It could lower your score since you have less available credit available to you and you will be shortening the average credit age of your accounts since the age is based on the length of time the accounts are open and active.

I recently closed one and the person who was dealing with my account told me specifically that it will affect my credit score negatively (Visa). I did my own search and most people seem to think that it actually affects your credit score in a positive way. Personally, I closed the card anyway because I believe it makes you look more responsible when you don’t have half a dozen cards with balances on each.

Actually closing accounts can raise your score because you would be lowering the amount of credit available to you. And if there were paid off balances on the accounts you would be lowering your debt to income ratio as well.

First if your going to buy a home, then go talk with your morgage lender… because depending on where ur financing it can have a affect. Not alot but some. You want to figure out wheither your ready to buy, how much house can u buy, and to see wheither what you figured matches the bank or lending instituion criteria (formula). They also usually offer some good material to help with the process.

Your correct in that you don’t want to have all these cards open, as far as mangement. But you could place them in safe, safe deposit box for safe keeping. Put a do not solicit on each one from the credit card company.

When u close something, make sure the credit history overall will not affect or lower your score. Because credit card companies do get PO when u close something fairly new. Usually when ur shopping for morgage it (credit score) will lower slightly from all the inquiries… you just try to get the inquiries close together so that the bankers or morgage lenders realize it’s only competition for the note.

Good luck on new home.

Closing Credit Card Accounts is Unhealthy for Your Credit!

Closing credit card accounts is a fast track to lowering your FICO credit scores.

Here’s why…one of the categories that makes up your FICO credit scores is called “time in file.”

In English, “time in file” translates to:

•How old the oldest account on your credit report is
•The average age of all the accounts on your credit report

The longer you have the same accounts the better it will be for your FICO credit scores. (And it is in your favor if those accounts are in good standing.)

I’ve had the opportunity to study a few credit reports where the consumer obtained FICO credit scores of over 800 (like you).

These folks are like the white buffalo. They’re very rare and rank in the top 5.85% nationally. This means their credit scores are higher than 94.15% of the rest of the people in the country.

One thing the, “800 Club” members all have in common are several old accounts appearing on their personal credit reports…decades old in some cases.

Bottom line: an old credit history is good for your credit scores. And you can’t achieve an old history if you close your accounts.