about credit card debt. I have 5 major credit cards. I only owe 50.00 on one but much more on others.?

Question

I know I should pay off the high interest rated ones first but since I only owe 50.00 on one that has a medium interest rate shouldn't I pay that off and close it leaving my card total down to 4?
I have been told to not close my cards instead pay the balance(s) when I can but doesn't it look worse on my credit report when I have a large credit amount I can borrow from?

Answer 1

Ok, DO NOT close down your card. It ends a part of your credit history, which is ALWAYS bad. I'm not sure how long you've had the card you are thinking of closing but I repeat DO NOT CLOSE the card. Feel free not to use it for a while, but paying down your balances is best.
If you are concerned with spending, just put your cards literally in ice or give them to someone you absolutely trust to hold them for you.

If you have very HIGH credit limits, you can ask to have them lowered. Some lenders do get nervous when you have large amounts available, but it depends on your income and what kind of large balances you are talking about. If you have 5 cards with limits of $20,000 each, then I would say that's LARGE. The average American has limits from $2500 to $10,000 on average.

Best advice, just pay down high interest balances, and leave them OPEN. Make sure you use them every so often for utilization.
Good luck!

Answer 2

You don't have to close the card, just pay it off. I have 12 cards. Use to transfer balances to 0% cards and just kept rotating balances. Sounds funny, but I have a mortgage at 6%. And when I built the house, I put 30k on 0% cards. Do the math. I was saving about 2k in interest per year. And no, it doesn't affect your credit rating. I've asked too. Right now my rating is 780. And you should transfer you higher interest balances to your lower interest cards asap. Just make sure you know what the transfer fee is before you do it. If it's less than $75 to transfer 5k, then do it. But if it's 3% with no maximum, then it would cost you $300 just to transfer 10k. Also look at the interest rates. Why transfer an 18% to a 16% and it is going to cost you $150 in fees. You won't come out ahead.

Answer 3

If you are trying to pay all of them off then I would pay off the one you owe $50 on but not close it. Pay as much as you can (like double notes) every month and keep all of them active. Your creditors only look at how you have paid on each account, if you were on time and how fast you dropped your balances. Actually the less you owe and the bigger your credit limit the better. No one likes to lend money to someone who is over extended. If the card with the lower interest rate has enough credit limit maybe you could transfer the balance from the higher interest rate cards and save money on interest, but I would not close any of them, even if you have to charge a little something every couple of months to keep them active,

Answer 4

First, do not cancel any accounts but do cut up all your cards except the ONE with the best terms. Second, pay off the $50 balance. Third, apply at least that extra $50 each month to the highest credit cost (balance x APR = credit cost) each month until that one is paid off. Fourth, repeat the process with other credit cards and debts until you are debt free. You will be surprised how quickly you can get out of debt this way.

Answer 5

I would consolidate it all by "selling the debt" to some
clever company with whom you can discuss a better interest rate, they pay your debt off for you then you just pay them, they get some good interest, you pay a lower interest... both win.
But you don't want to trust just about anybody, read up on it, get ammo first then it'll be easier, here you'll find tons more info than I could possibly
post here. It'll take a bit but it's your money and well worth
taking your time over it
http://credit-cards.ebookorama.com
and here http://finance.ebookorama.com
also plenty more to read here
http://credit.ebookorama.com
http://credit-repair.ebookorama.com

Answer 6

Pay off the $50 one and CLOSE it. You do not lose credit by closing them!! You lose credit by having so many card!! Then pay off the highest interest one and CLOSE it. Keep paying them off and only keep ONE of the cards and close the others. I took a math class in high school on all of this and it is best to have one card that you pay off before you have to pay interest. The more cards you have/leave open, the worse off your credit is and you can ruin your credit. So pay them off and close all but one of them.

Answer 7

I check my credit score (my Washington Mutual card allows me unlimited access to my score from the Big 3) on a weekly basis.

I noticed that when I closed out a card my score increased by 5 points.

Pay the $50 card and close it. Then Pay the next lowest, while paying at least the minimum on the others, and close that. Do this until all of them are closed.

Your score will jump and then you can take advantage of the 0% cards.

And I do mean take advantage of them.

Answer 8

pay off the $50.00 one first. then cancel it.. then start with
the next highest interest rate card. and go down the line.
only keep 1 credit card, the one with the lowest interest rate.
your credit will look good with 1 credit card , a high credit limit
and no late charges.

Answer 9

Yes, you are correct. And if you've got high amounts available on other cards, and you don't need it, consider having them reduced. It does affect your credit score.

It's only 50 bucks, pay it off and close that account. But then work on the highest interest ones.

Answer 10

It depends, is this a newer account? If it is a newer card, by all means, pay it off and cancel it. If; however, it is one of your first credit cards, you should keep it, unless you'll be tempted to use it!