Crystal Cox/Business Insider There are a few key details to know if you’re expecting a refund on your credit card. When they issue a refund to your account, credit card issuers will first apply the refund to any existing balance. So don’t count on having the full refund amount credited to your account. If a credit card refund results in a negative account balance, the issuer will either wire the money back to your checking account or send you a check. Alternatively, you could charge additional purchases to the card to bring the balance back up to zero or more.