Was going to cancel credit card but account stability?

MrDerek

Hi, I was just about to cancel my unused credit card (1 of 3 I have currently), but the credit club on MSE shows amber under Account Stability with this explanation -

The average length of your financial relationships is less than six years. Remember, this isn’t just bank accounts, mortgages, loans and credit cards, it can include utilities, mobile phone contracts, broadband and more.

Stability is attractive to lenders, but it's a minor point, and on its own is unlikely to scupper your acceptance chances. So don't be too scared of switching if there are better deals out there. That's the point of having a good credit score – it enables you to apply for better and cheaper products.

is it worth keeping the card for longer to help improve this? I took it out initially for an 18mo 0% interest, now that's over I have no use for it. Got a new 0% card and also another for spending abroad.

I'm only 28 so not a lot I have that's over 6 years, been with my current account for 10 and I think that's all I have. Had a lot of new stuff recently, credit cards, finance on purchases, mortgage...

[Deleted User]

How old are the 3 cards?

Ben8282

Keep it open and use it from time to time.

mwarby

It's ultimately a trade off between account age and lower utilisation on the one hand, and a higher debt exposure on the other(lenders often look to see how affordable new credit would be, if you used all your existing credit too)

Young and lots of available credit may look worse to some lenders than older the advantage of long running (but largely dormant) accounts.

MSE_Chris

mwarby is right, it's difficult to say what lenders would prefer to see in regards to credit utilisation (amount of credit currently being used in relation to credit available). How do you score on credit utilisation in the club?


Account stability is unlikely to be the difference between a yes or a no when it comes to any applications so if you feel you've got too much available credit and looking to apply for more, I would recommend checking out our guide:


http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/credit-cards/cancel-unused-cards