Does Upgrading a Credit Card Affect Your Credit Score?

If you’ve been making regular, on-time credit card payments, you may be considering upgrading your card to a different one from the same credit card issuer that offers more features or points. But after working hard to build your creditworthiness — your ability to pay back debt — you may be wondering how a card upgrade could affect your credit scores.

Let’s look at what a credit card upgrade is, how it can affect your creditworthiness and what to consider before switching.

What does upgrading a credit card mean?

A credit card upgrade is a product change that lets you replace a current card with a new one from the same credit card issuer. The new card usually has more benefits, and often, you’ll keep the same account history and credit limit, although some upgrades may include a credit limit increase. And since the product is changing rather than the account, upgrading usually impacts your credit less than opening a new credit line with your credit card issuer or applying for a new card from another provider.

How does upgrading your credit card affect your credit?

Credit card upgrades don’t usually have a major impact on your credit, but in some cases, upgrades may have more of an effect than others.

When card upgrades have little or no impact

Generally, product changes don’t affect your creditworthiness, especially when:

• The issuer doesn’t perform a hard inquiry. A hard credit check or hard credit inquiry is a request from a lender to see your credit report before approving a new credit application. Hard credit checks are a routine part of the new credit application process, and they typically stay on your credit report for 1-2 years. But product changes generally don’t require hard checks, so your credit score is unaffected.
• The original account history transfers seamlessly. Usually, all the account history from your current card transfers to the upgraded card during a product change.

When card upgrades may have a potential impact

It isn’t the norm, but you may see impacts on your credit report during an upgrade if:

• Your credit card issuer treats an upgrade like a new account.While uncommon, your credit card issuer may consider an upgrade as a new account. This could increase your total available credit and lower your credit utilization — or how much of your available credit you’re using — especially if the new card comes with a higher limit and your spending habits stay the same. The good news is that lower credit utilization often supports a stronger credit score. In rare cases where upgrades are handled as new accounts, this lower credit utilization may still help improve your credit score in the long run.
• The card upgrade involves a hard credit check. When credit card issuers treat card upgrades as new accounts, the process may trigger a hard inquiry that impacts your credit score temporarily.

Reviewing how your credit card issuer handles card upgrades

While credit card upgrades typically have a predictable process, some upgrades work differently, so contacting your card issuer directly can help clarify next steps. Asking your issuer smart questions may also help you avoid credit-related surprises.

• Will the upgrade transfer over my account history? Keeping your existing account history can help you maintain your credit history length, a factor in how credit bureaus measure your creditworthiness.
• Will the upgrade trigger a hard inquiry? Asking your credit card issuer up front if they’ll conduct a hard credit check can help you prepare your finances for any temporary credit score dips.
• Will the upgrade close or convert my account? Clarifying with your credit card issuer if the upgrade involves a simple conversion rather than a formal account closure may help you decide if upgrading is the right move for you.
• Should the upgraded card provide a higher credit limit than the original? When an upgrade comes with a higher credit limit, it may help you lower your credit utilization if you keep your spending consistent.

What to consider when upgrading a credit card

Beyond confirming the details of your upgrade, you can explore these tips for making the most of a product change.

• Ask for a product change that doesn’t require an account closure. Your issuer may not automatically offer a product change that keeps your original account open, but they might if you ask. Upgrading without closing accounts helps protect the credit progress you made with the original account, reducing the chance of an impact to your credit score.
• Avoid multiple upgrades at the same time if your issuer treats them like new accounts. If your issuer reports upgrades as new accounts, requesting several product changes in a short time could trigger multiple hard inquiries, which have a greater negative impact than just 1 hard inquiry at a time.
• Understand your upgraded card’s new features, benefits and fees. Knowing your new card’s terms, fees and benefits — like which purchases are eligible for points or cash back — may help you use your card confidently and enjoy its benefits to the fullest.
• Check in on your credit activity and reports after the upgrade. Monitoring your credit reports after your upgrade can help you verify if unexpected changes or closures occurred, so you can find solutions as proactively and quickly as possible.

Disclosure: This article is for educational purposes. It is not intended to provide legal, investment, or financial advice and is not a substitute for professional advice. It does not indicate the availability of any Citi product or service. For advice about your specific circumstances, you should consult a qualified professional.