Keeping hold of old cards

The_Boss

I am about to start stoozing for the first time. Now, usually there are numerous benefits of closing unused cards asap. But my two main cards - bmi MBNA card and Morgan Stanley card I have had for almost 3 and 5 years respectively as opposed to 4 others that I have tarted with and then closed. Would there be any benefit of keeping this cards open - or more to the point, would there be a negative effect on my credit score by other lenders by closing my longest accounts? I was going to close my Morgan Stanley Card in July after I have received my anniversary cheque.

HGLTsuperstar

Close MBNA now, and Morgan Stanley when you get your cashback; they may try and keep you - say you'll say for a fee-free 0% BT for 9/12!

bethyblue612

Ask MBNA what's the best BT rate they can give you BEFORE you close the account.

I got offered 0.9% for 6 months with a £35 capped fee AND they said I could put it directly into my current account.

Better than that though, I've just received my first statement since the BT and they'd charged me the full 15.9% rate, because the girl forgot to change the rate when she did the BT. Why is this good? Because when I phoned up to tell them, I didn't mention the rate that had been agreed, just that I was being overcharged, and they've put the rate down to 0% !!! :-)

nomoneytoday

I have 2 MBNA cards - they offer me cheap money every 7 months... stoooze time