nikkij1326 asked:
Alright. so last year I opened a credit card to give me a credit score because I had no score since I was just 18. I went to the credit union to get a loan and they told be I had an A credit score. What that means, I do not know but I do not want the credit card I opened since I have a good credit score now. I have school loans and a car loan under my name and another rewards card. The first card (capital one) has no rewards so I do not want it. SHould I cancel it or just not charge anything and keep it open. WHAT WILL HURT MY SCORE THE LEAST!
keep it open as long as it is reporting positively on your report (sounds like it is) because lenders like to see accounts open for a long time. Canceling won’t necessarily hurt your score, but for your situation I see no reason to.
Get rid of it. It will save you money not having it, and I’m fairly sure it doesn’t hurt your score.
close it if you’re not going to use it… and if your scared somthing will happen if you close it…… cut it in half and still have it open..
You should cancel it if you aren’t going to use it. That way you protect yourself against unauthorized charges. Your credit score will not be changed if you close it or keep it open.
close it if you don’t use it. if a creditor checks you credit, that open line will appear as “debt” even though you don’t owe anything on it. the closed line won’t appear as anything (of course) and will up your credit rating.
If this is your first ever credit card, I would say leave it open. It’ll help creditor to track your length of credit history in some sense. Maybe they might have some other better tracking method now, but there’s no harm.
I saw it in my credit report once that they calculate my credit length by the longest opening card (my first credit card) and I didn’t even use it once.
Keep it open, it can only help your score. Just make sure you shred the card or put it somewhere safe, and keep an eye on the monthly statements even if you don’t plan to use it, in case of fraud.
It’s usually best to keep it open unless it interferes with your debt to income level for a loan. Ex. $1000. open to buy with a minumum monthly payment of $55. when used. The $55. pushes you over the general payment allowence for a home loan, Then the mortagor may ask you close it even if it is at zero, since nothing stops you from using it and failing to pay mortgage.
Do not close that card. Credit score are based on the following factors;
1. Payment history 35%
2. Time in bureau 15%
3. Types of credit 10%
4. New credit 10%
5. Debt to credit ratio 30%
If you close that card it will affect numbers 1,2,3 & 5.
Simply keep it open and charge something on it every 2-3 months even if it’s a tank of gas and pay it off in full before the due date.
To have the very best score and profile people need 3-4 credit cards (revolving) accounts with balances below 30% of their limits and 2 cars, boats, homes, motorcycles, computers, furniture or personal (installment) accounts all with good long payment history’s.
If you are young I would probably keep it open, never know when you might need to get a loan or something like that..