Is it a good idea to close down your credit cards after they have been paid off ?

Answer 1

Having TOO MANY OPEN LINES OF CREDIT is not a good thing. For example, if you're trying to get a mortgage, the lender might look at $10,000 of available credit on your credit card as a bad thing. Yeah, you don't owe anything on the card RIGHT NOW, but you've got a lot of available credit and could potentially run up a lot of debt and then be unable to make your mortgage payment.

The best advice is to reduce lines of credit to a minimum. You don't need $10k - reduce that to $1k. That way, you've still got available credit in the event of an emergency. And if you get really desperate and you need that additional credit, most likely the credit card company will increase your spending limit if you ask them to.

It is not true that if you close an account you lose the payment history. If that were true, people would simply close all their accounts when they get into credit trouble and then, wa la, their credit problems would be fixed. If you close an account, your payment history will still show up on your credit report.

Answer 2

As long is it's not a high interest department store card (high interest; low credit limit). I've been told that revolving credit cards are a hinderance to your credit score. If it's a small card like a gas card, office max (or the like) and you have a credit limit of $500; close that. You just might see your score increase a point or 2. But if you have major credit cards with $0 balance, by all means, keep them open. And if you are a signator on someone else's card; have them take your name off.

Answer 3

The answer depends on many things, but here is what has helped keep my credit score in the top 1% for over 20 years: Lenders look at how you manage your bills (paying on time), how you use your credit (do you use plastic instead of cash), and your debt to income ratio. If you are constantly late making payments or only make the minimum payment all the time your score goes down. If you use your credit for everything, including budgetable items like gas, food, etc., it lowers your score because it shows that you may not be able to manage cash. Your debt to income ratio shows not only what you owe but the POTENTIAL debt as well. For example, if you have a credit card with a zero balance but $10,000 dollars available on it your score may be lowered because there is the potential for you to run up the balance. It will definitely be a hinderence when you try to borrow for something like a car or a house.

SO-Do not have a lot of cards lying around. Close them if you need to. Make sure that you do not have higher credit limits than you need. Call the issuer and have them lower the limit if necessary. Finally, use them with wisely and make payments that are higher than the minimum OR BETTER STILL pay them off when the bill comes in. It shows that you manage cash and use plastic to avoid carrying large sums. YOL BOSUN!!!

Answer 4

I am a Realtor and I deal with helping people improve their credit to help them buy. It may not be best to close them out. It doesn't look good to have 10 credit cards but it does look good to have a few with very low or no balances. One of the things that they look at is how much credit you have available vs how much you have used, i.e. It looks better to have $500 in credit card debt with limits totaling $5000 then to have $500 in credit card debt but limits totaling $750, it shows that you arent the kind of person who spends every penny they can, that said, if you feel you can't resist the urge to use the cards then it would be better to close them and get rid of the temptation to run them up again.

Answer 5

Yes and no. If you have too much available credit exposure then yes. If it's a small credit line,and if you need in the future then it's ok to leave it open. It's easier to close the account than to re-open the account. Credit card company will have to pull your credit report if you decide to re-open.

If you don't use the card for a long time, credit card company will close for you due to inavtivities. They still have to manage it and costs them money even you don't use the card.

Answer 6

If you are in USA, I would recommend not to close it as the older your credit card, the better your credit history.

But yes, make sure you don't have any due amount in your card. If its paid off, just put it aside and don't use it. Its good to have a credit in hand. you never know you might need it in future.

Answer 7

If you close them, you lose the history of payments. Credit score is not just about avoiding bad things; it is also about having good things. A longer history means a higher score.

However, don't go to extremes. A huge number of credit cards is bad, too. Two bank credit cards is ideal. Four shouldn't hurt you, much.

The idea is to show good credit management.

Answer 8

I think you should always have ONE credit card, and it has to be paid off each month. limit the use of it with your bank debit card.

closing them down might mess with your credit score. I'd just cut them up.

Answer 9

Cancelling a line of credit can ding your credit score. If you already have cards, once they are payed off, you may just want to keep them hidden for emergencies and let them expire.

Answer 10

It will keep you safe from impulse spending, but it will damage your credit score. Part of your credit score is your available amount of credit and how long have you had these cards. Your better off keeping them.