Q. I received a letter in yesterday's mail that told me they were closing my maxed-out credit card due to a recent credit report review. The account has only been open since February. I've never missed a payment, and I've always paid more than the minimum amount due. Does this look negative that the creditor closed the account instead of me? Is there something I can do to change this situation? How should I proceed going forward with payments?

A. It used to be that credit card companies only closed delinquent accounts. But that certainly isn't the case today. They're canceling cards, raising rates and reducing the credit limits on millions of up-to-date accounts.

Our story on data profiling explains how credit card companies are looking at everything from where customers shop and work to where they live to predict whether they'll be able to keep paying their bills.

They're trying to figure out who the recession's next victims might be -- and cut off their credit. One banking industry expert expects credit cards to cut the amount of credit available to consumers in half by the end of 2010.

The fact that you maxed out your card in just a few months probably made you look like a bigger credit risk than they care to deal with.

Unfortunately, there's almost nothing you can do to reverse these kinds of decisions once they've been made. The credit cards are being very stubborn right now.

But with so many nondelinquent accounts being closed, potential lenders or employers who check your credit history probably won't hold this against you. They'll be more interested in your payment history.

That means you've got to keep up with the monthly bills you'll get for this closed account until your debt is repaid, because the bank that canceled your card will continue to report those on-time payments to the credit-reporting agencies.

Although your credit score may take a short-term hit from the closure, maintaining a spotless payment history will overcome that in the long run.