Background info: I'm 23, financially independent- renting a house, currently paying student loans (and i will attend medical school next fall), and have a car that i am paying off. Today I obtained my free credit reports and FICO score- i'm at 744 ("Very Good"). I found, from my reports, that I had a number of credit cards- most never used- mostly from department stores. I called and canceled them immediately. Now the only thing current on my credit report should be the things mentioned above (and 2 other cards). Could it HURT my credit to have taken those established (some of them 3+ years old) off my report, even if they were never used? There is nothing "negative" reported on my reports- never been late on a payment etc. Thanks for your help!!
2007-11-28 05:08:26 · 10 answers · asked by Amy S 2 in Business & Finance ➔ Credit
Is the 'credit limit to credit balance' a summation of ALL your cards? If so, i'm worried that I DID do a bad thing. I hope this won't bring me below 720 (usually the limit for decent interest rates on loans etc.)- any thoughts?
2007-11-28 05:32:09 · update #1
This is what credit scores are based on;
1. Payment history 35%
2. Time in bureau 15%
3. Types of credit 10%
4. New credit 10%
5. Debt to credit ratio 30%
By canceling those cards you may very well have actually hurt your credit score a lot if they were old accounts and had no balance you affected numbers 2&5 above.
And yes to answer you most recent post your credit to debt ratio is based on totals.
2007-11-29 03:33:04 · answer #1 · answered by ? 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Don't have em removed (not that you can anyway). It helps to show that you've had more than a couple credit cards. Even if you canceled em, they're still gonna show up on there. But since you were good with them and never missed a payment - it can only help you to show the bureaus that you handled them good as well as your current open cards.
2013-10-25 06:21:48 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
This actually may hurt it. Cause what those three cards were showing were years of good credit. Taking that away and leaving yourself with only a few things may hurt that. Granted the best way with credit cards is that you have low ammount credit card I would say around 500-750 and use 20% of it a month. This shows that you know how to use the credit given to you. Your not living past your means and your responsible. Also having too many credit cards hurts your score. Having and getting good credit is a balancing act. The slightest move in the wrong direction and you may get hurt.
2007-11-28 05:13:58 · answer #3 · answered by djasta20 2 · 0⤊ 3⤋
No, it will not affect your credit rating. Usually department store credit cards are not used toward good credit rating any way, so it is better to get them off of your credit. You did the best thing. You have done a great job keeping your credit in good standing, usually young people take a hit on their credit by doing something stupid. You have done a great job.
Good Luck!!
2007-11-28 05:14:50 · answer #4 · answered by Jazzy, I Miss U Love! 6 · 2⤊ 2⤋
Yes closing your credit cards account would affect your credit score slightly! Always keep them open because your credit balance to credit limit is a plus!!
2007-11-28 05:14:31 · answer #5 · answered by trop 4 · 1⤊ 2⤋
This could hurt your score because a large part of how your score is determined is the number of accounts you have and the balance on them! A zero balance is a great thing! This is getting a good credit score without costing you money!
Go to my website and read all of it, but especially the " how credit scoring works" section. I know a lot of your questions find answers there!
2007-11-28 05:20:06 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 3⤋
Yes one because of the age of them and two because 35% of your score is a ration of credit available compared to credit used, and you just dropped your ratio.
2007-11-28 11:16:55 · answer #7 · answered by Pengy 7 · 0⤊ 2⤋
You should be fine. It may dip but will be better in the long run. Just make sure you keep a couple accounts. Also, make sure what you have is not maxed out. It looks good to have some availible balance.
2007-11-28 05:12:45 · answer #8 · answered by OryGun 2 · 2⤊ 2⤋
It could ding it very slightly. But since you had no activity on the cards, it would be so minor. It was much better to close the cards so you do not risk fraud.
2007-11-28 05:11:29 · answer #9 · answered by sahel578 5 · 1⤊ 2⤋
Girl you have it made, don't worry u r what the renters are looking for. and no it would not have a negative affect that u took those cards out. take care
2007-11-28 05:12:30 · answer #10 · answered by mari 2 · 1⤊ 2⤋