Keep those old credit cards If you're thinking about cutting up some old credit cards that you don't use anymore so that they won't be tempting to use, forget it.
I like to
keep my old credit cards instead of shredding them.
4)
Keep Old Credit Cards Don't close out old credit cards.
This is why you should
keep your old credit cards active, even if you no longer use them, as old accounts increase the length of your credit history.
I think the one most people don't realize is to
keep old credit cards open because it helps with credit history.
Hence, it is advised to
keep old credit cards.
Also,
keep your oldest credit card open since the length of your opened accounts is an important part of building a foundation for your credit score.
Regardless of whether you use it infrequently, it's a good idea to always
keep your oldest credit card and make sure that account is in good standing, as it can have a big impact on the average age of your accounts, which can also influence your credit score.
Keeping those old credit cards open will not lower your credit utilization which accounts for 30 % of your credit score.
Still, it's not a bad idea to
keep your oldest credit cards open to help maintain your credit history.
The strategy: Avoid opening new accounts unless necessary, and
keep your oldest credit cards active (assuming you pay any new charges in full).
@Kathy, To answer your question, the answer is YES,
keep your old credit card account open — it will be best to preserve your credit score.
Yes, you will definitely want to
keep your old credit card account open so your credit score won't take a hit — especially if you are planning on applying for any new lines of credit in the near future.
Keeping your oldest credit card account open establishes a long credit history, and it will keep your credit score elevated.
If you don't have many credit accounts you should always
keep your oldest credit card open along with any other cards that don't have a fee.
A large part of your credit score is determined by your credit history and by
keeping your old credit cards can help improve your credit score.
Whichever debt consolidation tool you use, remember to
keep your old credit card accounts open.
And then once you start to pay off cards, you should
keep your oldest credit cards open to help bolster your credit report and credit score.
Keeping an old credit card that you don't use open could actually help your credit score more than closing it.
It also pays to always
keep your oldest credit card as having a good credit history makes up a good percentage of your overall credit score.
Rather than canceling all your cards at once, try to
keep your oldest credit card open and active, or choose to keep or apply for a credt card with a low or no annual fee.
Also,
keep your oldest credit card open since the length of your opened accounts is an important part of building a foundation for your credit score.
My advice would be to
keep your oldest credit card and not cancel it, whether you use it or not.
This means that you want to
keep your oldest credit cards, since they help lengthen your average age of accounts and counterbalance the negative effect of closing cards you've only had a short time.
And
keeping an old credit card active, but not using it, is a good example of that mindset.
Not exact matches
If parents purchased everything recommended by experts to
keep baby comfortable and satisfied, they may find themselves paying off the baby - stuff
credit card until their child is 37 years
old.
To minimize the impact, consider
keeping those
old, unused
credit card and store
card accounts open a bit longer.
Your
old credit card company may be less apt to negotiate, since you're moving your debt elsewhere, but if you intend to
keep your account open and have a good history with the company, you may be successful in obtaining a lower fee.
If a 16 - year -
old suffers a little as he figures out how to
keep a positive balance on his debit
card, with the help of mom and dad, that's a whole lot better than going crazy with his first
credit card at age 21, when he's on his own.
The length of time you've had
credit: Longer is better, so
keep old accounts open unless there is a compelling reason to close them, such as an annual fee on a
card you no longer use.
If you have an
older credit card that doesn't charge an annual fee, go ahead and
keep it open to boost the average age of your accounts.
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.
If you have
old credit card accounts that you want to stop using, just cut up the
cards or
keep them in a drawer, but
keep the accounts open.
to those worried about getting accounts closed: move your
credit lines around so that your
oldest card (or the ones you want to
keep) is (are) your highest
credit line (s).
In order to maintain a favorable
credit utilization, I like to
keep my
older cards, many of which have higher limits as they've been gradually raised through the years.
The
old card stays open, and you're able to use it if you wish — although if you're trying to pay debt off, it's usually not wise to
keep spending on
credit.
«Length of
credit history is also a factor in your
credit score, so it's usually a good idea to
keep your
oldest card open to demonstrate a history of responsible spending.»
If the
card you're downgrading is one of your
oldest credit cards, best to
keep it open and not close it, since average age of accounts is an important part of your
credit score
If you have an
old credit card account that you no longer use, you should consider whether you want to
keep or cancel it.
Basically,
keep high limits but do not use them (try to use less than 20 % of your
credit card limits month - by - month), pay back your balances in full each month, and
keep older credit products open.
If you get a consolidated loan and
keep putting new debt on the
old credit cards, you've essentially just doubled your debt, which will undoubtedly lead to problems.
At the same time,
older Americans are increasingly finding it necessary to
keep working — because their nest eggs and home values took a beating during the Great Recession, and / or because they still need to pay off
credit cards, mortgages, student loans, and other debt.
Keep your
oldest cards; that good history will help you, and don't regularly take out new
credit accounts.
Q&A: How to combine existing
card balances without hurting score — Combining several existing balances into an
old, low - interest
card is a smart move, as long as you
keep all paid - off
cards open to avoid hurting your
credit score.
In downgrading, you can typically
keep your
credit limit the same as on your
old card.
This
card is my
oldest card so
keeping it open improves my
credit score and the length of my
credit history.
I will
keep my
old Bank of America debit
card (which I currently use) and one of the
credit cards locked in my backpack at the hostel or wherever I am staying at all times.
«Length of
credit history is also a factor in your
credit score, so it's usually a good idea to
keep your
oldest card open to demonstrate a history of responsible spending.»
Additionally, you may want to
keep your
old rewards
credit cards instead of canceling them — just avoid racking up more debt on the
old cards while you spend with newer
cards.
Or you could also apply for a new
credit card from the same issuer then merge the two lines of
credit onto your new
card before canceling the
old one in order to
keep that line of
credit open and active so it has less of an impact on your
credit score.