Hi zoesheetmetal, 

You don't have to deactivate the customer. I'll guide you on how you can delete the customer's credit card information by merging a new customer with the existing one. Here are the easy steps: 

Create a new customer

1. Click Sales from the menu and then Customers.
2. At the upper-right, click New customer.
3. Enter a unique name. No worries, you can edit it after merging.
4. Click Save.

Merge the existing customer to the new one 

1. On the Customers page, look and select the existing customer.
2. Click Edit.
3. Enter the name of the new customer you just created in the Display name as a field.
4. Click Save.
5. Confirm the action that you'd like to merge the two by clicking Yes. 

Now the existing customer is now deleted and all transactions are transferred to the new customer. From there, you can edit the customer details without the customer's payment and billing information. 

Feel free to use these links for more details: 

• Record invoice payments in QuickBooks Online
• Customize invoices, estimates, and sales receipts in QuickBooks Online

Let me know if there's anything else that you need help with. Take care and have a great day!