Should I cancel my Credit Card

I payed of my one of my credit cards like 2 months back..

so it has been sitting with a zero balance, and has a credit line of $10,600... yes ten thousand six hundred..

Should i keep it or cancel it.. what is better for my credit score

 

It depends....

Is that your only credit card?

If Yes - then keep it. It'll come in handy in case of emergencies and you don't have cash on ya. That's awesome that you paid it off!!

There's nothing wrong with keeping it un-used. However - why not use it for gas only (for example)? You can pay it off every month and build your credit at the same time. Swiping at the pump is sooo quick & easy!

What you don't want...is having a collection of credit cards, used regularly or not. It looks bad to creditors when you're trying to get a loan.

I've had the same credit card for 20 years - pay it off every month and it never lets me down. Having it that long has helped with credit & getting many loans!

 

Keep it open in order to help improve your credit score.

One of the many factors used in determining credit score is length of credit history. Closing old accounts erases that history.

Better yet, use it once in a while. Buy a tank of gas or something then pay it off. Good credit/payment history helps your score; no or little credit/payment history hurts your score.

Good luck.

 

I have few Credit Cards

Citi Card $0 Balance $10,600 Limit 14% APR
USAA $3000 Balance $5000 Limit 4% APR
Discover $400 Balance $2000 Limit 0% Intrest till March.. then who knows
Best Buy $300 Balance $2000 Limit.. Only got it to get TV Intrest Free..
Office Depot $0 Balance $?? Limit Got it when i worked there 4 years ago

As you all know i am currently deployed. I will have the Discover and Best Buy Card paid off November 1st, and The USAA Card should be payed off by Feb. Paying $800ish a Month on it.

 

Cancel one of the other ones... too many open credit accounts hurts your score.

 

That one has a high interest rate if you actually use it, however having larger amounts of available credit help your score. Companies don't like to see you have a bunch of cards and they're all maxed out. In the mean time it's not doing any harm sitting there.

 

that is sorta how it is, the history is always there though

Its your ratio of credit to debt that is the main factor in your credit score. - mine is around 780
I have a few open cards with high limits with no balances and a couple at 0% with high limits too where I only use less than 50% of the credit. And a rewards card that I do all my purchases with and pay off every month.

Its just crazy when I look at my credit reports and get like 35 pages!!

 

I have been reading and some things say.. having too much available credit is bad.. and other says that not having enough is bad.. what is the right amount..

And when i get home i plan on using the USAA card to make my small and then pay off purchases.. i just dont know if i should give up that $10,600 of available credit and 5 years of history... even though i plan not to use it anymore

 

the history is always there, have you ever looked at your own credit report?

 

My credit score is 797... At the time I got my report, I had a Home Depot Credit Card, a Wells Fargo Credit, a Citibank Credit Card, and a Home Equity Line of Credit. The only negative thing on my report was "Too many open lines of credit". I've since paid off the HELOC and closed the Citibank account because they jacked up my interest rates for no reason. I don't carry a balance on any of my cards... learned that lesson the hard way, but I dug myself out of debt and I'm staying that way, at least once the Tacoma is paid off which should only take a few more months

 

Available credit really isn't what you need to worry about. That's just a number. You can call your credit card company and request for more available credit -they'll give it to you no questions asked!

Pay off all your cards - that's the important thing.

When they're all paid off - you should make a decision to keep 2 of the cards only (of different type). One that you use regularly and one as a back-up. Close the rest of the cards. Having too many cards is not a good thing.

Yeah, you'll want to have a back-up in case one of them isn't accepted and in case they're lost or stolen.

Get a Credit Report ONCE A YEAR!!!! This is very important!! You can keep track of your credit and it helps prevent identity theft. Freecreditreport.com is definately worth it. I've used this service yearly (free once a year) and I've even put a *fraud alert* on my account (Our doctors office laptop was stolen and all personal information was on it - can't be too careful)

 

I was told, when we took out a loan, it affects your score if you close a credit card. Keep it open and sock it away in a drawer for a rainy day.

 

I think that's BS spread by credit card companies that want you to keep open lines of credit with them . Like I said, the only negative thing on my credit report was "too many open lines of credit"... closing a line of credit can't be a bad thing in that situation.

 

yea i have checked it but i didnt know that the history would be there is i cancled the card

 

Yup... every credit card you've ever had in your lifetime will be listed on your credit report. Open or closed. It'll stay there.

 

I use Equifax and get a monthly email to tell me about changes in my account and can check the reports.. as for my acctual Credit Score .. I havnt checked that

 

When I do my own math I only get $4500 ish i dont know what the other $3000 is from in my balance.. and this damn site takes too damn long to load..

Can I get my actualy Credit Score somewhere for free

 

..and having too many open accounts... Looks like *potential debt load*