Ask Terry Questions Closing accounts once paid to 0 balance –

Closing accounts once paid to 0 balance –

By Terry Savage on March 06, 2023 | Credit/Debt

Hello Terry –
Should one close an account as it is cleared or leave it open. Have been advised both sides of coin.

Thank you

Terry Says

Keep your longest-held card open. It demonstrates length of credit history, which is important to your score. But if you have several cards, with annual fees, it won’t hurt to close one or two of them. Open cards with no balances are in some ways detrimental in scoring, because they lenders know you could always charge them up again! But having your one or two cards with big balances is also detrimental as they look at percentage of credit used! It’s a balancing act!

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