For your credit score, is it better to have open accounts that you don't use?
967340
Okay, this is a topic near and dear to my heart...do NOT close the cards. Use them every once in a while. Maybe once a year. Just to keep them active. Closing them will not help your credit score. While it is true that when shopping for large purchases (car or home loans, for example)  your debt to credit ratio is examined - your credit score itself is looked at from the standpoint of having "cushion" for any little dings you get along the way.\nExample: Linda and John both have 700 credit scores and both forget to pay their electric bills, resulting in a 30 day late on their reports. Linda's score drops to 675 and John plummets to 630. Why the difference? Linda has 8 open and active accounts and John has 2. Linda had more "good credit" to cushion the blow of that 30 day late.
1137632
yes. use it as a last option if you are unable to pay bills. if you're thinking about using one then it's probably too late already so don't even worry about your score. just focus on getting the bills paid. you can always restablish your credit later on.
1026147
The previous answers are good advice, but remember that in order to get your "Credit Score" you will have to pay. For some reason congress only mandated a free credit report, but the free ones never show your FICO score.
714181
The previous responders are correct.  If you close out excess credit card accounts, you will actually hurt your credit score.  You are erasing a portion of your credit history, plus lowering your debt/credit ratio. Both of these factors make a major part of your credit score.\n\nIt is recommended that you have 3-5 credit cards or other forms of accounts.  If you have (for example) 10 credit cards, and most are not in use, then it may help you to cancel some of them.  But you need to be careful how you do it.\n\n1) Cancel only one card every 3-4 months.  This will lower your score by a few points but it will restore itself in a few months.\n\n2) Do not cancel any cards if you are intending to apply for credit soon (car loan, mortgage, etc...)  You need every point you can get.\n\n3) Consider getting some of the credit limits lowered.  You really don't need that card with $10k of credit limits on it, do you?\n\n4) Use a couple of cards each month.  Buy something you usually pay cash for each month anyway (groceries, utility bill, gas) and pay it off a the end of the month.  The improved use of your credit will help your credit history and will deflect the negative hit when you start canceling other cards.\n\nCheck out http://www.myfico.com This site is the home site for the folks who developed the FICO scoring system, and has lots of consumer advice you can read.  Understand how your credit score is put together and calculated, and you will do just fine in the future.
845335
It will definitely make a difference. Most loans have a lower interest rate than credit cards. Most experts say to keep the credit cards open, but don't use them after they're paid off. This way you will show a good "Available Credit" ratio.
1044328
Yes Closing out open credit cards will lower your score. It's all based on Credit Utilization, i.e. what percentage of your open credit lines are you currently using. FICO credit scoring adds up all your balances and all your credit lines to determine part of your credit score. The best is to have zero utilized but up to 25% is OK. If your utilization is higher than 25% it will definitely lower your score.\n\nI would look at your whole revolving debt picture before closing any accounts. Put the cards away in a safe place and don't use them for 6 months and then decide if you still want to close those accounts.\n\nGood Luck
682787
Yes. This is a good tip (probaby the best use of 5 points on Yahoo! Answers I've seen yet!).\n\nThere are 3 credit bureaus. I'd recommend separating the 3 free credit reports over the year (rather than getting them all at once) to keep an eye on your credit. With so much identity theft out there, this is one great tool to try to stop it early if it happens to you.\n\nThanks!
524054
There two situation when entities can check your credit score:\n\n1. When applying for service with a compny / bank etc.\n2. When the banks / companies buy your personal information and credit score from the credit bureaus.\nBy law(Federal Credit Reporting Act), you can opt-up, that is choose not to have the credit reporting agencies share your personal information with banks and lenders (so that you don't receive credit card offers for example).\n\n\nHope that was useful.
64480
If you don't already have one open a checking and savings account. it is best to go through a credit union they are better and safer in the means they won't screw you over like the others.  Get one or two credit cards and no more than that if you have more cancel them. Opening and closing credit card accounts will lower your credit a bit but in the long run it works to your benefit. I say to only have one or two because too much in credit card credits will also bring done your credit. Don't use them often but say charge dinner on it sometime and then always pay the bill the day it comes, pay all your bills this way. It shows responsiblity on your credit report. And don't look at you credit report more than once a year, it also lower your credit.
224348
That zero balance is a good thing its called a PIF (paid in full) it says that you have made a payment on an account and will actually help to increase your credit score (depending on the type of account)\n\nhope that helps
180742
Suzie Orman ( the financial adviser) says that when you close your credit card, you close you credit history, that you have developed with that particular credit card. So it means, if you used a card for like 10 years,keep it open. If you have been using it for a year, then you can close it, it won't affect your credit history that much. It's better not to have a lot of credit cards, with a lot of credit available, it will be harder to get a loan in the future. Then more credit you have available to you, then more money you can spend and get yourself into debt and not being able to pay off other loans on time. There is a big risk for creditor associated with that, when someone has a lot of credit available.
974266
My husband and I learned a great deal from just studying our own credit on experian.com.  You pay $10 a month and you can view your credit and history anytime.  We disputed many old or false credit histories and now our credit is much better.  About 100 points higher.  It also has a credit score simulator where it points out the things you personally could do to make your score this number or that number.  I would recommend doing that first.
490127
I think both would help you build your credit history and your credit score. You need to be carefull about how much you spend from the available credit. You should keep your spending below 30% of the total available credit as your credit score highly depends on your debt ratio (Available credit/Credit Remaining on the credit card).
931012
My credit is of perfect condition. How did I get it this way? Simple. I only bought things I needed/saved up for and as soon as my Visa statement arrived in the mail I would write out a check, in full of the balance, and then mailed it out the very next day. I also had a $3500 car loan that has been paid off with no late payments.\n\nYou can always join a credit union and apply for a Visa. However, the more accounts you have open will negatively affect your credit score. Late payments on accounts, old unresolved accounts, over-limit amounts, bankruptcy, ect. will also negatively affect the score.
298710
Actually, cancelling them may lower your score. Here's why.\n\nLets say you have 15 cards, and the average limit is $3000.  that gives you $45,000 in available credit.  Now lets assume you have $6,000 in debt on these cards.  The differance between these numbers is $39,000 (your available credit).\nYour debt to credit ratio is 14%. Very nice!\n\nNow lets cancel those 8 cards.  That removes $24,000 in available credit.\n\nNow you have 7 cards, $21,000 in available credit, but you still have that $6000 in debt.  Your new debt to credit ratio is now 28%.  By their standards it's not bad, but not as good as 14%, so they may lower your credit score.\n\nThat said....(that was your question?)...if it was me I'd go ahead and cancel them.  15 cards is crazy!  By wisely using those other 8 cards, you will easily restore your store within a few months.  If you have no plans to buy a car orhome soon, that would be my recommendation,.\n\nGo to www.myfido.com and read up on how credit scores are calculated.  Once you have educated yourself, you can examine your own situation and see if it's worth it.
327448
No but a credit score of less than 550 means you will have no chance getting a loan. Less than 620 will lead to you paying higher rates. 620 to 650 is average while above 650 is a very good score. Credit scores range from 375 to 900.\n\nYahoo! Finance offers a free credit score here.\n\nhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Credit_score
849651
If I just graduated from high school, I don't have credit history. How would that help College/University. For graduate school, may be. They want to know where you stand. Nowadays, everyone is using credit score for everything. Yesterday, WSJ had full page ad from a well known insurance company that sells life and auto insurance to state why we check your credit score before we decide your premium. Their study found that applicants with good credit score are better drivers. I don't know about better health. My credit score is in 800 and I have BP and high cholestrol. But I am not applying for any life insurance either.