Best thing for unused credit cards?

mollygrub

Hi ... I wondered what I should do with unused credit cards please? Is it affecting my score badly even if the balance is zero? 
I have cleared a couple and wonder if I should now cancel them?
Many thanks you lovely forum members 

[Deleted User]

You don't have a score so don't worry about that, nobody but you sees the gimmick number which is akin to a horoscope 

It is a good idea to keep at least 2 cards, ideally one Mastercard, one Visa and/or one AmEx but at the very least, 1 from 2 different groups e.g. not just a Halifax and Lloyds in case one goes down. Spend on them every few months and pay in full and it establishes a good credit history (again, not score) which lenders will use to make decisions on future lending. I would only cancel them if you have good limits on other cards and they are really useless e.g. no BT offers, no cashback, there is no harm in having several open

mollygrub

Thanks for taking the time to reply... much appreciated 

binao

Keep them. I'm glad I did. 

After all, they don't take up much space.

Devongardener

I have 3 with zero balances,  and plan to keep them.  

Being  recently retired, I doubt I’d get any more with such high credit limits now, so I use each once a month and pay off in full to keep them live.  It’s good to know I have this credit available should I need it in the future.

mollygrub

I think that's my thought process too... thanks v much indeed 

brianposter

Given the unreliability of modern payment systems, if you are thinking of travelling outside Europe even 2 cards looks to be too few.

mollygrub

Thanks for the tip!