Quote:
Originally posted by MikeB_CE
If you are not using a card it is not a bad idea to keep it. The more cards you have at a 1/3 or less of the credit used, the more points you get on your FICO. The only cases where I would cancel cards like this is when the annual fees are not worth the extra point or two on the FICO score.
Mike B
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There's actually a lot of debate about this point. And you'll hear different opinions from different credit experts.
But I can tell you that one expert whom I really trust says it's best to try to keep a maximum of FIVE credit accounts open at any given time --- no more than that.
Not five credit cards, but five accounts total. Meaning, if you have a car payment, and a mortgage payment --- then you probably should have only three open credit card accounts --- just as an example.
You may think it looks good to have a bunch of credit cards with open credit lines that you're not using ....
But if you're applying for a mortgage, the bank will worry that you might use those accounts and run up huge balances in the future.
As far as your credit score, the ONLY thing that really boosts your score is making payments. LOTS of them --- on time.
And keeping your debt to a minimum ...