To close accounts or not?

otleymorgan

Hi,

I have a credit card that is nearly paid off, and store cards and credit accounts I've paid off and no longer use.
I'm not going to use any of these accounts again, so should I close them officially or just leave them open but don't spend? Or is it good to spend a small amount occassionally then pay it off in full?
I have an OK credit rating but would like to improve it as much as possibly so in a few years we can get a larger house and a bigger mortgage.

Thanks in advance. Hopefully this is in the right place?

Tixy

If these are your only lines of unsecured credit I would keep at least one of the credit cards open and use it for one or 2 things a month and then pay off in full each month. This helps keep an active credit history for lenders to see you can handle credit repsonsibly.

Don't leave lots of unused credit accounts open - it could potentially put you at a greater risk of fraud (or of not spotting if someone is using one of your accounts fraudulently). Anything you are certain you won't use close down.

otleymorgan

Thanks that's great.
I have a mortgage and 2 years left on my car finance and haven't missed a payment at all.

I think I'll close everything apart from 1 credit card then.