Close old Card?

GadgetGuru

So I have 2 credit cards.
I generally use cards for 0% on purchases offers, and then switch cards and close them as the offer ends.
I always pay over the minimum required balance on the card, and clear it before the end of the 0% offer.
I have NEVER had any late payments etc on any cards.
I am mortgage free and have no other debts whatsoever.

So, currently I have:

Card 1 - Tesco Credit Card (MasterCard)
Have had this card for several years - possibly around 3-4 years.
£10,000 credit limit
Current balance is 0

Card 2 - Barclaycard (VISA)
Have had this card for a few months
£4,000 credit limit
Current balance is £400

I am keeping the BarclayCard for now since it has over a year left on the 0% purchases offer.
The Tesco card offer ended around 6 months ago and has had a £0 balance ever since - It is no longer used.

Normally I would close the Tesco card completely at this point. It's no longer used and not needed - even for emergencies. I'm quite good with finances and have other savings and investments that are easily available should I need the funds.

The way I understand it is if I were to open another MasterCard based credit card in future, the limit would be low since I already have £10,000 available on the Tesco Card, which is also a MasterCard, and they will take this into consideration?
Hence closing the Tesco card now would free up that MasterCard and in future when my BarclayCard offer comes to an end I can open another MasterCard with fresh credit, and a good credit limit.

However, I have heard closing a card could affect my credit rating? Is this correct?
I currently have a perfect credit score of 999, and I am keep to maintain this.

So should I just lock the card away and keep it, even though it will never be used, or just close?

[Deleted User]

If you only have the two, keep them both and consider another one or two.

You need backups and different cards will also offer different benefits for different situations. You would also benefit from showing that you are trusted by more than just two lenders.

IftiBashir wrote: »

I currently have a perfect credit score of 999, and I am keep to maintain this.

Don't worry about this, It's not a real score and it doesn't matter if it changes, as long as you are maintaining good credit history.

GadgetGuru

Thank you.
My concern is if I were to open a rewards card, for instance, and it turns out that card is by MasterCard, then do they take my current MasterCard credit into consideration and hence give me lower credit on the new card?

Or maybe I could have the Tesco card limit reduced right down and moved to a new MasterCard in future?

Willing2Learn

No. Don't reduce your credit limit as it might look to lenders that you are having financial difficulties...

I tend to think that 4 cards is the ideal amount as it means you use a different card each week, as this looks good on your credit file. Of course, you still need to pay of the full balances for each card every month for the maximum benefit.

[Deleted User]

IftiBashir wrote: »

Thank you.
My concern is if I were to open a rewards card, for instance, and it turns out that card is by MasterCard, then do they take my current MasterCard credit into consideration and hence give me lower credit on the new card?

Lenders will look at your existing credit in making a decision. It being a Mastercard is irrelevant.

No_6

so you have been on this site for 4 years
and you have learnt ??

Ben8282

IftiBashir wrote: »

Thank you.
My concern is if I were to open a rewards card, for instance, and it turns out that card is by MasterCard, then do they take my current MasterCard credit into consideration and hence give me lower credit on the new card?

Or maybe I could have the Tesco card limit reduced right down and moved to a new MasterCard in future?

MasterCard do not issue credit cards. The credit card provider does. It makes no difference if the card is mastercard or visa or amex and credit limits are not determined in the manner that you believe them to be. In fact, when you apply for a new card the new provider does not even know what type of cards (mastercard, visa, amex) the other cards that you hold are.
You cannot reduce a limit right down and have it moved to a new card in the future.
Your total available credit is already quite low. Reducing it at this point makes no sense. The fact that you already have a card with a £10,000 limit is a good sign and a new provider may well give you a similar limit. Reduce it and the new lender will see the low limit and match it with a low limit.
Also it is not good to keep closing accounts. Your oldest account is only 3-4 years old. Lenders like to see stability and old accounts look good and show that you have maintained the account without defaulting for years./decades. My oldest credit card account is something around 30 years old. Similarly, the higher the credit limit the better as it shows that you can be trusted with such limits.
Considering that you say you use credit cards to take advantage of 0% purchase offers and only make minimum payments for the duration of the offer, the balance on the Barclaycard is pretty low. You don't appear to be taking very much advantage of the current 0% offer ...