Closing Credit Card Accounts

Abbiss16

Hi, I’m looking for some guidance.

I'm currently in the process rebuilding my credit score after years of debt and I am very close to paying off everything I have on credit. 

I have 3 credit card accounts, one with zero balance and one almost paid off.

My question is would it benefit me and my credit score to close these accounts or leave them open with a zero balance, as I’m reading conflicting advice relating to this.

Many Thanks 

[Deleted User]

If you only have three cards, keep them all.

Any impact on your credit score is irrelevant. Just ensure you use at least one of them in a regular basis.

[Deleted User]

Lenders do not see your "score" they make judgements based on the data on your file, regardless of what your score is, your past history of debt will always count against you. Use the 2 cards without balance every month for normal spending, pay them off in full by direct debit every month and do that for a couple of years and you'll be in a much better position long term for future credit needs

blue.peter

Whatever you do, I'd recommend keeping at least two credit cards - one MasterCard and one Visa, preferably issued by banks other than the one(s) with which you hold your current account(s). This is for resilience: banks and card payment processors occasionally have system outages, so it's helpful to have a backup available. Also, banks have been known to lock people out of their accounts, e.g., if their systems flag a transaction as possibly suspicious. It can take a while for them to unlock them, even if you've done nothing wrong.

Also, don't just leave cards open but unused. If you do that, the issuers will eventually mark the accounts as dormant and, later, maybe close them altogether. It's best to keep them ticking over by putting a small transaction through each month. But do make sure that you pay them off in full every month - a DD is the simplest way of doing this. Regular borrowing and repayment will help your credit history.