Length of Time Held For Credit Cards

Stereo

Here's a quick question...

Does anybody know if the length of time that you've held credit cards for can have a positive effect on your credit score/profile? This appears to be the case in the USA, just wondered if anybody knew if it was the same over here with Experian, Equifax & Call Credit.

For example, it appears that people across the pond never close card accounts as it has a negative effect on their credit profile.

stephane_2

The longer you can show that you can manage a credit card account the better in the long run & no it's best to close down any unused accounts depending on your circumstances.

trikidy

You have to weigh up the pro's and con's of keeping a card open and closing it.
If a card has a high credit limit then it may work against you when applying for credit, as they take into account the amount of available credit you have. However closing the card could have an adverse effect.
All depends on the circumstances of yourself.

pvt

Stereo, The CRAs do not assess your credit worthiness. They just provide a historical database of information provided to them by your creditors.

CrossKing

I think that if you can show a year's worth of good credit history, anything beyond that becomes a little irrelevant - unless if you're applying for a mortgage or larger loan.

Re closing US credit cards, check out on YouTube what Suze Orman has to say about it. They system's different over there - but there are some similarities.