If you have sucumbed to the lure of a quick mileage boost through acquiring a credit card you don’t really want or need after the bonus miles have posted, Mommy Points at BoardingArea.com recently blogged about an easy way to close credit card accounts. “I am a 30-something who doesn’t look forward to chatting on the phone in general, and certainly not with customer service reps who will likely transfer you at least once, and will often do their best to try to keep you as a customer even if all you want to do is just close the account.”

She suggested a good way for cardmembers to close their account without the hassle factor of calling in. “I utilized the secure messaging feature for my account, and sent a very brief message that said I would like to close my account ending in XXXX as I am not really using it very much, and I have another similar account already. About a day later I received a message back saying that account XXXX was closed and that the updated information would be reported on my credit reports within 45 days showing that I requested the account closure.”

Bottom line: This might not work with all credit cards, but it has been known to work with Citi, Chase and American Express and others with a little prodding. Keep in mind however, as Mommy Points suggests, if you might want to keep the card with an incentive like a waived or reduced annual fee, bonus points or a challenge to spend a specified amount over a certain amount of time for a points bonus, it will be best to talk to a real person. To read the blog post, visit http://insideflyerus.wpengine.com/link/?8189