January 7, 2026
Closing a Credit Card
Pam
I was lucky to get several The Business Platinum Card® from American Express with NLL (no lifetime language) offers a couple of years ago. I have slowly cancelled them (in hopes of getting new offers and also not wanting to pay that high annual fee). Today I went down to just one such card. But first, I used all the credits I could.
My payment for this card was due on January 10, 2026, so on January 1, 2026, I used these credits:
- $200 annual airline incidental credits (used to purchase United TravelBank credit)
- Fine Hotels + Resorts® $300 credit
- $150 Dell credit
On January 7th, I checked to see that all of the credits had posted and they had:
The Next Step
Once I confirmed this, I logged in to my American Express online account and chatted with them to close it. I didn’t ask for a retention offer, and they didn’t offer one. In fact, the agent didn’t even press me to keep the account open. It was easy-peasy and done in five minutes. The ability to chat with an agent without having to call and speak with someone is one of the things I like most about closing an AMEX card.
Bottom Line
Before you close a card, be sure to use up all your credits. Timing is crucial to a card cancellation. By using the TravelFreely app, you can see upcoming annual fees and make a plan, just like I did, to ensure you get the most from your credit cards before cancelling them. Fingers crossed, I receive a card offer with NLL in the future!
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I’m in the process of doing the same thing. I think I need to get more airline – I thought it was $50 a quarter. Hopefully yo used your $50 at Hilton too! Getting lunch at local Doubletree tomorrow! Thanks for the reminders! One more buzz play to to and I’m timing those credits too!