Credit exposure vs. utilisation

Amblikai

Hi everyone, i have a question i was hoping could be answered here.

Essentially i have ~5 credit cards all with quite high limits, which add up to a really high amount of credit exposure. I've just managed to pay off an additional one so now 3 of those cards have 0 balance.


I'm hoping to get an offer soon on one of the "empty" cards so that i can BT from the last 2 onto one of them.

My question is, should i close one or more of the empty cards?
In other words, what looks better on your credit profile, having a high total credit limit with low utilisation, or a higher utilisation with lower "exposure"/total limit.

I'm not sure if those are the correct terms, i hope what i'm asking makes sense.
Thanks for your help!

binaryuniverse

As always, it depends on the individual lender. However, the former of your two options is usually the most preferable. But some lenders may see it as having too much credit already. The latter tends to suggest you've maxed your limits and desperate for more credit. But if you don't have much total, they may decide to let you have a card.

I currently have 6 cards with nil balance, on them. I tend to stick a transaction on them now and then to keep the card showing payments made on time, or keeping it active, and such. Though I may close a couple.

Just show you can manage having large amounts of available credit and you'll be fine.

Amblikai

Thanks very much for your reply. I think i was leaning towards that option. I should see the utilisation drop significantly in my next credit report, i'll see what effect it has.