CREDIT CARDS

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Its better for you to cancel them for not using them, then to never use them again and have the credit card company close them. A small credit score hit for closing but should rebound very quickly.
 
I would agree to close them. If something were to get charged without you knowing, it might come due and you dont know it and not pay. It would suck to ding your credit for a dumb reason. And they can get charged somehow. I have had my card used in Spain while I was in texas. A card I dont even carry.
 
Do you use any credit cards?

If you want to keep your credit score high, keep them open and use them every now and then.

A big part of your credit score is credit utilization ratio. This is how much money you owe on credit cards divided by your total credit limits. If you close cards, you are lowering the denominator which can lower your credit score.
 
I will be using different new issue credit cards instead of my older one. Not concerned about my 812 credit score rating. Just seemed unusual to keep all the CC information out there without planning on using them. Ed
 
Having a variety of open credit accounts (credit cards, installment loan (car) and mortgage) all go into the mix for your credit score. Also the average age of the credit cards. And the credit-in-use percentage.

If you have no credit card debt, then the credit in use does not come into play.

As for average age, cancelling a credit card you opened 20 years ago and keeping newer ones may hurt your credit score. Cancelling one you opened up in 2016 probably will not.

If there is no yearly fee I would keep it open, just keep the credit card in the place you keep important papers.
 
Credit scores rile me up - I have a good one, but I'm not going to adjust my lifestyle into a compromise to please FICO. Maybe that's because I bougt my first house 28 years ago and IDk about FICO that much now.
AMEX treated my Dad's Estate terribly so I cut their card into pieces and mailed it to them with a nasty though "professional" letter. That was a card I had since I was a youngster in the 70's. I now have but one CC and My bank Debit card. Come to think of it, I have 5 years and about 1500 dollars (cash value) of Capital One points to cash in ...
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My FICO has been a perfect 850 twice this year. I close cards I don't use and pay the others in full every month. I have a mortgage and 2 cards in my name and that's it. My wife has a car loan and about 6 cards in her name and her score is about 845. I'd close anything you don't use. All my cards are new accounts only a few years old. My wife has the 20yr card, I don't think it makes a difference. My parents have every kind of debt you can imagine, it turns my stomach, there FICO's are both about 840. I think the only thing that matters is paying the bill on time.
 
Originally Posted By: Eddie
I will be using different new issue credit cards instead of my older one. Not concerned about my 812 credit score rating. Just seemed unusual to keep all the CC information out there without planning on using them. Ed


Well done... "simplify" is my credo when it comes to cards; I have two and that's more than enough...Discover has no international transaction fees and when Discover isn't accepted it's the Visa.
 
I really don't care much what my rating is. Seldom use my credit card and pay the bill in full when I get it.

I use a free prepaid Bluebird Card and add money to it at no cost at Wal-Mart. Use it linked to my PayPal account and don't keep a lot of money on it.

Seldom use my debit bank card too.
 
Originally Posted By: ARCOgraphite
Credit scores rile me up - I have a good one, but I'm not going to adjust my lifestyle into a compromise to please FICO.

My sentiments exactly. What once started out as a judgement of a person's fiscal responsibility has turned into score of how desirable a customer is to creditors. Though I have a good score, I'm not very desirable because I'm debt free and never carry a balance.
 
I have some credit cards I rarely use. I don't cancel them because I choose not to take the credit score hit ie., ratio of credit used to credit available. Otoh, I'd say if having them is going to be temptation to use them in an undisciplined way, then by all means cancel.

I normally just wait for the CC company to contact me to say it will not be renewed because of inactivity.
 
Thanks for all your input. I checked the renew dates on the 3 cards I don't use and renewal dates are in a 1-5 years. As Donald suggested and others, I will keep them with my important papers and NOT renew them when they run out the term. Ed
 
Originally Posted By: RedOakRanch
My FICO has been a perfect 850 twice this year. I close cards I don't use and pay the others in full every month. I have a mortgage and 2 cards in my name and that's it. My wife has a car loan and about 6 cards in her name and her score is about 845. I'd close anything you don't use. All my cards are new accounts only a few years old. My wife has the 20yr card, I don't think it makes a difference. My parents have every kind of debt you can imagine, it turns my stomach, there FICO's are both about 840. I think the only thing that matters is paying the bill on time.


Technically it's impossible to have a perfect 850 when your credit score is typically the mid score. Credit scoring models by all 3 credit bureaus vary, top scores for all three range from 839, 844 to 850. So if you really had a perfect score, it'd be 844. My guess is that you have a Vantage score which goes up to 950. Or they're using a slightly different scoring models. The ones I use are Fico Risk score Classic (04), Fair Isaac V2, and Fico Classic V8. For mortgage purposes, anything above a 740 is fine. Actually quite rare for many people to have scores over 800. That's why I think you have a so called "fako" score. Unless you got the score from a mortgage broker. Car dealers also use a slightly different scoring model that also has a higher range.
 
From time to time, I need a backup card or two. I've had my main card get compromised and shut down while travelling. Requiring the use of a secondary card. And I've had that card fail to be accepted for other reasons, requiring a third card.

Costco takes Visa now, but they rejected my card for no apparent reason. Had to use another.
 
You keep your oldest card open and never close it.

If you close a bunch of 20 year old cards, and leave only 3 year old cards open, then you have less credit history.
 
Originally Posted By: ARCOgraphite
Credit scores rile me up - I have a good one, but I'm not going to adjust my lifestyle into a compromise to please FICO. Maybe that's because I bougt my first house 28 years ago and IDk about FICO that much now.
AMEX treated my Dad's Estate terribly so I cut their card into pieces and mailed it to them with a nasty though "professional" letter. That was a card I had since I was a youngster in the 70's. I now have but one CC and My bank Debit card. Come to think of it, I have 5 years and about 1500 dollars (cash value) of Capital One points to cash in ...
smile.gif



Amex did the same to us. Wouldn't accept a copy of death certificate.
Told them to send me the $20 it cost.
Then I reminded them that if a year or more down the road someone uses his open account, they can't hold my family liable and
They would be on the hook. They closed it.
 
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