re: Should I get another credit card?

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Yes, your credit report age matters. This isn’t how old you are; it’s how old your credit report is. Essentially, the credit score is looking for whether or not you have a long history of managing credit obligations.

There’s really not much you can do in this category because, well, you can’t control time. But as your accounts get older and older, you will organically earn more points from this category. You can help yourself along by not closing older accounts.

The use of age makes statistical sense as well as common sense. Consumers with a younger credit history tend to me more risky borrowers than consumers who have had credit for many years. Put yourself in a lender’s position. If someone came to you and asked you to borrow $10,000, wouldn’t you want to know if the individual ever borrowed any money in the past? Or, is this the first time? Are you comfortable being the borrower’s first lender? How about if the borrower wants to borrow $250,000 from you to buy a house? Are you willing to take that chance? As you can see, it’s pretty reasonable to take age into account when making these decisions.

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I understand this... but cancelling a card does not eliminate the history of payments made on the card.