Canceling credit cards to get new ones

Swissie

Hi everyone,

I am new to this forum so apologies if I am posting in the wrong place, or if this is a repeated question (I have done research and failed to find an exact answer to my situation).

Ok so my situation is: I have about £4000 worth of credit available over 2 credit cards (Halifax £2400 and Natwest £1600). I don't use my Halifax credit card anymore and it is completely paid off and has been for about 2-3 months.

In September I will be relocating to Shanghai for about 6 months and therefore I need a credit card that offers 0% on purchases made abroad. The post office has a credit card specifically for this.

It is probably fair to say that my credit:income ratio is probably at its maximum, meaning I would not be able to get an additional credit card.

Basically, I want to cancel my Halifax credit card and get a Post Office credit card to use in Shanghai. However, I'm not really sure whether canceling a credit card affects your credit rating (like I said it is fully paid off).

Is there a way to go about this to lower the impact it has on my rating? I.e. would it be better to make a purchase off my Halifax credit card and then do a balance transfer through the Post Office? Or would this be worse than canceling and then applying?

Thank you greatly in advance and I really appreciate any advice. Sorry if this is a simple question with a simple answer.

m0ns00n

I'm not sure if cancelling a credit card has an adverse affect. My guess would be no.

Alternatively, you could certainly phone up one/both of the providers and ask them to lower your credit limit. This would lower your credit:income ratio.

Both options will still take a few months to have any effect though, so you should do this as far in advance of applying for the new card as you can.

Swissie

Great! Thanks a lot for your reply. I will probably try lowering my credit limit. By the looks of things it will certainly be difficult to apply for this credit card in time to go to Shanghai, especially if it takes a few months to take effect.

I take it my suggestion of making a purchase and applying for a balance transfer is not a good way to go about it then?