will closing credit cards hurt my score?

Question

I am 21 and dont have a very long credit history. The only type of credit I have are my revolving accounts. I had way too much debt that I recently paid off and would like to close my accounts. Will that hurt my credit score since thats really the only history I have? And if it doesnt, will it matter if I close them all at once or not. Im trying to improve my credit score so I can a car, house etc...

Answer 1

Closing credit cards with a decent amount of history is a no-no. The history accounts for 15% percent of your total score. If you have had a good payment history on these cards, I would not close them. If you want to fight the temptation to spend, close most but keep the two "best" lines open. By best, I mean the ones that have been open the longest and have the best payment history.
Closing your accounts sometimes makes you look like you cannot manage your money. In some cases, it does hurt your score.
On the filp side, if you keep the accounts open and do not use them, your score does not go up. It will only go up if you actually use the cards. (I know, Catch-22, right?)
I guess my advice would be to keep the two or three most attractive ones open and close the rest. Use the cards from time to time - charge only a little and pay the balance off in full at the end of the month. That will help you maintain your credit.
Good luck!

Answer 2

I would leave them open and just not use them. If you close them all, it will show up on your score as a closed account and could hurt you. An open account with a zero balance is actually better for you.

You also need to use them but pay off the balance every month when the bill comes because that will go on your record as a current payment every single month. That actually helps raise your score. The key here is to only use them for things you would normally buy with cash and PAY THE ENTIRE BALANCE every month and ALWAYS make payments before the due date. Late payments will kill you.

From MSN Money - Read this. (I've also posted the link if you want to read the entire article)

Don't close old, paid-off accounts
We used to tell people to close accounts they weren't using. Now here's the word from direct from Craig Watts, an executive at Fair Isaac & Co., one of the leading credit scorers: "Closing accounts can never help your score, and often it can hurt."

This knowledge is frustrating to those who want to simplify their lives and reduce the opportunities for identity theft by closing unused accounts. But credit facts are credit facts.

Shutting down credit accounts lowers the total credit available to you and makes any balances you have loom larger in credit score calculations. If you close your oldest accounts, it can actually shorten the length of your reported credit history and make you seem less credit-worthy.

Answer 3

Positive credit information, such as a long-established credit card account with a positive payment history, may stay on your credit report indefinitely. But when you close an account, it is usually removed from your credit report within 10 years.

Once that account is wiped from your credit report, you lose the credit history associated with the account and because the length of your credit history accounts for about 15 percent of a FICO score, your credit score takes a hit.

Answer 4

It's more likely that closing a credit card will hurt your credit score than it will help.

If the credit card has a balance, your credit score will definitely drop after you close the card. That's because 30% of your credit score is based on your credit utilization - the amount of available credit you're using. When you close a credit card, you have no available credit, so your credit utilization shoots up to 100% immediately. As a result your credit score drops.

Answer 5

Your account will be labeled as such.This account was closed at customers request and there is no negative information to report.Any lender who sees this will see you as a responable person with credit and will be willing to extend credit to you.You should keep one account open just incase you need to jump on a plane or rent a car or hotel room.

Answer 6

Do You Have Bad Credit? Don't give up!! Guaranteed Bad Credit Financing. Receive a loan or credit card even with bankruptcy!

Answer 7

dont close them that will hurt your score. just make sure they are paid off. stop using them and after a few months i think about 6 they will automatically close with no harm done.

Answer 8

NO it will help you IF you paid the cards off and did not file bankruptcy. It will show that you have kept up your responsibilty and are in good standing with the creditors.