Keep or Close ?

-1-

I have 2 Credit Cards both that I have transfered the balance elsewhere.

Now I have the 2 cards with £14k & £9,500 credit limits, both with zero on the card.

Credit record / score-wise, is it best to keep them with zero balance or best to close them ?.

NickX

I would keep them - those are nice limits which you may not get again if re-applied in the current economic climate.

denvore

Sorry if I'm butting in on your thread, but I'm in a very similar situation. Got a couple of cards with a handy limit on, but don't use.

If I decide to keep them, is it worth spending a minimul amount on them each month just to keep them active?

skyrider007

denvore wrote: »

If I decide to keep them, is it worth spending a minimul amount on them each month just to keep them active?

Yep. Just charge the cost of your petrol or grocery on each one and set up a full amount DD.

bigbloke45

-1-, you say you have transferred the balance elsewhere; this means you still owe the money. If you keep these credit cards, will you be tempted to use them again before you have cleared the original debts? If you think so, then bin them straight away!

Good luck.

HamiltonL

Call up the retentions departments and ask if they can offer you a deal to keep the account open. Anything from BT's to vouchers. Some companies will send you out stuff or add offers just for keeping the account open for a short period, even with null activity. Then it's a win-win situation.

Bismarck

NickX wrote: »

I would keep them - those are nice limits which you may not get again if re-applied in the current economic climate.

Or have to build up slowly...the current climate has no guarantees of fresh limits.

It boils down to trust and confidence. Can you trust yourself not to have moments of weakness and use the limits to stick a rope around your neck and do you trust yourself to keep the cards safe?

Having limits available is crucial to getting good deals for shuffling....less so if your slate is clean. The worst place to be is sat at the end of your limit with nowhere to transfer the debt as a fixed offer ends.

-1-

Thanks all.

I won't use the cards if they are kept open.

I wasn't sure if it was best to have CC's on my credit score or not to have any at all.

I have had a friend in the past declined something because they didn't have a credit history, they paid everything on time and have a good wage.

So I know I won't use the cards, it's best to keep them open then ?.

Or maybe close the £9.5k & keep the £14k card ?.

I did transfer some of the balance but it shouldn't be long until that is cleared also.

vbrindle

It all depends on what debts you have on the other cards.

I'd say make sure you have enough credit on cards to shift debt from other cards, just in case they decide to increase the rates. If you feel you don't need all this credit then you may as well close one card at least.

As for your credit file, I've checked with experian and this is what it says in the summary (I've replaced my figures with x):

You have £x of available credit (excluding mortgages)

* You have £x of outstanding debt (excluding mortgages and defaults)

* You are using x% of your available credit

* You have x credit accounts (including settled accounts)

* You have 0 accounts overdue

* You have missed 0 repayments in the last year

* Your credit report has been viewed x times in the last 3 months and x times in total over the last year

* You have 0 public information records

* You have 0 aliases and/or financial associations

* You have been at your current address for x years x months

* You are on the electoral roll at your current address

* You have 0 notice of correction on your credit report

I think the main thing that affects your credit rating is the number of searches used for credit card applications (ie. you may look desperate) and the percentage of available credit you that you have used (in my case 75%)

Hope this helps.