[Jessy]

People that are smarter than me-
I have 4 credit cards, I’m 33 years old and the newest card I’ve had for 7 years now, oldest 12 years, regular payments yada yada, that’s not my quandary.

I’m wondering in a versus scenario: is it better to have more cards (4) for a longer consecutive period of time or to maybe cancel my two newest cards and stick to just having the two oldest?

I try to be knowledgeable in the ways of credit scores and such but after I got my house I just stopped caring about my credit score really.

Will it negatively, beyond repair, effect my credit canceling the two cards I’ve had for 7 and 8 years respectively?

I feel like I’m already on the edge of a slippery credit slope balancing 4 cards for so many years.

They have come in handy from time to time but my usage is generally below 10% on all 4 cards, have each set up for one auto payment a month to a streaming service and then autopaid off from my bank account each month.

I’ve had them all so long now I’m scared to just cancel even 1 without getting some advice first.

Thanks.

Like I said above, not smart in the ways of fiscal responsibility, so be nice lol.

[Jean]

If they do not have fees, keep the cards. Use them occasionally, small amounts and pay off in full each month.

This keeps your credit high.

[Sherri]

Canceling them will drop your credit score b/c it lowers your amount of available credit. Why are you considering canceling?

If it is to try to improve your credit score, ask each of the cc companies if they will increase your credit limit.

It sounds like you’re doing fine managing them.

[Annette]

I didn’t read all the comments but I canceled one of my newer cards and lost 9 points on my credit score. They said it was do to over all length of time I had had all my cards.

I think the oldest is 17 years, the one I canceled was 5years.

I expect my score to bounce back, though I don’t know when.

If you plan to have anyone checking your credit anytime soon, don’t cancel any cards.

By the by I cancels that one because I wanted a different one.

I ended up with 4k more available credit but less time on my over all card length. The whole thing is tricksy.

[Karyn]

If you want to improve your credit score, cut up the cards but don’t cancel them.

The length of time that an account has been open is a factor, also how much of your available credit that you use.

So having an open card with a zero balance helps your score.

[Jill]

We have 2 cards, and that is only because a few places don’t take our main card…the hack-up card is never used … it’s only for ‘just-in-case’.

This month’s credit score is 769..

I don’t see any reason to have more than those 2 cards.

[Rachel]

I would keep them all. It will help with credit card usage percentage which is part of your credit score calculation.

[Elisabeth]

I have one credit card for emergencies. Everything else is on the debit card or cash.

[Shelley]

Canceling 1 or 2 of them may drop your score a little but just for a short period of time.

Don’t stress it.

[Carol]

If you are the type of person that pays the balance every single month, then keep them.

I have five or six cards and I don’t owe any of them one dime.

[Jeri]

Your credit score affects things like insurance rates, etc. your score will drop if you cancel 2 cards because you will have less AVAILABLE credit and when you do have a charge it will use more of your available credit.

Just use the cards once or twice a yeat to make sure they don’t get canceled for non usage.

[Sonja]

I’d keep all 4, but make sure to pay the balance in full every month before you get charged interest.

I also pay bills with the card that gets the most rewards.

[Carol]

The less debt you have the better off you are no matter what anybody says.

Pay them off and destroy. If your credit rating drops, it will only be for a short period of time.

[Christie]

Since you have them all set up with auto pay I’d leave it. If u really want to get rid of cancel the two newest and make sure you don’t use more than 30% of the credit limit on the other two

[Kaitlyn]

My advice based on my experience: keep all 4, cancel none. I disagree with other commenters who have said cancelling cards causes a “small” dip in your score–I’ve had it cause a major dip that was very hard to recover from.

I cancelled cards before I knew that credit scores were used for determining things like your rates on auto insurance.

Life is easier in the US if you have a high credit score, period, no matter what Dave Ramsey says.

I’ve lived it. If all four of your cards are paid off, put a small monthly charge on each one (e.g. Netflix) and pay off monthly to keep the balances at $0.

That way none of your cards can be closed by the companies for lack of use.

At the beginning of COVID, two of my cards which had always been in good standing, one of which was my oldest account, were closed by the companies without warning because of lack of recent use (but mainly because of the financial panic around COVID I imagine).

Having these cards closed on me was another hit to my credit that I was not anticipating.

Currently I do exactly what I suggested here, keep three cards with zero balances, put small recurring monthly charges on each, and pay off as I go. So far, so good.

[Shirley]

I think canceling causes a ding to your credit score. 4 cc is not a lot. That said, why do you feel you have to use all 4?

Figure out which one gives the most benefits and use that one.

I have probably about 10+ cards, but I only use one and I use it for everything including to pay for certain monthly bills through auto-pay. I never have cash on me.

This gives me rewards to shop with free money. This card is paid in full every month.

[Connie]

Older credit cards are better. If you have balances and interest is high, transfer to a new card for introductory rates but never cancel old cards.

Just keep the accounts open.

Use each card once per year for a tank of gas, then pay it off when bill comes.

[Amy]

I used to have two credit cards but I got down to one. I just make instead of making payments because you’re going to be making more on interest which is what they want the credit cards want.

I just have one credit card and whatever the amount is I just pay the whole thing off each month.

But I definitely have a high limit but I don’t on purpose charge that much because I know I’m never going to pay all that off.

[Brian]

It doesn’t rework hurt to keep them, but I would figure out which one has the highest limit and best rewards.

Only use that one each month and pay the balance off each month.

The others can be back ups if needed.

I like two keep two cards, one for Amazon because I get 5% cash back and I spend about $10-15k a year in amazon, and my other is a really good rewards card for everything not amazon.

[Author]

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