.