How a balance transfer can negatively impact your credit score — A balance transfer card can temporarily impact your credit by increasing utilization,
reducing length of credit history and adding a new account to your report.
Don't close older accounts because that can
reduce the length of your credit history - and drop your score.
Not exact matches
Furthermore, older accounts — though you may no longer need them — add to the
length of your
credit history, so you should think twice before closing them in attempt to
reduce your available
credit.
Closing an old account also
reduces the average
length of your
credit history, another variable that factors into your score.
Also, if a cancelled account happens to be the account holder's oldest account, closing this account can eventually
reduce the
length of the account holder's
credit history, resulting in a lower
credit score.
Moreover, you may transfer your balances to
credit cards with lower interest or make a few additional payments to
reduce interest rate and the
length of the loan.
Don't worry about the old myth that closing an account will hurt your score by
reducing the average
length of your
credit history.