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How many points to do you get dinged for closing CC accounts?

Posted on 12/28/09 at 3:45 pm
Posted by 756
Member since Sep 2004
15782 posts
Posted on 12/28/09 at 3:45 pm
I have too many credit cards and they do not have balances- How much will I get dinged on my FICO if I close some of them?
Posted by Will Cover
Davidson, NC
Member since Mar 2007
39920 posts
Posted on 12/28/09 at 3:54 pm to
I believe that will depend on how long the account(s) have been opened.

For me, it wasn't that big of an issue and my wife's scores actually increased.
Posted by GeauxColonels
Tottenham Fan | LSU Fan
Member since Oct 2009
25606 posts
Posted on 12/29/09 at 12:59 pm to
The FICO equation is way too complicated to really predict how much your score will be impacted based on closing an account. It also depends on what you still have available, your payment history and several other factors.
Posted by skygod123
NOLA
Member since Nov 2007
27882 posts
Posted on 12/29/09 at 4:58 pm to
close some of the smaller limit cards that you dont use and that you havent had a long time. Also, make sure to keep the card that you have had the longest. having an account for a long time will help the score, but it will not aid it if its always inactive.

so, use it but pay it off each month. i just use mine like a gas card.
Posted by calminvestor
USA
Member since Dec 2009
31 posts
Posted on 1/8/10 at 11:19 pm to
who gives a damn what your score is? you shouldn't. oh wait, that's not traditional advice, nevermind...
Posted by 756
Member since Sep 2004
15782 posts
Posted on 1/9/10 at 7:52 am to
We all do not have Dave Ramsey's money- I don't like the debt thing either-
Posted by jmarto1
Houma, LA/ Las Vegas, NV
Member since Mar 2008
38032 posts
Posted on 1/9/10 at 7:53 pm to
Doesn't this depend on your debt to credit ratio?
Posted by foshizzle
Washington DC metro
Member since Mar 2008
40599 posts
Posted on 1/9/10 at 8:43 pm to
quote:

I have too many credit cards and they do not have balances- How much will I get dinged on my FICO if I close some of them?


Your score is not dinged simply for closing an account. But your score is affected by other things that closing an account may in turn impact.

Scenario 1: Suppose you have two credit card accounts. One has a $1000 limit, opened last year and you never use it anymore. The other has a $10,000 limit and you've had it since 1985. You use the $10K one for monthly expenses and the typical monthly balance is $800. You decide to close the $1000 limit one. There will be little if any impact on your FICO, because:

1) Your oldest account is the same age after as it was before, namely, open since 1985.
2) The average balance used is still small at 800/10000, or 8% of total credit.

Scenario 2: Suppose instead that you have one credit card you opened back in 1985 with a limit of $10,000. You have another one you opened last year with a $1000 limit that you pay off each month, but you use about $800 of that each month. Now, if you close the old $1000 one you score will take a pretty good hit. Not because you closed an account, but because after closing it:

1) Your oldest account is now only one year old instead of dating back to 1985.
2) The average balance used is huge, at 80% (800/1000).

Which is a long-winded way of saying that a lot depends on what you are closing.
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