Closing a credit card account that is inactive? How much will it affect my credit report?
Written By: admin on September 22, 2009
One Comment
I’ve had this account for about two years, and I haven’t used it in a long time, and I’m thinking of closing it but I don’t know how it would affect my credit report. This is a secure credit card, with only a 0 limit. I have two other credit cards that I use a lot more often and I’ve been very responsible about paying bills on time.
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Tags: Credit Cards, Credit Cards, credit report, long time, secure credit cardTags: Credit Cards, credit report, long time, secure credit card
If nothing else, use it for a small buy at least once a year and pay it off. If you do not use an account for 12 months, they might close it on you anyway.
What hurts your credit the most is abuse, failure to pay, or using more than 30% of your limits. If you have three cards and pay them off each month, then spread the debt out so that no one card exceeds 30% of its limit.
Having a card even with only a $300 limit, is $300 worth of credit. As soon as you close it, your available credit drops by $300, which could hurt you.
If any of your cards are charging annual fees, consider getting another card with a higher limit and no fees. After you get the boost of the extra credit limit, then close the card with the fees.