For those who maintain a discontinued bank card, contemplate your self fortunate — it is a uncommon merchandise you may even brag about.
Issuers steadily discontinue bank cards for a number of causes. There are occasions when an airline or lodge 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 develop into 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 exchange it.
Learn our information to grasp what occurs when a card is discontinued and what to think about 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 present cardholders. For instance, Citi has allowed present 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 useful card with out being pressured to cancel it. Keep in mind, an issuer could make modifications 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 supplied by the cardboard issuer.
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You may have the ability to convert it
You would 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 alter to.
Normally, you must change to a card inside the similar “household” of playing cards. So, a card incomes an issuer’s transferable rewards forex might not be transformed to an airline cobranded card from the identical issuer.
For instance, present 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 charges), 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 supplied by the cardboard issuer.
You could be switched to a brand new card
If a financial institution discontinues and replaces a card with a more recent model, then the issuer will routinely transition your card to the brand new one.
For instance, with Barclays not issuing AAdvantage playing cards from 2026 on, its playing cards will ultimately be transferred to Citi when it turns into the brand new issuer of playing cards just like the AAdvantage® Aviator® Pink 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 alternative. 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 can be routinely transformed to the Citi Strata Card, which lacks this perk. On this case, the pressured conversion of the Citi Rewards+ may be seen as a destructive improvement for a lot of.
One other instance is the outdated fan-favorite Starwood Most popular Visitor Luxurious Card from American Specific. Its cardholders had been all transformed to the Marriott Bonvoy Good® American Specific® 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 supplied by the cardboard issuer.
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Contemplate these components when deciding whether or not to maintain a card open
If in case you have a bank card that not accepts new functions, you are most likely questioning whether or not it pays to maintain it open. Listed here are the most important components to think about.
The influence in your credit score rating
Your credit score rating is calculated primarily based on 5 main elements:
Closing a bank card can have an effect on a number of of those elements, 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. While you shut a discontinued card, you lower the typical 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 complete line of credit score. Since you’ll have much less complete credit score throughout all of your accounts after canceling a card, assuming your spending stays the identical, your utilization ratio will rise and, thus, convey down your credit score rating.
Finally, earlier than continuing, you want to contemplate whether or not a card cancellation will considerably decrease your credit score rating.
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Is the annual price price it?
A serious consideration for any bank card is the annual price. Ask your self if the annual price on a discontinued card is price it and should you’re capable of preserve utilizing its advantages.
Nonetheless, if a bank card is discontinued and changed with a more recent model with advantages that modify or the annual price will increase, then it is price contemplating whether or not the annual price is a justified price.
Associated: The entire information to bank card annual charges
Conversion to a different card
On a lately discontinued card, look out for the issuer’s plans on what it can do subsequent. If the issuer plans to change your card to a more recent model, consider the advantages of the cardboard it intends to provide you and examine them to your present card.
The Citi Status® Card has been discontinued for almost 4 years, with a alternative nonetheless pending. So, it is smart for many present Status cardholders to maintain the cardboard open to proceed maximizing its advantages and incomes charges relatively than outright closing their account.
For those who’re being pressured to alter into the newer model of the cardboard you at present maintain, it might be price it to cancel your card as a substitute. Transformed playing cards are usually ineligible for welcome bonuses. When changing a card, you could possibly be forgoing a welcome bonus price 1000’s of factors or miles.
Preserve the brand new card’s welcome bonus eligibility restrictions in thoughts. These might embrace limiting 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, akin to an annual free evening certificates, verify the advantageous print in your advantages information. Be sure you use any advantages that require your card to be energetic and in good standing earlier than canceling.
Likewise, should you earned such a profit with a discontinued card that has been transformed, you’ll possible nonetheless have the ability to benefit from it inside a set time interval after it has been discontinued. However make sure to use it quickly, or be ready to lose it.
Advantages not accessible by way of different playing cards
A high motive to maintain a discontinued card open is to benefit from perks not accessible 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 lodge 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 charges), 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 maintaining the Citi Status Card open.
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Backside line
If in case you have a discontinued card, weigh whether or not it is price maintaining or canceling. Contemplate how closing it might have an effect on your credit score rating and whether or not the advantages outweigh the annual price.
If the issuer is changing the cardboard to a brand new model, consider whether or not the brand new card aligns along with your spending habits and reward objectives.
And if the cardboard is not being changed, it might be price maintaining, particularly if it affords a powerful incomes fee or distinctive advantages not accessible elsewhere.
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