Old Cards - keep or cancel?

solfer

Hi folks,

When balance transferring, what's the general rule for keeping the 'old' card? I've got 2 or 3 credit cards that I never use after having used up their 0% rate and transferring away.

Should I cancel them? What effect does keeping or cancelling have on my credit score?

TIA
Sol

Bokkens

It shows against your score that you have xyz amount of credit available to spend and shows that you are a risk and new applications will take that into account and give you a lower credit limit, so the company has less risk.
Phone up the customer services for each old card and ask for 0% offer for say 9mths if you get it keep the card and use it to your advantage ,if they offer little or terms that are likely to be a cost to you close the card and go elsewhere.There are lots of other offers available so closing a card is not normally a problem.
If you have a poor credit rating/history then stay with the card you have until your rating improves as closing the card means you probably won't get another.

ericajones80

good advice Bokkens...I've called up customer service and have gotten extensions on offers before