Which card to close, if any of them

richy4

Bit of advice please:

I understand from other posts here and the MSE website amongst others, that to close down a credit card completely can have a negative impact upon credit score/report.

Currently I have 2 cards:
Nationwide select - £0 balance. Used as a back up, no 0% and no benefits. High credit limit and held for several years, so is a stable account. Sometimes put random purchases on here and pay off immediately.

Tesco bank - £3,000 balance. 0% till next month. High credit limit and held for last 20 months.

Out of the 2, I am tempted to get rid of the Tesco card as soon as the 0% purchases promo ends and I pay off the entire balance in one go, which was always my plan.

Is this the way to go? I would like to get another 0% purchases card before Christmas ideally and I am due to complete on a property purchase before end of this year, mortgage offer has been received but I am cautious that too many changes to my credit report will catch the attention of the mortgage lender in their final completion checks...

All advice welcome, thanks

[Deleted User]

I'd keep both, unless your income is particularly low.

What are your combined limits?

richy4

How long should I wait before making application for next 0% card? following property purchase would like to put some hefty purchases on the 0% if possible.

[Deleted User]

I'd give it 3 months, using that time to make sure you're on the ER.

pcman1985

Does your Nationwide Select not give you 0.5% cashback on purchases? Mine does. Keep both open, your credit limits are only about 20% of your income.

If you are after another card try Barclaycard. They seem to be pretty generous on limits and 0% periods.

richy4

Nationwide is an emergency card basically, I keep it as a back up and hardly ever use it. Only thought it useful to keep to show long relationship?

If I was to close the Tesco card as soon as the promo deal 0% ends, would this negatively affect a final check by my mortgage lender at completion? I'm guessing it wouldn't make or break my mortgage lender's decision, but I am of course cautious.

[Deleted User]

Probably not, but I wouldn't risk it when you only have a couple of cards.