Credit Score!?

Question

How much does canceling a credit card lower the credit score?

Answer 1

This question has been asked dozens of times now.

And I've answered it dozens of times. Yet these people continue to give bad answeres!

So once again I get to waste my time correcting them. For starters, go to http://www.myfico.com

This is the home site of the folks who developed the credit scoring system. They have lots of consumer information about ways to improve your score and what not to do.

You will find that two of the major factors related to your credit score are credit history and debt/credit ratio.

The longer you have had a credit card, and continue to pay on time, the better your score. When you cancel a card, you wipe out a portion of your credit history. In turn, you will lower your credit score.

The debt/credit ratio shows how much you owe in debts compared to how much of a credit limit you are allowed. So lets say you have 3 cards with a total of $10,000 credit limit. You owe $2,500 on all of your cards. So your debt/credit ratio is 25%, which is great.

Now you cancel a card that had a $5,000 credit limit. You now have a total credit limit of $5,000, but you still have that $2,500 debt. Your debt/credit ratio is now 50%, which looks terrible to a creditor, and this will lower your score.

So the answer to your question is your score WILL drop. Eventually it will restore itself (in a few months). But if your intention of canceling the card is to improve your store in the short term, it won't work.

What I recommend to people is keep the card, get the credit limit lowered a little bit, and use it sparingly. If your issue is self control, then have the card frozen so you can't use it. But don't cancel the card!

Answer 2

I don't think cancelling a card affects your score at all. I just finished reviewing all my credit accounts, I spoke with the 3 credit bureaus, and they totally encouraged me to get rid of any cards that were not being used. Having all that credit actually works against your getting a good loan. The loan companies total up all the credit you can possibly take out, even if it's on an unused card. They then look at your income and determine whether to give you another loan and whether your income can pay it off. If you are carrying a lot of excess credit, they figure you're not making enough to pay them and might refuse your loan. By trimming your cards down to just those that are active, you stand a better chance of getting a serious loan.

Answer 3

It depends on your credit limit and the length of time you've had it. If it had a high credit limit, closing it can significantly lower your debt-to-credit ratio, which lowers your score. Also, if you've had it a long time, closing it will hurt your score because you lose the history on the card.

If it doesn't have an annual fee, I'd say keep it open and charge something small once or twice a year.

Answer 4

Well I read that it is better to keep the card and not use it than cancel it.

Its about credit to debt ratio. If you are cancelling a credit card, you will be lowering that available credit to credit used at that moment ratio.

Lets say your total available credit from your credit cards is $1000 and so far you have used $500 dollars of that credit. So the ration would be 50%.

Now if you got rid of one card and lets say it
had a max. balance of $300. Now you have $500 used credit with a max credit of $700 from your own cards. That gives you a ratio of 71%. The higher this ratio, the worse it is for your credit score. So you can see cancelling a credit card is not good for your credit.
You can read about this on the net if you search esp on Suze Orman...that finanical adviser. She talks bout it.

Just pay for it and not use it.

Roy

Answer 5

Closing your credit card is not a wise decision as it will have impact on your credit score. Your score is calculated on some algorithm used by the bureau as the score is calculated depending on various parameters. Also, the score is given on the active accounts on which your payments are done. To know the effects of closing down the credit card visit the below link

Answer 6

Your credit score could be affected by closing a credit card if

* The card still has a balance.
* It still has available credit when your other cards don't.
* It was the first card you ever opened (though this won't matter for about 10 years)
* You don't have any other credit cards

Answer 7

I doesn't, it is not the actual card that effects your score its is the status of your account.

If you have a balance of 0 on your account it doesn't matter weather its cancelled or opened.

If you cancell a card and your card is in bad standing its still going to show up as a negative item on your credit report.

Answer 8

It doesn't ... But it would be wise to keep it ... If there a annual fee and you are in good standings with them ask them to waive the fee ... It is good to keep it because it shows you have more credit ... Just don't use it .. . In fact , you loose points each time you apply for credit ... So you have already paid to your score for this card

Answer 9

It depends on your overall credit record. It is usually better to leave it open with a zero balance, assuming it is fee free. It will lower your score to cancel it.

Answer 10

It depends. If the cc company canceled your account, its bad. How many points, I don't know.
If you pay the card off, or there is a zero balance, thats good
If you canel the account and there is still a balance, I think that is a wash.
Go to Experian.com, transunion.com and the other one, equifax.com, they can probably answer your question right off their webiste. If not you can mail them for an answer, good luck getting one of their reps on the phone, won't happen.