Step 3: It helps your credit score to
keep a card open even if you don't use it that much.
Not exact matches
Membership Rewards automatically creates one pool for all of the points under a separate account number, so
even if you close one of your
cards you'll still
keep all your points as long as another
card remains
open.
As you read above, it is almost always best to
keep your credit
cards open,
even if you don't regularly use them.
Some people seem to think
keeping them
open is better — while you're not running up any debt on them, while others think
even dormant
cards could potentially dsmage your rating if you are not using them.
Some credit
cards, particularly those marketed to consumers with bad credit, charge a processing fee for applying and some may
even charge a monthly maintenance fee for
keeping the account
open.
Even if you've paid off a credit
card,
keep it
open and gather up the extra points you get from having that extra line of credit.
Keep those credit
card accounts
open,
even if you don't plan on using all of them.
They might advise you to
keep it
open even if you're not using the
card, which is also an option.
Closing credit
card accounts with long relationships can have a negative effect on your credit rating, so
even if you aren't using the account and you have consolidated the debt on the account, you may want to
keep it
open.
Even better, if you have an older credit
card and it does not have an annual fee, you should consider
keeping it
open to demonstrate a longer credit history.
Membership Rewards automatically creates one pool for all of the points under a separate account number, so
even if you close one of your
cards you'll still
keep all your points as long as another
card remains
open.
There are late payment fees, penalty interest rates, cash advance fees,
even annual fees for simply
keeping the
card open.
Keeping a
card open,
even if you don't actively use it, may actually help your credit score.
So, let me just summarize by saying that in addition to making all
card and loan payments on time each month, if you want to play it safe with your credit score,
keep as many of your
cards as possible
open and active —
even if you don't currently carry any
card balances — to prevent, or at least minimize, any future increase in your credit
card utilization percentage.You never know when a major purchase might require you to run a balance on a credit
card from month to month.
Keeping credit
card accounts
open even if you're not using them can be a good strategy for retaining a long credit history.
So,
even if you had high utilization at the time you closed the
card, your score should have improved over this time period and will
keep doing so, as long as all payments are being made on time, other balances are being
kept low, and very few new accounts are being
opened.
In fact,
even if your credit score is good, you may want to
keep at least one credit
card open and active to help maintain your score, especially if you don't have a mortgage or other loans you're paying.
However, as always, you should
keep your options
open as another
card has the potential to give you
even greater savings.
The only thing I might add — as it's been mentioned in the comments and it's a common credit score trap that many folks seem to fall into — is to advise L to
keep his credit
card accounts
open even when he pays them off.
Once you have paid off a
card, though,
keep the account
open,
even if you don't want to use it anymore.
We both
kept our credit
cards with the longest histories
open with $ 0 balances
even while we
opened and closed our 0 % interest rate credit
cards.
These
cards can also be fantastic if you are looking to build up a weak credit score, as
cards can be
opened and
kept open,
even without using, which will build your credit history over time.
Membership Rewards automatically creates one pool for all of the points under a separate account number, so
even if you close one of your
cards you'll still
keep all your points as long as another
card remains
open.
Even if you decided to
keep the
card open, you may call the
card issuer and explain that you are debating whether to cancel the
card or
keep it
open because of the high annual fee.
Even if you decided to
keep the
card open, you should call the
card issuer and express your concern about the fee and request annual fee waiver or bonus points.
While you don't need a reason to close a credit
card, it certainly helps make the process move along and
even negotiate for a retention offer to
keep the
card open.
However, if you target a sign - up bonus to reach a travel goal, and show yourself to be a responsible and creditworthy customer by using the
card (
even for small purchases), paying all your bills on time, and
keeping the
card open for at least a year, it's not bad for your credit.