Unused credit cards - should I cancel or keep?

Econo-miser

Before I ever discovered this wonderful website, I always tried to take advantage of credit cards offering 0% deals, special offers, discounts, moneyback etc, so I have 15 (omg - didn't realise how many till I just counted ) obtained over the past 5 or 6 years, of which only two are in regular use. Some of the cards I haven't used for a time have written to me with incentives to use the cards, such as 0% balance transfers or 0% on purchases so it's tempting to just keep them in case they offer me special deals. Should I write and cancel the ones I'm not using or should I use each of them occasionally just to keep them active? Thanks in advance for your comments

UK007BullDog

Well, if you do not use the others then get rid of them by cancelling by registered mail and you want confirmation they are cancelled and not dormant. If someone were to get their hands on your pile of cards just think of the damage which could be done by them.

Also you might have a problem later getting a loan or another card as you already have so much readily available credit to hand. Plus some cards now charge a fee at year end for NOT using their cards. I would get rid of at least 12 of the cards you have. Lighten the load and the responsibilities of having them.

rover2

Why not get rid of them all and follow martins advice and get the egg money card which pays you back 1% of your spending.

emma396

yes, close most of them and just keep the ones you are actually using. i closed 2 egg cards recently and some store cards i'd forgotten that i had.

Paul_Herring

If you're not actualy usng them, or they have special offers (in which case you'd be using them...) then close them. <insert credit references/score arguement here>

Beware of the balance transfer offers however, they will likely be non-fee free (i.e. in reality not 0%)

dc

I am in the same boat as OP, but for quite a few more years. Accumulated by playing the shuffle.

I don't bother to cancel unless they have become really poor value to my lifestyle. This has never prevented me from being accepted for new cards with attractive/advantageous offers. Credit limits regularly get increased, (presumably for good payment history), eg I cannot understand why Barclaycard are reducing limits for some worried folks, as I have 3 on which limits were increased recently.

A big advantage of having different cards from one "stable" is that they usually let you move limits between cards or let you close one then open another to get a better/newer card or deal.

Also they are useful to keep as a card customer base changes they offer, sometimes difficult to refuse incentives, to " come back", eg I got 4000 MBNA points worth £20 for just one £25 spend in MAY on a card that had not been used for 2 years and only then for a 0% no fee long BT. Shades of Quidco.

Each card can become useful for specific things, (though the true 0% BT seems to have sadly ended), eg Asda for petrol, Nationwide and Amex for foreign spend, Tesco or Sainsburyfor points and financial offers, BMI for airmiles and so on. Having a number of current accounts in the different bank regimes also helps to keep the cards happy left dormant, pending re-use . eg say RBS HBOS A&L, Nationwide etc.

ad44downey

no, don't cancel them. flog them at a car boot sale and get a few quid.

Econo-miser

Thanks for your comments and advice - I will cancel a couple of the unused ones but as dc says, some cards come back with good offers (M&S regularly offer points bonuses just for using the card) so I'll keep the ones with good deals.