Discontinued credit cards: Why (and why not) to stick with them
Editor's Note
Quick summary
If you hold a discontinued credit card, consider yourself lucky — it's a rare item you might even brag about.
Issuers frequently discontinue credit cards for several reasons. There are times when an airline or hotel group switches relationships from one bank to another or consolidates its credit card portfolio with one or the other.
For example, starting in 2026, Citi will become the sole issuer of AAdvantage cobranded credit cards, with Barclays discontinuing its relationship that goes back more than a decade.
Sometimes, issuers simply discontinue a card or launch a new product to replace it.
Read our guide to understand what happens when a card is discontinued and what to consider if you wish to keep such a card open.
What happens when a credit card is discontinued?
Based on the situation, a few things occur when a credit card is discontinued.
You can keep using it
This is when a discontinued card keeps working for existing cardholders. For example, Citi has allowed existing cardholders of the Citi Prestige® Card to keep their accounts open and continue using their cards (since the card was closed to new applicants in mid-2021).
This is the best-case scenario — you keep a valuable card without being forced to cancel it. Remember, an issuer can make changes at any point.
The information for the Citi Prestige Card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Related: What I'm looking forward to seeing in Citi's upcoming premium credit card
You might be able to convert it
You could change a discontinued card to another one with the same issuer, but there are limitations as to which cards you're allowed to change to.
Usually, you have to change to a card within the same "family" of cards. So, a card earning an issuer's transferable rewards currency may not be converted to an airline cobranded card from the same issuer.
For example, existing cardholders of the discontinued Citi® / AAdvantage® Gold World Elite™ Mastercard® can change their card to the Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® (see rates and fees), as both cards are within the family of cobranded AAdvantage cards.
The information for the Citi AAdvantage Gold card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
You might be switched to a new card
If a bank discontinues and replaces a card with a newer version, then the issuer will automatically transition your card to the new one.
For example, with Barclays no longer issuing AAdvantage cards from 2026 on, its cards will eventually be transferred to Citi when it becomes the new issuer of cards like the AAdvantage® Aviator® Red World Elite Mastercard®.
Another more recent example is the Citi Rewards+® Card. It closed to new applicants, but a few weeks later, Citi launched the Citi Strata℠ Card as its replacement. Despite some cardholders enjoying the benefits of the Citi Rewards+, like the rounding up of points to the nearest 10th point, all cardholders will be automatically converted to the Citi Strata Card, which lacks this perk. In this case, the forced conversion of the Citi Rewards+ can be seen as a negative development for many.
Another example is the old fan-favorite Starwood Preferred Guest Luxury Card from American Express. Its cardholders were all converted to the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card after Marriott and SPG's merger in 2018.
The information for the Citi Rewards+, Citi Strata Card and Starwood Preferred Guest Luxury cards has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Related: 4 major considerations before upgrading your credit card
Consider these factors when deciding whether to keep a card open
If you have a credit card that no longer accepts new applications, you're probably wondering whether it pays to keep it open. Here are the major factors to consider.
The impact on your credit score
Your credit score is calculated based on five major components:
- Credit types
- Credit utilization
- New credit
- Length of credit history
- Payment history
Closing a credit card can affect several of these components, including credit history, which accounts for 15% of your credit score, and your credit utilization ratio, which accounts for 30% of your credit score. When you close a discontinued card, you decrease the average age of all your credit accounts, especially if the card you're closing is older than a few years, negatively affecting your credit score.
Furthermore, closing a credit card increases your credit utilization ratio. Credit utilization is the amount you owe versus your total line of credit. Since you will have less total credit across all your accounts after canceling a card, assuming your spending stays the same, your utilization ratio will rise and, thus, bring down your credit score.
Ultimately, before proceeding, you need to consider whether a card cancellation will significantly lower your credit score.
Related: Is 30% credit card utilization the magic number?
Is the annual fee worth it?
A major consideration for any credit card is the annual fee. Ask yourself if the annual fee on a discontinued card is worth it and if you're able to keep using its benefits.
However, if a credit card is discontinued and replaced with a newer version with benefits that vary or the annual fee increases, then it's worth considering whether the annual fee is a justified cost.
Related: The complete guide to credit card annual fees
Conversion to another card
On a recently discontinued card, look out for the issuer's plans on what it will do next. If the issuer plans to switch your card to a newer version, evaluate the benefits of the card it intends to give you and compare them to your existing card.
The Citi Prestige® Card has been discontinued for nearly four years, with a replacement still pending. So, it makes sense for most existing Prestige cardholders to keep the card open to continue maximizing its benefits and earning rates rather than outright closing their account.
If you're being forced to change into the newer version of the card you currently hold, it may be worth it to cancel your card instead. Converted cards are typically ineligible for welcome bonuses. When converting a card, you could be forgoing a welcome bonus worth thousands of points or miles.
Keep the new card's welcome bonus eligibility restrictions in mind. These could include restricting the bonus to previous cardholders who received a bonus a set number of months or years ago.
Related: A complete guide to Amex's one-bonus-per-lifetime restrictions
Unused benefits
If the discontinued card comes with a time-sensitive perk, such as an annual free night certificate, check the fine print in your benefits guide. Be sure to use any benefits that require your card to be active and in good standing before canceling.
Likewise, if you earned such a benefit with a discontinued card that has been converted, you will likely still be able to take advantage of it within a set time period after it's been discontinued. But be sure to use it soon, or be prepared to lose it.
Benefits not available through other cards
A top reason to keep a discontinued card open is to take advantage of perks not available on other cards or the card's newer version. For example, the Citi Prestige comes with a fourth-night-free perk, where Citi will pay for the fourth night of your stay at practically any hotel booked through the Citi travel portal (limited to two uses per year).
Another perk of the Prestige not found on its lower-annual-fee counterpart, the Citi Strata Premier® Card (see rates and fees), is the up to $250 annual travel credit that's good toward any purchase coding as travel.
These two benefits alone would justify keeping the Citi Prestige Card open.
Related: Complete guide to booking Citi Prestige complimentary fourth-night hotel stays
Bottom line
If you have a discontinued card, weigh whether it's worth keeping or canceling. Consider how closing it could affect your credit score and whether the benefits outweigh the annual fee.
If the issuer is converting the card to a new version, evaluate whether the new card aligns with your spending habits and reward goals.
And if the card isn't being replaced, it may be worth keeping, especially if it offers a strong earning rate or unique benefits not available elsewhere.
Related: Best travel credit cards