Can you advise me on the best way to organise my credit?

MrsKrepsly

I currently have:

Capital One Classic (Credit limit of £1200, 34%apr) - Clear
Capital One Progress (Credit limit of £500, 26%apr) - Owe £280
Natwest (Credit limit of £500, 17%apr) - Owe £300
Next Store Card (Credit limit used to be £3800 but I asked them to lower it to £500 which they did, 26%apr) - Clear
Argos Store Card (Credit limit of £360, 29%apr) - Clear

Now, I've just been accepted for a Barclaycard platinum with a credit limit of £3500 (18%apr) so I think I can safely say I've broken through into mainstream. So, what should I do about my other cards? I want as polished credit rating as possible (planning to apply for a car loan next year) so I'll do whatever will look better on file.

I'm thinking of scrapping both capital one cards and just keeping:

Natwest, Barclaycard and the store cards. However am concerned it will 'look bad' that I have cancelled cards but surely it's better to have just the two rather than 4?

Would appreciate any advice on this.

Tixy

Doesn't look at all bad that you've closed down accounts you no longer require.
I'd close both of those capital one accounts.
I'd only keep the store cards if you think you might use them again and if they offer an incentive to use your card (ie if you get 10% off your purchases if you pay by store card), if not then there isn't any point in keeping them when both natwest and barclaycard have much lower APRs.

r1chscott

Settled accounts (which is what these cards would show as if you closed them) look great on credit reports, they show that you are being responsible with the money and kept the accounts in the way that they were supposed to be.

Obviously which cards to keep depends on your salary as whenever you are credit checked they will check the amount of available credit as well as the amount used. As the credit available is pretty low I would suggest keeping the Natwest and the Barclaycard and closing the others (unless you want to take advantage of offers as Tixy says).