Closing down 1 CC to open another?

fRostiE86

Hi,

seems like a simple/daft question but I've only ever had one proper credit card and never needed anything more.

Currently have a Tesco CC which had an attractive 0% period for a number of months. That's long since passed and I continued to use it for the bulk of spending out of convenience.

I'm wanting to shut this CC down, and then open a new one with another attractive 0% period. There's no outstanding balance to switch, so its purely 0% period I'm looking for.

Is there a process one should follow to do this kind of thing? Pay it off, phone them up, cut up the card and then move onto another provider?

Short of being without a Credit Card for a period of time are there any other complexities or credit related issues that should be considered?

Do people normally keep their existing card and open a new one and then just shift their habitual spending onto the new card? Is closing old CC accounts down best practise or frowned upon in any way?

Basically any help or advice in and around this area would be much appreciated. I know where i want to get to but its the fiddly switch-over bit that is the grey area in my head!

Thanks in advance

[Deleted User]

If it's your only card, I wouldn't close it. Just apply for another and keep both live, by using at least one regularly and the other from time to time.

Unless you're on a very low income compared to your limit, you're a long way from needing to worry about having too many accounts.

benten69

I did this when I moved banks. Quite simple. Set up the new card, when it arrived I started using it and stopped using the old one. Paid the final bill on the old one and got the balance to £0.00

Once it was paid I called the old bank and asked them to close the account. Done!

No need to keep 2 cards open if you only need 1. Just gives more temptation to spend money you may not have.

MallyGirl

I would retain the old one and pop the odd transaction through to keep it active if you have had it a few years. One of the pieces of info on your credit history is the length of time you have held your longest credit card. I keep one that I have had for years, with DD set to pay in full, for this reason. It has a monthly recurring item on it so there is always activity (without any effort)

fRostiE86

Thanks all,

The average length of credit relationships was going to be a follow up question. Makes sense to keep this one alive with a recurring cost and direct debit to keep it ticking along in the background.

Thank you