Which cards shall I cancel?

gax23

Which cards should I cancel, if any? Obviously, the ones which aren't yet clear, I can't do much with until they are clear (that will be pretty soon, though).

CapitalOne - CLEAR - £200 limit - 35.6%
Barclaycard - £217.95 owing - £250 limit - 24.9%
Vanquis - CLEAR - £1,000 limit - 44.9%
Aqua - £789.93 owing - £1,150 limit - 29.9%

Should I cancel any of these, or keep them all?

matthewking26

A bit more detail about things might help. How long have they been clear? What's your credit rating like? Do you "need" them? What's your income? How long until the others are clear? Have you applied for any with reasonable interest rates, those seem very high.
My suggestion is get rid of the two that are clear (which will immediately improve your credit rating) then get rid of the other two once they're clear.
If your credit ratings any good apply for a 0% card, if not keep the one with the lowest apr (barclaycard) spend a bit on it each month but pay it off in full each month so you don't get charged interest, obviously get it down to 0 first
I'm sure someone more knowledgeable will be along soon!

sarymclary

I may be wong, and welcome anyone to point it out if I am, but I believed that for a bood credit rating score it was better to already have credit cards, than not.

I cleared quite a few of my cards when I sold my house, but kept the cards (not in my wallet, but locked away at home). I have since used them to 'tart' my outstanding balances around every few months. I have never used them for purchases since. I called my B.o.S. c/card this week to enquire what kind of special rates they could offer for a b/transfer, and got offered another 0% offer (or a life of balance of 6.95, which I am hoping to better elsewhere). In past 2 years I have also applied successfully for an A+L c/card, an Egg card, and am waiting to hear back about a Barclaycard I've applied for this week in the hope that I can get the 0% for 14months offer.

I have direct debits set up to keep payments on time, but I am not a big wage earner, and am convinced that it's due to having the other credit, and managing it well that has probably helped to get other cards to benefit from their offers. I currently juggle 4 cards with 0% balances, and have 2 'spares' available, which helps if I want to transfer outside MBNA for example as 2 belong to them, and 2 with LTSB.

gax23

matthewking26 wrote: »

A bit more detail about things might help. How long have they been clear? What's your credit rating like? Do you "need" them? What's your income? How long until the others are clear? Have you applied for any with reasonable interest rates, those seem very high.
My suggestion is get rid of the two that are clear (which will immediately improve your credit rating) then get rid of the other two once they're clear.
If your credit ratings any good apply for a 0% card, if not keep the one with the lowest apr (barclaycard) spend a bit on it each month but pay it off in full each month so you don't get charged interest, obviously get it down to 0 first
I'm sure someone more knowledgeable will be along soon!

Thanks for your reply!

They've been clear for a week or so. Credit rating is fair, as far as I'm aware. Missed a few payments a couple of years back when I was unemployed. Should have the others clear within 2 months. Haven't applied for more as I don't want any more debt and hope to clear the rest very shortly so not much point in a balance transfer.

I was under the impression that having available credit (not loads, obviously) and managing it well will improve the credit rating better than having none. I keep hearing conflicting opinion on this though.

dazza.mk

I'd keep Cap One for its ID Theft Protection + Free Cap One Identity Alert. (Although might be worthwhile asking if you can 'upgrade to Cap One PLatinum). And dump Vanquis.

You're right in that managing your credit well improves your credit history, however the 2nd issue is 'available credit' should you choose to apply for a new card etc., at the moment you've £2.6K available credit (ignoring outstanding balances) drop Vanquis and this will drop to £1.6K therefore some provider might be willing to offer you another card on a better deal with a £1K limit.

Similarly unless you are using the Vanquis card for a minimal purchase each month and paying off in full Vanquis might be reporting the account is unused to the Credit Agencies which won't necessarily help

gax23

Thanks dazza - That's great