Should I cancel either of these cards?

tiggy90

I'm looking to strengthen my credit score in anyway necessary.

I have 2 credit cards at the moment both are currently fully paid off:

I've had the Santander around 4/5 years and the Halifax about 18 months.

Halifax 0% Balance Transfer Card (£3000 credit limit)
Santander Credit Card (£4000 credit limit)

Santander card I wish to keep as I get cash back for shopping, fuel etc. I do day to day spending on this and pay it off in full monthly.

The Halifax card I got around 18 months ago to do a balance transfer for around £2500 of credit I had used on my santander card, This fully cleared my santander card however I have used it since each month and paid off in full any balance to generate some cash back.

The halifax card I had at 0%(balance transfer) and paid off all the debt a fewmonths ago prior to any interest being charged. Due to lack of cash back I don't really have much incentive to use this card, i force myself to use it periodically and immediately pay off the balance again.

Now I'm thinking I want to retain my santander card and close the account on my Halifax card. Will this negatively affect my credit rating?

I'll be going from around £7k of credit down to £4k. Currently at most in a month I utilise around 10% of my available credit which is paid off, if I was to close halifax I'd utilised close to 20% on average which is then paid off each month.

I have no need to use the credit card really I'm just trying to maintain some kind of footprint.

Not sure if its worth leaving the halifax open and using it periodically or just closing it down and continue with just the Santander? Just not sure if the history I lose of repayments will have more of a negative impact.

[Deleted User]

Keep both. You only have two cards and your limits are low.

Consider getting another as a back up or for different purposes - eg forex. Use them at least occasionally and clear in full each month.

System

No real benefit to cancelling any card to be honest (outside of America, Chase have a 5/24 rule). In the UK there is no such thing.

OA234

I suggest keeping your card. As has been pointed out, your credit limit is low and you have you have only 2 cards.


Also, this is not pouted in the media, but, the age of your credit accounts, (credit cards, etc) contributes your Experian (and, I believe Equifax and Noddle) score.

So, at the moment, you will not be doing yourself any harm to leave the cards open.

Craig1981

keep them both open - shows potential lenders you are responsible with available credit

wont have an impact on your score, as score is fictitious - lenders cannot see this and dont use it in any assessments