Credit Tips: Best Way to Cancel Credit Cards That are Unused

Posted On: January 1, 2006

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Posted: Fri Sep 10, 2004 1:49 pm
Post subject: Best Way to Cancel Credit Cards That are Unused
Sam
Date: 3/31/2001 10:25 am CDT

I have 5 credit cards that I do not use, and that do not carry balances. each card has limits of up to 5000. I also have school loans. I am interested in cancelling these cards because I am concerned about having too many credit cards, in addition to my dept. store cards.(9 credit cards/3dept. cards). I am also concerned about my credit situation when I buy a house next year.

1) Should I cancell them or just ask them to lower my balances?

2) If I cancel, what is the correct method of cancellation which will not affect my rating?

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Posted: Fri Sep 10, 2004 1:50 pm
Post subject: Best Way to Cancel Credit Cards That are Unused

Dani
Date: 3/31/2001 11:21 am CDT

Sam,

Welcome to the board. You should not cancel anymore than two cards every six months. Anything more than that could affect your FICO score. If you have had the cards for any length of time - two or more years I would consider lowering the credit limit or just keeping the card as is.
I too am going for a home loan in the next 4-6 months. The loan officers I have spoken with have said the credit balances are what they consider to be the most important, not the credit limits. Ideally, I believe 4-5 major credit cards and 1 department store card is so suppose to be the norm for a high FICO.
But, my husband and I have a total of 8 cards and no one has told us that we have too many lines of revolving credit. All in all I would probably cancel two cards and leave everything else as is. Best of luck and I hoped this helped.

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Posted: Fri Sep 10, 2004 1:50 pm
Post subject: Best Way to Cancel Credit Cards That are Unused

Eugene
Date: 4/1/2001 1:01 pm CDT

You should not cancel anymore than two cards every six months. Anything more than that could affect your FICO score.

Could you elaborate on this one? I do not know any reasons for low FICO score saying that the accounts are being cancelled too fast.

The loan officers I have spoken with have said the credit balances are what they consider to be the most important, not the credit limits.

Balances ARE important, I agree. Although, I heard that it’s especially mortgage lenders who do not like too much available credit among factors. Many people limit both the credit lines and the number of open accounts before applying for mortgage.