Jump to section Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Copy URL Email The cards we feature here are from partners who compensate us when you are approved through our site, and this may impact how or where these products appear. We don’t cover all available credit cards, but our analysis, reviews, and opinions are entirely from our editorial team. Terms apply to the offers listed on this page. Please view our advertising policy and product review methodology for more information. Editor's Note This is a recurring post, regularly updated with new information and offers. Your credit card's annual fee is due. For one reason or another, you've decided that it's not worth paying the fee to keep your card for another year. Or maybe it's a credit card you no longer use or want, so you're considering closing the account.
Your first inclination might be to cancel your card. However, other options exist: You could downgrade or product change your card instead.
Wondering what those options are and how they work? Let's look at what goes into the decision. Then you can make an informed choice to cancel, downgrade or product change your credit card.
Downgrading is when you switch your credit card to one that earns the same type of rewards but has a lower (or no) annual fee.
Here's an example: I previously held the United℠ Explorer Card (see rates and fees ) but wasn't flying United much, so the $150 annual fee ($0 introductory annual fee for the first year) wasn't worth it to me.
I downgraded this card to the United Gateway℠ Card (see rates and fees ), which has no annual fee.
Both cards earn United Airlines miles, so they're in the same family. I downgraded my card, but didn't need to open a new card. I also kept my credit history with this card, since it's considered the same account on my credit report.
It's worth noting that not all cards have downgrade options. For example, you can't downgrade the IHG One Rewards Premier Business Credit Card (see rates and fees ). That's because there's no other IHG business credit card, and you can't change between personal and business credit cards.
Related: When can you downgrade your credit card?
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Product changing means swapping out your current card for one that earns a different type of rewards currency. It's different from downgrading, which means switching to another card within the same family, i.e., earning the same type of rewards.
As with downgrading, your account history is preserved because you aren't canceling your credit card. You can also choose a card with a lower annual fee if that's your goal.
Both Bank of America and Citi allow you to product-change a credit card to one that earns a completely different type of rewards.
For example, I product changed the Air France-KLM World Elite Mastercard® to the Bank of America® Unlimited Cash Rewards credit card . In another instance, I changed the Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® to the Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi (see rates and fees…