Keep old credit card?

pinknsparkly

Hi all,

My husband has two credit cards with the same lender - one is an old 0% credit card that is no longer interest free and the other is 2 year+ 0% interest free purchase one that we are currently using for stoozing.

Given that he will have held this new card for over 2 years by the time he next applies for a credit card, is there likely to be much benefit to his credit history in him also holding onto the older credit card (he's had it a little over 3 years, so will be around 5.5 years when he'll next be applying)? If there is then we can certainly ensure that we use it once a month to keep it active, but if there's not likely to be much benefit then it's one less thing to do each month

Thanks!

[Deleted User]

How many other cards does he have?

I wouldn't drop below three or four, nad don't close anything shortly before applying for further credit.

pinknsparkly

Hi zx81. These are the only credit cards he has (and has ever had) - so two credit cards in total. We opened the first one for him specifically to build up some credit history a few years prior to applying for a mortgage as up to that point that he had no credit history beyond an overdraft on a student account. If it was advisable to close the older card then I would do it soon rather than leaving it until close to the time of wanting to apply for another one in a couple of years time.

[Deleted User]

Keep them both and consider getting at least one more from a different provider.

pinknsparkly

Lovely, thanks so much zx81. Presumably making a single purchase on the older card (and new one if he applies for a third) each month and paying it off in full via direct debit is sufficient?

[Deleted User]

Yes - not even that frequently will be fine. Three of four times a year will be enough to keep them ticking over.

pinknsparkly

Thanks zx81, that's very helpful - I'm glad I asked the question!