Should i cut up my credit cards

shadylane

shadylane

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I'm almost done paying my credit cards.

Should i cut them off or store them away just in case. Also does it hurt my credit to cut my credit cards or cancel them?
 
I have a debit and 2 cards, one Amex and one visa since Amex isnt accepted everywhere. Canceling shouldnt hurt your credit, but opening another card would, so like ITDEFX said, just keep one just in case.
 
[quote name='onetrackmind']Canceling a credit card does lower your credit score[/QUOTE]

No.. no it does not. However having a large amount of open credit does.


If you are so irresponsible that you think you'd be better off cutting up your cards.. then yes you should cut them up. If you don't have the self-control to spend within your means you'll just end up in trouble.
 
Like some of the others have suggested, keep one credit (non-debit) card alive and well, and just keep it paid off when you use it. If you have store charge cards, dump 'em when you've paid them off. My debit card is a Visa card and my non-debit credit card is a Mastercard. I'm covered pretty much anywhere I'd go, as I haven't seen anywhere that doesn't take MC or Visa in a very very long time.
 
Cancel all your cards but your oldest.
If you get rid of your older card it shortens your credit history.
a shorter credit history sometimes mean lower score.
 
Cancelling your credit cards in which you have a very long history with, will hurt your credit score.

OP, why not just freeze them? That way you can't carry them around and by the time you thaw out the ice, the urge to use them will probably have passed.
 
depends on how many credit cards you have. i had around 15 credit cards at one time (mostly for free items sign up)

I was told if you close more then 5 (maybe 10)
in any 6 month period it raises flags on your credit report.

if your going to cut them up CANCELL THEM. Even if you dont use them they will stay on your credit report until they are closed
 
Well i'm not bad with credit. I pay my bills on time and i can manage paying credit cards. i just like to build a good credit history and i wanted to know what the best way to do that was.
 
[quote name='shadylane']
Should i cut them off or store them away just in case. Also does it hurt my credit to cut my credit cards or cancel them?[/quote]

I work with credit scores and the make up is basicaly this:
35% — punctuality of payment in the past (only includes payments later than 30 days past due)
30% — the amount of debt, expressed as the ratio of current revolving debt (credit card balances, etc.) to total available revolving credit (credit limits)
15% — length of credit history
10% — types of credit used (installment, revolving, consumer finance)
10% — recent search for credit and/or amount of credit obtained recently
(wikipedia:credit score (united states))

so the one factor your talking about is the 30% amount of debt. if you cancel your cards you will lower the total available crdit, which raises your ratio. I suggest you cut all but one or two up but keep the lines of credit open so that it lowers your ratio of used credit.
 
[quote name='Cornfedwb']No.. no it does not. However having a large amount of open credit does.


If you are so irresponsible that you think you'd be better off cutting up your cards.. then yes you should cut them up. If you don't have the self-control to spend within your means you'll just end up in trouble.[/QUOTE]

Hmm well i was going based on what a friend of the family who was my mortgage broker told me after he pulled my credit report for the loan.
 
[quote name='shadylane']Well i'm not bad with credit. I pay my bills on time and i can manage paying credit cards. i just like to build a good credit history and i wanted to know what the best way to do that was.[/QUOTE]

dont know if this is still true or not.

you can pay all your bills on time and never have a late payment yet you will not have a good credit history. you need credit cards to have a credit history.

my mother never missed a bill payment in 30 years and was still passed up on a credit card cause she never had a cc before
 
[quote name='Cornfedwb']No.. no it does not. However having a large amount of open credit does.[/quote]I have eight credit cards with almost $50,000 in available credit between them. I only use one of them, for convenience, and pay the balance (which tends to be a couple hundred dollars on average) in full every week. Basically I treat the card as if it were a debit card.

My credit score, as of this month, is 816.

If having a large amount of open credit is a bad thing, shouldn't my score be lower? 816's pretty terrific, isn't it?
 
I'm led to believe that if you cancel a credit card, you really need to make sure that the company notes the cancellation as being done "at the customer's request" on your credit reports, or else it looks like the company dropped you, which can negatively affect your score.

I'm not sure what is the most effective way of making sure the company reports it properly, but I would start with a request via telephone and the follow it up with a letter delivered by certified mail, just to be sure.
 
Keep one with a decent sized limit. You never know when something might happen to your car or home that you need to pay a couple of thousand on. If you don't have the cash that card is the best answer. Shred the rest of them.
 
I like mtxBass' idea of freezing them.

It's good to have credit around, but you need to cultivate the discipline too, since, chances are, you're not going to be able to "quit" credit cold turkey and not see it again.
 
[quote name='shadylane']I'm almost done paying my credit cards.

Should i cut them off or store them away just in case. Also does it hurt my credit to cut my credit cards or cancel them?[/quote]

Why not keep them open? CC are useful / safer if you travel or make online purchases. Also applying for a new one now or in the future will knock your score down. Op, if you're that concerned about your credit, check your credit score. Then decide. :)
 
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