Community Chat

[FlowerBear]

I dont feel it is right that you can get a hit to your credit

if you cancel a credit card! Is this true?  I Have NEVER cancelled one!

I have heard this is true,  but sometimes you just dont want the credit card any longer or to shop at that store or whatever.

Plus it is not your fault if you dont use your card and they cancel it like just happened to me at TJ Maxx. It is not in our town and I dont get there very often and hadnt used the card in a while and when I went there, found out it was cancelled when I went to pay.

Also what about if a store closes?    I used to use my cards at two stores in the town over from here , that have  closed, thus 3  credit cards closed NOT my fault!

[Johnnyeager]

Yes, it can have an impact.  FICO scores take into consideration your total available credit as matched against outstanding balances (Credit Utilization Ratio).  It can be helpful to have available credit even if you don't use it.

[fthunt]

If a store cancels your card due to 'inactivity'...there's nothing you can do about it......so don't worry.  Stores do clean up their records from time to time. (probably during accountant audit)

You're fine if you have 1 or 2 cards that you use often & never late with payment.........that's what your credit score is based on.

[NicksmomESQ]

Yes, it’s true.I never cancel credit cards.I either put the unused ones in a safe place or I shred them.

[nomless]

@FlowerBear 

Closing a card may affect your acvount because after closing it, the amount of credit available yo you is less. For example,  say you have 2 cards each with a $10k limit. Total credit available to you is $20k. If you close one of the cards, you only have $10k credit available.  That's why your score may take a hit.  How big of a hit is dependent on the credit limit of the card you are closing. If it represents only a small portion of your total credit, the impact is less. 

But according to this article, if the balance on all your cards is $0, so that your credit utilization is 0, your credit score will not be affected if you close one. 

This article explains the impact of closing a card.

[Johnnyeager]

FICO scoring uses the following:

On Time Payments

Oldest Credit Line

Credit Used

Recent Inquiries

New Accounts

Amount of Available Credit

Credit Ratio:  Credit Used/Available Credit

I check mine from two different sources at least a couple of times a month  (Not necessary for most people, but it's interesting to see the number move slightly one direction or the other).  The different services weight the factors slightly differently, so the number can be different.

[on the bay]

@FlowerBear -

I have always been hesitant to close/cancel a card because of that.

Recently I just really did not want to have a card I never used, and also because I know

many cards may cancel after a year if not used.

I also don't like to have a lot of different cards. I've read several times it is good to have 2 cards.

So, I searched the best way to cancel a credit card and good suggestions came up.

And that's what I followed and just cancelled a card I never used.

I don't have a specific website anymore but you can search google or whatever and there are good or better ways to cancel if you need to.

[millieshops]

@FlowerBearFor most of us who use our credit responsibly, it's not as scary as it seems.  I've never seen my credit score move at all when stores have gone out of business nor when I've let store cards lapse through non-use.  Once upon a time, I had many cards, but no longer. 

Once my bank cancelled a card with a large credit limit -  did not effectively reduce my credit score and more important, I actually felt that protected me.  No one was about to go buy a car and charge it to my account. 

[scatcat]

I wouldn’t be afraid to close a card. If you have good credit, closing a card is not going to plummet your score. It’s like you’re being bullied to not close a card. 

[Trinity11]

We closed our Sears card and 4 other cards recently because we no longer use them. Our scores went down by a few points but the next month went right back up. I always get a message I need installment loans. I pay cash for cars so it's all just a scam to me. As long as I am close to 850, I am fine with it. Why would I want debt?