Balance Transfers

Lawzy73

Hi everyone,

I'm doing my best to clear my credit card balances, and I make use of the 0% balance transfers on offer.

I have a question... When I shift my balances to another 0% deal, when my current 0% period is ready to expire, is it better to close those accounts or leave them open?  I will never use them again and have in fact destroyed the cards.  

What's the best thing to do???

Thanks.

Ebe_Scrooge

Well on the one hand, long-established lines of credit that have been well-managed reflect positively on your credit history.  But if you're not going to use the card again, you may as well close it (it'll get closed by the lender anyway after approximately a year of inactivity).

There is an argument to say that a closed card is a slight negative on your credit history, but in reality it's neither here nor there as long as it's only once every so often.

Just a word of advice - balance transfers are a great way of reducing the interest you pay, but you must never rely on being able to obtain another one.  If things turn sour in the financial landscape at some point in the future, there's every possibility that lenders will dramatically reduce the availability of, or increase the cost of, credit facilities.

Alex9384

You can keep old cards, set up a direct debit for full amount each month and just use those cards at least once a month for a coffee or something small. It's useful to have direct debits on some current accounts which pay you rewards for that, and also you'll get an additional green tick every month on your credit history after your CC bill was paid by the direct debit. So why not. Using multiple credit cards will build you better history than using just one card, as long as all of them are managed well (no late/missed payments, no maxing them out, no ATM withdrawals etc.)

Brie

Wondering about the line about cards closing after a year of non use.  Haven't used my Barclaycard for about 4 years now and it's still available apparently.  Maybe it depends on the company? 

Belenus

You may be interested in a thread I started on this subject a few months ago.  I received conflicting advice.

My credit cards were purely for stoozing and not for debt reduction.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6404024/should-i-close-credit-cards-used-just-for-stoozing#latest

Alex9384

Brie said:

Wondering about the line about cards closing after a year of non use.  Haven't used my Barclaycard for about 4 years now and it's still available apparently.  Maybe it depends on the company? 

Have you tried if it's actually still working? 

fergie_

Not always the case but if you leave an account open with a clear / low balance, often they will offer more balance transfer offers in the future.