I just closed two credit card accounts in two months...

[boyRacer]

...is that a good thing for my credit history?... made sure they were 1 month apart... and made sure it was closed by customer's request. Now i probably gotta get a credit report just to make sure...

 

[Rkonster]

I don't think closing accounts affects your credit too much. It just shows up as account closed, and stays there for a while, like 10 years or something.

 

[Viper GTS]

Depends on how many cards you had/have, how much debt you have, how old the cards were, how much available credit you had/have, etc.

It can be a bad thing in that it reduces your available credit (thus increasing your debt/credit ratio).

It can also be bad if you closed old accounts with lots of history.

It can be good if you had to many cards, or to much credit (ie you were a risk).

Viper GTS

 

[boyRacer]

Well I'm almost done with my debt... probably a month or two more and it's gone. As far as the ratio with my debt and available credit... i got another card with a higher limit than the ones i closed. I was just unhappy when they changed my policy... and they started charging annual fees... and i rarely used those cards anyway.

 

[RossMAN]

Wait at least 2 months before ordering a copy of your credit report (I recommend EquiFax for $12.95 which ALSO gives you your credit score) because most credit bureau's are usually 2 months behind in reporting current credit activity.

Hopefully you still have at least 2-3 open credit accounts which have been open for at least 2 years?

Closing cc's is great but you should still have some cc's left open, even if you never use it just to show responsible credit.

 

[optoman]

Once you open an account it is on your history for 10 years after you close it. The amount of credit on the credit card is totalled up even if you have closed it. That is why it is bad to have alot of credit card. It is not just the amount of money you owe, but also the amount of credit available that counts against you. Having more than 4 or 5 credit cards is bad.

 

[boyRacer]

Originally posted by: RossMAN
Wait at least 2 months before ordering a copy of your credit report (I recommend EquiFax for $12.95 which ALSO gives you your credit score) because most credit bureau's are usually 2 months behind in reporting current credit activity.

Hopefully you still have at least 2-3 open credit accounts which have been open for at least 2 years?

Closing cc's is great but you should still have some cc's left open, even if you never use it just to show responsible credit.

Ok... i guess i'm alright then. I have 5 cards that have no balance on them... just finished paying them off a few months ago... all of them have been open for more than 2 years... geez. All that debt was from computers... and it was depressing knowing it was already obsolete and i was still paying for them. Learned my lesson.

Thanks for the responses guys.

 

[FrustratedUser]

Tell me, how can it be bad to pay off your dept and get rid of a CC? It doesn't make sense.

 

[optoman]

Originally posted by: FrustratedUser
Tell me, how can it be bad to pay off your dept and get rid of a CC? It doesn't make sense.

It is not bad to pay off your debt. It is bad to have alot of credit available. Once you open a credit card account you have say $a 5000 limit. You have four other cards that also have a $5K limit. The available credit you have is $25K. As the number goes higher, the worse your fico ( I think its fico) score can get. If you close one of the accouts, then you would think your available credit would go down to $20 K, but it does not. The closed account is still considered available credit because you can usually open that account with one phone call. The credit agencies keep this on your credit history for 10 years. That is why it is bad to have so many credit cards. You can have a shining credit history, but too many cards will count against you.

 

[amdskip]

I have 1 credit card with no balence (It has always been paid off every month). The card has a $1500 limit (started out at $500 when I was 16). I have had the card for almost 4 years now, should I have more than one credit card? What kind of card would be best?

 

[optoman]

amdskip - You don't have a thing to worry about. It is the people who open an account every few months and close them later on. You can have as many as 10 or 15 credit cards on your history and that is bad. Up to about 4 credit cards is good to have. Just keep paying them on time and you will eventually get offers almost everyday in the mail. Don't be tempted on opening them up new accounts to get some stupid flashlight or something like that. Its not worth it.

 

[RossMAN]

Originally posted by: amdskip
I have 1 credit card with no balence (It has always been paid off every month). The card has a $1500 limit (started out at $500 when I was 16). I have had the card for almost 4 years now, should I have more than one credit card? What kind of card would be best?

It would be a good idea to get one more credit card so when you finance your first new car or home it will be a little easier to qualify.

What kind of perks do you want, miles, %, points, etc.?

 

[Viper GTS]

Originally posted by: amdskip
I have 1 credit card with no balence (It has always been paid off every month). The card has a $1500 limit (started out at $500 when I was 16). I have had the card for almost 4 years now, should I have more than one credit card? What kind of card would be best?

You've had CC's for four years & you only have $1500 in credit?

I've had my credit card for 1 year, 7 months, & I have $6,200 on it + another $3,800 on two other cards.

Viper GTS

 

[classy]

That is a bad thing for your credit. When you start closing accounts it signals something may be wrong with your finances. And credit bureaus actually give your rating a hit. When you close accounts like that it sends up flags.

 

[FrustratedUser]

Originally posted by: classy
That is a bad thing for your credit. When you start closing accounts it signals something may be wrong with your finances. And credit bureaus actually give your rating a hit. When you close accounts like that it sends up flags.

That pretty much $ucks. Because, what do credit bureaus REALLY know about you? Nothing. They are punishing you for managing your money in a good way.
I think the whole credit circus is backwards. The more dept and CC you have the more offers you get. But if someone like me (who moved here in January and got a good job and decent pay) tries to get any credit, it a big fat NO.

 

[z0mb13]

Originally posted by: optoman

Originally posted by: FrustratedUser
Tell me, how can it be bad to pay off your dept and get rid of a CC? It doesn't make sense.

It is not bad to pay off your debt. It is bad to have alot of credit available. Once you open a credit card account you have say $a 5000 limit. You have four other cards that also have a $5K limit. The available credit you have is $25K. As the number goes higher, the worse your fico ( I think its fico) score can get. If you close one of the accouts, then you would think your available credit would go down to $20 K, but it does not. The closed account is still considered available credit because you can usually open that account with one phone call. The credit agencies keep this on your credit history for 10 years. That is why it is bad to have so many credit cards. You can have a shining credit history, but too many cards will count against you.

is this true???

I have 4 credit cards totalling more than 20k in credit... I only do so because each of em is different (one visa, one mc, one disc, and one amex) but I always pay my ccs full each month (never carry a balance in any of them)...

I thought carrying too much balance in your cc is what make your credit rating bad... not having a high credit limit

 

[boyRacer]

Hmmm... well i never knew the available credit would hurt you... there's nothing wrong with my situation. If anything... i'm trying to manage my finances better. Part of the closing account policy is that if i try to use the card again... it will open the account automatically.

 

[amdskip]

Originally posted by: RossMAN

Originally posted by: amdskip
I have 1 credit card with no balence (It has always been paid off every month). The card has a $1500 limit (started out at $500 when I was 16). I have had the card for almost 4 years now, should I have more than one credit card? What kind of card would be best?

It would be a good idea to get one more credit card so when you finance your first new car or home it will be a little easier to qualify.

What kind of perks do you want, miles, %, points, etc.?

I would want percentages or perks because I don't fly. I started with this card when I was 16 and I've never had a loan or anything, or a cellphone for that matter(I'll have one here before too long).

 

[optoman]

Originally posted by: z0mb13

Originally posted by: optoman

Originally posted by: FrustratedUser
Tell me, how can it be bad to pay off your dept and get rid of a CC? It doesn't make sense.

It is not bad to pay off your debt. It is bad to have alot of credit available. Once you open a credit card account you have say $a 5000 limit. You have four other cards that also have a $5K limit. The available credit you have is $25K. As the number goes higher, the worse your fico ( I think its fico) score can get. If you close one of the accouts, then you would think your available credit would go down to $20 K, but it does not. The closed account is still considered available credit because you can usually open that account with one phone call. The credit agencies keep this on your credit history for 10 years. That is why it is bad to have so many credit cards. You can have a shining credit history, but too many cards will count against you.

is this true???

I have 4 credit cards totalling more than 20k in credit... I only do so because each of em is different (one visa, one mc, one disc, and one amex) but I always pay my ccs full each month (never carry a balance in any of them)...

I thought carrying too much balance in your cc is what make your credit rating bad... not having a high credit limit

I knew I should of used higher limits. $20K is nothing. It is when you have $100 K in limits and only make $20 K that you should be worried. I have around $50K and it is not a bad thing. The damn banks just keep raising my limits. It isn't that big of a hit on how high your credit limit is, but rather how many credit card accounts you have. It is better to have 4 cards with 100K limit then 10 cards with a 50K limit.

 

[RossMAN]

Originally posted by: amdskip

Originally posted by: RossMAN

Originally posted by: amdskip
I have 1 credit card with no balence (It has always been paid off every month). The card has a $1500 limit (started out at $500 when I was 16). I have had the card for almost 4 years now, should I have more than one credit card? What kind of card would be best?

It would be a good idea to get one more credit card so when you finance your first new car or home it will be a little easier to qualify.

What kind of perks do you want, miles, %, points, etc.?

I would want percentages or perks because I don't fly. I started with this card when I was 16 and I've never had a loan or anything, or a cellphone for that matter(I'll have one here before too long).

Then I would recommend a CitiBank cc look under Rewards, I have the CitiBank Dividend Platinum Select and love it, no annual fee, low APR and a flat 1% cash rebate on all purchases.