Which Credit Cards should I keep/close?

[fs5]

I've got open credit cards and I'm about to pay them all off (yay). I've kept small balances on them to build credit.

Now I want to close some of them (too much open credit accounts is bad correct?). Which do I close in regards to my credit score?

The one I've had the longest, greatest credit limit, or lowest APR?


and no.. the one I've had the longest doesn't have the lowest APR and the greatest limit.

 

[dxkj]

Pay them off, then leave them there. Make sure they dont carry a balance.


Having open 2-4 credit cards isnt bad as long as they have a "sane" sized limit, and your not carrying a balance on all of them.

 

[minendo]

Lowest APR. However, when you call and cancel they are most likely to offer you a drop in APR, annual fee, benefits, etc.

 

[TMPadmin]

Pay off all, close all but one. Get a debit card and use that. Credit sucks and is for fools. I'm a fool too but I'm on my way to having a net worth of ZERO! Well no debt. I hate debt! I want to be the one collecting not dishing out.

 

[minendo]

Originally posted by: TMPadmin
Pay off all, close all but one. Get a debit card and use that. Credit sucks and is for fools. I'm a fool too but I'm on my way to having a net worth of ZERO! Well no debt. I hate debt! I want to be the one collecting not dishing out.

Right.

 

[fs5]

it doesn't matter how long I've had the credit card for?

I was just going to keep the one with the lowest APr.

 

[Zombie]

I have a similar delima. I ruined my credit while in school and then got a Capital One CC with yearly fee to rebuild my credit. I have had that card for over 3 years now and have done a great job paying it off. I got a Bank of America with no yearly fee about 6 months ago and have been paying it off on time. I will get my Amex Blue this week which also has no yearly fee. The reason I got 2 cards within a year is that I wanna get rid of Capital One which has $72/year(reduced to $36 for this year) fee and not so great APR/limit on it.

Would it be a bad thing to dump (Capital One) them and just keep AMEX and BOA cards ? This cards although relatively new have no fees and better APR/limits.

Thanks.

 

[KEV1N]

Originally posted by: TMPadmin
Pay off all, close all but one. Get a debit card and use that. Credit sucks and is for fools. I'm a fool too but I'm on my way to having a net worth of ZERO! Well no debt. I hate debt! I want to be the one collecting not dishing out.

You didn't have to make your sarcasm so obvious for the people with broken sarcasm meters! This is bordering on mockery!

 

[spacejamz]

Actually, if you are concerned abour your credit score, it is now recommended to leave the accounts open after you pay off your balance.

Part of your score is a calculation of availabe credit to used credit. If you close your accounts, your available credit balance will be decreased which hurts your score.

Opening new accounts will also hurt your score...Since the account has been opened, the 'damage' has been already been done. Closing the account will not improve your credit score.

do a search on MSN.COM's money page for credit tips and you should find something about this...

 

[Zombie]

I know that opening new account hurts the score but that can be fixed. Paying Capital One for lousy credit limit and high APR is begginning to sound kinda silly.

If Amex and my BOA cards are used carefully I doubt there be a huge hit on my score. Whats at stake here is the age of the accounts.

Would it be bad for my credit to close a 3 yr old Capital One account in good standing because of yearly fees and high APR ?

 

[fs5]

I have a capital one card, with high APR but no yearly fees. It's the one I've had the longest, I'm probably going to close it out (or threaten to close it) because of the ridiculously high APR.

 

[spacejamz]

Would it be bad for my credit to close a 3 yr old Capital One account in good standing because of yearly fees and high APR

The only bad thing is the affect it will have on your ratio of total available credit to used credit...Closing your accounts will decrease your total availabe credit...

The higher the ratio of used credit to available credit, the lower your score will be.

read the section on Don't Close old Paid Off Acounts...

Link

 

[fs5]

Originally posted by: spacejamz

Would it be bad for my credit to close a 3 yr old Capital One account in good standing because of yearly fees and high APR

The only bad thing is the affect it will have on your ratio of total available credit to used credit...Closing your accounts will decrease your total availabe credit...

The higher the ratio of used credit to available credit, the lower your score will be.

read the section on Don't Close old Paid Off Acounts...

Link

Shutting down credit accounts lowers the total credit available to you and makes any balances you have loom larger in credit score calculations. If you close your oldest accounts, it can actually shorten the length of your reported credit history and make you seem less credit-worthy.

makes sense ... thanks.

 

[Zombie]

I have zero balance on all my cards. The only thing I owe is the student loans and those too are being paid regularly. The combined credit limit of Amex and BOA will easily offset reduction in available credit due to cancellation of Capital One.