cnacelling credit cards with 0 balance and good credit?

Question

I have excellent credit and good credit score. I have bunches of credit cards, both store and visa, etc that I want to cancel. There are zero balances on all, haven't used them in years, and just want them off my credit report as "closed by customer's request" which shows they were not cancelled for any bad credit reason. Will this hurt my credit score?? I know if you have balances or delbt other places, it can hurt, but I have no debt and no balances on them. Thanks!

Answer 1

If these cards are your oldest it might drop it a little - you should keep the ones you hade for the most years and periodically use them and pay them off.

Answer 2

The previous answer is good, but I'd like to add a bit. The damage to your credit score is slight but it can't be avoided if you close your cards. It's because bureaus look at some income - debt - available credit ratio. As you close the cards, your available credit is lower and the banks won't give you as much credit, you'll have to wait. Besides, you can call the banks issuers of those unused cards and ask them for better terms otherwise you will close thier cards - this works in many cases, as banks don't want to lose customers.

Answer 3

I would always keep a couple of extras. It shows you have credit you don't use and that is good. If you have tons of cards, close them and ask for a letter stating that they are closed. I close mine so that they send me offers of lower credit and O% interest and I switch my balances for no transfer fees. I have rental apartments and keep a running balance going for expenses-especially that new roof. It's like free credit and I watch what I'm doing like a hawk. . .

Answer 4

If you want to make sure, call the credit bureau itself. There are three main ones: Experian, Transunion, and Equifax. You can find their phone numbers online.

Answer 5

yeah, if they have O balance then close some of them