How to cancel a Barclaycard credit card

Find out what you'll need to do to close your Barclaycard account.

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Tom Stelzer

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Overview

If you want to cancel your credit card, it’s important that you do it correctly to ensure you aren’t stung with interest payments or fees in future. Credit card providers will generally require that you call them if you wish to cancel your card, and may try to convince you to stay by offering you a better rate or bonus features.

What to do before you cancel your Barclaycard credit card

Before you cancel your credit card, there are a couple of things you should do:

  • Pay off your balance. It’s important you have a zero outstanding balance before cancelling your card. If you’re unable to pay it off, consider making a balance transfer to another card with a lower APR to save money on interest. This will also give you more time to pay your debt.
  • Redeem rewards. Closing your account before you redeem or transfer your points isn’t recommended as you’ll likely lose your points.

How to cancel your Barclaycard credit card

Once you’re ready to cancel, you’ll need to call Barclaycard on 0333 200 9090 in order to close your account. A representative may try to talk you into keeping your account open, and this can be a good bargaining tactic to potentially get a lower APR or other perks and bonuses. If you find the offer appealing, you can always consider keeping the card, but if you still want to close your account you can decline the offer.

Make sure you have the following items nearby when cancelling your card:

  • Your credit card and account information.
  • A reason why you want to cancel the card.
  • Pen and paper to write down the representative’s ID and name should you need it later on.

You can also send a message to the chat function in the Barclaycard app, found under the ‘Help’ section.

Will cancelling my Barclaycard credit card affect my credit score?

Not necessarily, although different lenders have their own criteria when it comes to determining your credit rating. Provided you pay off your card in full before cancelling, you may actually improve your credit score by reducing the number of accounts you have or by closing unused accounts.

By paying off and closing unwanted accounts, you’re showing future lenders or credit providers that you are capable of spending responsibly and meeting your credit commitments.

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Tom Stelzer is a writer for Finder specialising in personal finance, including loans and credit, as well as small business and business loans. He has previously worked as a freelance writer covering entertainment, culture and football for publications like FourFourTwo and Man of Many. He has a Master of Media Arts and Production and Bachelor of Communications in Journalism from the University of Technology Sydney. See full bio

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