close credit cards

Submitted by Arya on Fri, 11/13/2009 - 13:55
Forums

I have 5 credits cards, 4 of which I don't use. Is it better for my credit to close the credit cards or leave them open and not use them?

I would leave them open because they show your credit history if you have had them awhile. But if you do close any close the more recent ones that you don't have much credit history on.

Sat, 11/14/2009 - 00:10 Permalink

Following factors will affect in concern with your question-

1) Your use of the accounts in the past.
2) If you have a good payment history with the creditors.
3) How much available credit you currently have on the accounts.

If you have used the cards and have maintained a good payment history with the creditors, you may want to keep the accounts open, as accounts with long positive payment histories have a beneficial influence on your credit score.

However, if you have never used the accounts, thus never established a payment history, it is possible that the open accounts could be weighing down your credit score. Having too much available credit tends to make you look like more of a risk to lenders, as you could potentially put yourself in financial trouble in a very short time.

Sun, 11/15/2009 - 13:53 Permalink

I recommend that you try to balance these two factors to help raise your credit score as much as possible. Examine the interest rates on the five cards you currently have; you may want to close the two highest-interest cards, leaving you with three relatively low interest cards. You can then start spreading your credit usage over the three cards, paying off the balances every month, to establish a good payment history on all three accounts. Once you do this, you will have a good balance between accounts with good payment histories and too much available credit, which should help improve your credit score.

Sun, 11/15/2009 - 13:54 Permalink