Should I cancel John Lewis card?

Headieboy

Around 2 years ago I bought a television from John Lewis but to get it on interest free credit I had to open an account with them which it turned out meant a John Lewis branded Mastercard credit card.

The credit for the television was paid off within 6 months & I already had a Barclaycard Platinum Visa card so for the last 18 months or so there's been nothing outstanding on the John Lewis card. I'm now thinking of taking a bank loan for a newer car & wondered what the wisdom is with having this extra card that I never use? Would any new lender hold the fact that I have both a Visa card and a Mastercard against me? I've never missed a payment on any credit I've had in the last 15 years.

Thanks in advance.

InsideInsurance

What outstanding balance is there on the Barclaycard? What is the limit on the two cards?

There are three considerations....

1) How much do other lenders trust you - ie what other limits do you have and bigger is better

2) Affordability - ie can you afford both the loan and your credit cards if you were to max them out

3) Utilization - what percentage of your current limits are you using

The "problem" is that you have conflicting considerations, 1 & 3 says that unused limits, especially if they are large, are good for your file where as 2 says that closing them are better.

Inevitably you thus need to bring in the other considerations around affordability such as your income etc. Plus different lenders have different preferences and so apply different weightings.