Is it better for your credit to keep open cards w/ no balance to show credit available not being used? OR?

Is it better to close those accounts? And why?|||Keep them open and active this is why:





1. Payment history- 35%


2. Total debt owed to avialable credit ratio-30%


3. Length of time establishing credit-15%


4. Types of credit established-10%


5. Inquiries and New accounts-10%





As you can see, almost 鈪?of your score depends on how well you pay on time and the ratio of how much you owe to how much you're able to borrow. If you close accounts, you not only shorten the active payment history, but even more important you decrease the available credit you have making it look like you're not capable of borrowing. It doesn't mean that you have to use it, but as long as you show that you're able to. My suggestion is this and it's simple. Make SMALL purchases ($20/month max) that can be easily paid off on time every month. This way, you not only show account activity, but your available credit is freed up, AND you're not going into debt by paying a bunch of interest. You can find a happy medium by having good credit and beig debt free all at the same time.








I hope this answer helps,





good luck and thanks for reading!|||It's true that a large part of your credit score is based on the ratio of revolving debt to available limit. Closing credit cards lowers your overall available limit. If you carry balances on other credit cards, this would increase the debt percentage. Balances of more than 30% hurt your score.





Closing accounts also closes the history.





While many people will advise you to never close an account, I think it is silly to keep a stack of credit cards that you don't use. There are too many opportunities for theft and fraud. You have to secure those cards and monitor them.





I recommend that after you pay off all your credit card balances, you keep the two oldest major credit cards that don't have an annual fee. Only keep store or gas credit cards if you have a special reason and actually use them. Close the rest. Close them in writing and request written verification that the account is closed.





Your score will take a hit but will rebound quickly.|||If you're not using them, close them. You don't want to have an account that you've forgotten about stolen... plus inactive accounts don't contribute anything positive to your credit score.





You'd be better off picking two or three cards, charging small amounts on them every few months to keep them active and paying off the balance every month. That will show a history of payment and in the long run, increase your credit score.





I have three cards. One is my main card that get the majority of my purchases, and the other two I use every few months just to keep them active.|||It depends, if you have had them for a while and they are your longest time wise, I would keep them. The benefits to showing long term credit worthy is counted more than having the empty balances hurt you. If they are all recently opened and you have ones that are older that you use than go ahead and close them.