Should I cancel my card?

djwoody

Hi.
I have a 0% Barclaycard that I have had for 18 months now and the rate has come to an end, with a Nil balance.
As I have received a new Tesco 0% card, should I cancel my Barclaycard or keep it active?
The credit limits are:
Barclaycard - £6500
Tesco - £5700.

Many thanks
Chris

djwoody

Malcnascar wrote: »

I regularly take 0% purchases cards. I always cancel the card after the 0% rate ends. This allows me to rotate the cards over time. I have found that I normally qualify for preferential terms if I have not been a customer for at least 12 months. I rotate Tesco, Sainsburys, Barclaycard and Marks and Spencer cards

Do you need to write a letter to cancel the card?

I read that closing down cards all the time can have a negative impact on your credit score, as you are staying with the bank for such a short time.

YorkshireBoy

Reasons for keeping:
1. One is Visa (I believe?), one is MasterCard. Could be useful as a backup if Tesco is declined due to a MasterCard system failure.
2. You may need a BT offer in future. Barclaycard make me a new offer once per month.


Reasons for closing:
1. Your income may not 'support' a total of £12K+ of credit limit, so you may be declined other credit products in future.
2. You'd need to keep checking Barclaycard for fraudulent transactions, CPAs, etc, especially if you're 'paperless'.


I'm sure there are more reasons for each. What have you come up with yourself?

YorkshireBoy

djwoody wrote: »

Do you need to write a letter to cancel the card?

Closure method is detailed in your T&Cs.

djwoody

YorkshireBoy wrote: »

Reasons for keeping:
1. One is Visa (I believe?), one is MasterCard. Could be useful as a backup if Tesco is declined due to a MasterCard system failure.
2. You may need a BT offer in future. Barclaycard make me a new offer once per month.


Reasons for closing:
1. Your income may not 'support' a total of £12K+ of credit limit, so you may be declined other credit products in future.
2. You'd need to keep checking Barclaycard for fraudulent transactions, CPAs, etc, especially if you're 'paperless'.


I'm sure there are more reasons for each. What have you come up with yourself?

Thanks for that.
Well I'm pretty sure I wouldn't need more than £5700 so it's probably best for me to cancel the Barclaycard.
My income isn't 'great' so cancelling that card will hopefully enable me to apply for another card in 18 months when my Tesco rate ends.