Call Bank of America or cancel online through your account
You can cancel a Bank of America credit card by calling their customer service line at 1-800-432-1000, or by logging into your online account and requesting cancellation through the card management section. The phone route is faster if you want to confirm the cancellation happened immediately. Online cancellation takes a few business days to process.
Before you call or submit the request, pay off any remaining balance on the card. Bank of America will not close an account with an outstanding balance, and you will continue to owe interest on that balance until it is paid. If you have an automatic payment set up on this card, move those payments to another card or account first.
Have your card number and the last four digits of your Social Security number ready when you call. The representative will ask why you are canceling—this is optional information, but telling them can sometimes lead to a retention offer if you are leaving because of fees or interest rates.
Key Takeaways
- Pay off your full balance before canceling, because Bank of America will not close an account with money owed.
- Call 1-800-432-1000 or use your online account to request cancellation; the phone route confirms closure the same day.
- Move any automatic payments to another card or account before you cancel, so bills do not fail.
- Your credit score may dip slightly when you close the account because your available credit decreases, but the impact is usually small and temporary.
- Bank of America will send a confirmation letter in the mail within 7 to 10 business days after the card is closed.
What happens to your credit score when you close the card
Closing a credit card can lower your credit score slightly because it reduces your total available credit. If you had a $5,000 limit on this card and no other cards, your available credit drops to zero. Credit scoring models look at the ratio of credit you are using to credit available to you—this ratio is called your utilization rate, and closing a card makes it worse temporarily.
The impact is usually small and fades within a few months as long as you keep paying other accounts on time. If you have other cards with low balances, the damage is even smaller. If this is your only card or your oldest card, the impact may be larger, but it is still not permanent.
Do not close the card and then immediately open a new one to replace it. Wait at least a few weeks. Multiple credit inquiries and new accounts in a short time signal risk to lenders and can lower your score more than closing one card would.
Timing: when to cancel before a fee hits
If your Bank of America card has an annual fee, check your statement or account to see when it renews. Most annual fees post on the anniversary of when you opened the account. If the fee is coming up in the next week or two, cancel now to avoid it. If you just paid the annual fee, you cannot get it back by canceling—the fee is already charged.
Some Bank of America cards waive the annual fee in the first year or offer a waiver if you meet spending requirements. Check your card terms to see whether you may have access to for a waiver before you cancel. If you do, you might keep the card open without paying the fee.
If you are canceling to avoid a fee that has not yet posted, tell the representative this when you call. They may be able to see the upcoming fee and confirm the cancellation date so it closes before the fee charges.
Handling automatic payments and recurring charges
Before you cancel, go through your last three months of statements and write down every recurring charge—subscriptions, insurance payments, utility bills, loan payments, anything that charges automatically. Update each one to use a different card or bank account. If you miss this step, payments will fail and you may face late fees or service interruptions.
Check your Bank of America account settings for any automatic payments you set up. These are often easy to forget about, especially if they are small monthly charges. Update them at least a week before you cancel the card, not the day of.
If a payment fails after you close the card, contact the merchant immediately and provide the new payment method. Most will reprocess the charge without penalty if you update it within a few days. Utility companies and loan servicers are usually flexible; subscription services are less so.
What Bank of America sends you after cancellation
Bank of America will mail you a confirmation letter within 7 to 10 business days stating that your account is closed. Keep this letter for your records. It shows the date the account closed and confirms you have no remaining balance.
The closed account will remain on your credit report for seven years. This is normal and does not hurt your credit—closed accounts in good standing actually help your credit history because they show you managed the account responsibly. Lenders can see that you closed it yourself, not that the bank closed it for non-payment.
If you see charges on the card after you close it, contact Bank of America immediately. Fraudulent charges can still post to closed accounts, and you have the same dispute rights you had when the card was open.
If you want to keep the card but stop using it
You do not have to cancel the card if you just want to stop using it. You can leave it open with a zero balance and never touch it. This is actually better for your credit score than closing it, because your available credit stays the same.
If you leave the card open, Bank of America may close it for inactivity after a long period of no use—usually 12 months or more, though this varies. If that happens, they will notify you first. You can reactivate the card by using it once.
The downside to leaving it open is that you will still owe the annual fee if the card has one. If the fee is the reason you want to cancel, you have to actually close it or switch to a Bank of America card with no annual fee.
Canceling a joint account or authorized user card
If the card is a joint account—meaning another person is equally responsible for it—both account holders must request the cancellation, or the primary account holder must call and authorize it. Bank of America will ask for identification from whoever is calling.
If you are an authorized user on someone else's card, you cannot cancel the account yourself. You can only ask the primary account holder to remove you as an authorized user or to cancel the card. The primary holder has full control.
If you are the primary holder and want to remove an authorized user without closing the card, call Bank of America and request to remove that person. The card stays open, but the authorized user can no longer use it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will Bank of America let me cancel over the phone if I have a balance?
No. You must pay off the balance first. Bank of America will not close an account with money owed, and you will continue to pay interest on that balance after the card is closed. Pay it down to zero before you call to cancel.
How long does it take for the card to actually close?
If you cancel by phone, the representative will confirm the closure immediately, and the account closes that day. If you cancel online, it takes 3 to 5 business days. Either way, you should stop using the card right away.
Can I reopen the card after I cancel it?
You can open a new Bank of America card of the same type, but you cannot reopen the exact same account once it is closed. The old account number is gone. Opening a new card will trigger a hard inquiry on your credit report.
What if I cancel and then realize I made a mistake?
Call Bank of America within a few days of canceling. If the account has not fully processed the closure, they may be able to reverse it. Once it is fully closed, you will have to open a new account instead.
Do I need to destroy the physical card after I cancel?
Yes. Cut it up or shred it so it cannot be used. The card is no longer active after cancellation, but destroying it prevents someone from finding it and attempting to use it.