In case you maintain a discontinued bank card, take into account your self fortunate — it is a uncommon merchandise you would possibly even brag about.
Issuers continuously discontinue bank cards for a number of causes. There are occasions when an airline or resort group switches relationships from one financial institution to a different or consolidates its bank card portfolio with one or the opposite.
For instance, beginning in 2026, Citi will grow to be the only real issuer of AAdvantage cobranded bank cards, with Barclays discontinuing its relationship that goes again greater than a decade.
Generally, issuers merely discontinue a card or launch a brand new product to switch it.
Learn our information to grasp what occurs when a card is discontinued and what to contemplate should you want to preserve such a card open.
What occurs when a bank card is discontinued?
Based mostly on the state of affairs, just a few issues happen when a bank card is discontinued.
You possibly can preserve utilizing it
That is when a discontinued card retains working for current cardholders. For instance, Citi has allowed current cardholders of the Citi Status® Card to maintain their accounts open and proceed utilizing their playing cards (because the card was closed to new candidates in mid-2021).
That is the best-case state of affairs — you retain a helpful card with out being compelled to cancel it. Keep in mind, an issuer could make adjustments at any level.
The data for the Citi Status Card has been collected independently by The Factors Man. The cardboard particulars on this web page haven’t been reviewed or offered by the cardboard issuer.
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You would possibly have the ability to convert it
You might change a discontinued card to a different one with the identical issuer, however there are limitations as to which playing cards you are allowed to vary to.
Normally, it’s a must to change to a card inside the similar “household” of playing cards. So, a card incomes an issuer’s transferable rewards forex will not be transformed to an airline cobranded card from the identical issuer.
For instance, current cardholders of the discontinued Citi® / AAdvantage® Gold World Elite™ Mastercard® can change their card to the Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Choose® World Elite Mastercard® (see charges and costs), as each playing cards are inside the household of cobranded AAdvantage playing cards.
The data for the Citi AAdvantage Gold card has been collected independently by The Factors Man. The cardboard particulars on this web page haven’t been reviewed or offered by the cardboard issuer.
You may be switched to a brand new card
If a financial institution discontinues and replaces a card with a more moderen model, then the issuer will routinely transition your card to the brand new one.
For instance, with Barclays now not issuing AAdvantage playing cards from 2026 on, its playing cards will finally be transferred to Citi when it turns into the brand new issuer of playing cards just like the AAdvantage® Aviator® Purple World Elite Mastercard®.
One other more moderen instance is the Citi Rewards+® Card. It closed to new candidates, however just a few weeks later, Citi launched the Citi Strata℠ Card as its substitute. Regardless of some cardholders having fun with the advantages of the Citi Rewards+, just like the rounding up of factors to the closest tenth level, all cardholders shall be routinely transformed to the Citi Strata Card, which lacks this perk. On this case, the compelled conversion of the Citi Rewards+ may be seen as a unfavourable growth for a lot of.
One other instance is the previous fan-favorite Starwood Most popular Visitor Luxurious Card from American Categorical. Its cardholders have been all transformed to the Marriott Bonvoy Good® American Categorical® Card after Marriott and SPG’s merger in 2018.
The data for the Citi Rewards+, Citi Strata Card and Starwood Most popular Visitor Luxurious playing cards has been collected independently by The Factors Man. The cardboard particulars on this web page haven’t been reviewed or offered by the cardboard issuer.
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Take into account these elements when deciding whether or not to maintain a card open
When you’ve got a bank card that now not accepts new purposes, you are most likely questioning whether or not it pays to maintain it open. Listed here are the key elements to contemplate.
The affect in your credit score rating
Your credit score rating is calculated primarily based on 5 main parts:
Closing a bank card can have an effect on a number of of those parts, together with credit score historical past, which accounts for 15% of your credit score rating, and your credit score utilization ratio, which accounts for 30% of your credit score rating. Whenever you shut a discontinued card, you lower the common age of all of your credit score accounts, particularly if the cardboard you are closing is older than just a few years, negatively affecting your credit score rating.
Moreover, closing a bank card will increase your credit score utilization ratio. Credit score utilization is the quantity you owe versus your whole line of credit score. Since you should have much less whole credit score throughout all of your accounts after canceling a card, assuming your spending stays the identical, your utilization ratio will rise and, thus, carry down your credit score rating.
Finally, earlier than continuing, it’s essential to take into account whether or not a card cancellation will considerably decrease your credit score rating.
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Is the annual payment value it?
A serious consideration for any bank card is the annual payment. Ask your self if the annual payment on a discontinued card is value it and should you’re in a position to preserve utilizing its advantages.
Nevertheless, if a bank card is discontinued and changed with a more moderen model with advantages that modify or the annual payment will increase, then it is value contemplating whether or not the annual payment is a justified price.
Associated: The whole information to bank card annual charges
Conversion to a different card
On a just lately discontinued card, look out for the issuer’s plans on what it would do subsequent. If the issuer plans to change your card to a more moderen model, consider the advantages of the cardboard it intends to present you and evaluate them to your current card.
The Citi Status® Card has been discontinued for almost 4 years, with a substitute nonetheless pending. So, it is smart for many current Status cardholders to maintain the cardboard open to proceed maximizing its advantages and incomes charges moderately than outright closing their account.
In case you’re being compelled to vary into the newer model of the cardboard you at present maintain, it could be value it to cancel your card as a substitute. Transformed playing cards are usually ineligible for welcome bonuses. When changing a card, you possibly can be forgoing a welcome bonus value 1000’s of factors or miles.
Hold the brand new card’s welcome bonus eligibility restrictions in thoughts. These may embrace proscribing the bonus to earlier cardholders who acquired a bonus a set variety of months or years in the past.
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Unused advantages
If the discontinued card comes with a time-sensitive perk, comparable to an annual free evening certificates, verify the tremendous print in your advantages information. Make sure you use any advantages that require your card to be lively and in good standing earlier than canceling.
Likewise, should you earned such a profit with a discontinued card that has been transformed, you’ll seemingly nonetheless have the ability to reap the benefits of it inside a set time interval after it has been discontinued. However remember to use it quickly, or be ready to lose it.
Advantages not obtainable by way of different playing cards
A prime purpose to maintain a discontinued card open is to reap the benefits of perks not obtainable on different playing cards or the cardboard’s newer model. For instance, the Citi Status comes with a fourth-night-free perk, the place Citi pays for the fourth evening of your keep at virtually any resort booked by way of the Citi journey portal (restricted to 2 makes use of per 12 months).
One other perk of the Status not discovered on its lower-annual-fee counterpart, the Citi Strata Premier℠ Card (see charges and costs), is the as much as $250 annual journey credit score that is good towards any buy coding as journey.
These two advantages alone would justify holding the Citi Status Card open.
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Backside line
When you’ve got a discontinued card, weigh whether or not it is value holding or canceling. Take into account how closing it may have an effect on your credit score rating and whether or not the advantages outweigh the annual payment.
If the issuer is changing the cardboard to a brand new model, consider whether or not the brand new card aligns together with your spending habits and reward objectives.
And if the cardboard is not being changed, it could be value holding, particularly if it presents a powerful incomes fee or distinctive advantages not obtainable elsewhere.
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