Too much available credit?

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grannyada
grannyada Posts: 2 Newbie
in Credit cards
I am now in a position where i have 3 credit cards with limits of £8K, £9K & £12K and a zero balance on all of them. 2 of the cards give me cashback and the other has a low rate balance transfer option.
What i am trying to work out is if having all this available credit actually harms my credit score and if i should close one of the accounts.
My income is around £50K and the only debt i have is a PCP on a £56K car

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  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 35,242 Forumite
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    You don't have a credit score. Just credit history.

    The card limits are unlikely to cause you much of an issue, although it depends if you are looking for further credit. The PCP could be more of an issue.
  • forgotmyname
    forgotmyname Posts: 32,552 Forumite
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    Paying my bills on time harmed my "score"

    Shows how useless it is.
    Censorship Reigns Supreme in Troll City...

  • Penelopa.Pitstop
    Penelopa.Pitstop Posts: 1,145 Forumite
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    Just keep the cards in case you ever need them. If you put some balance on them, then your debt to available credit will be low. I keep number of empty cars with high limits and don't see a problem with it.
  • grannyada
    grannyada Posts: 2 Newbie
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    Thanks all for the replies, i guess my worry is that having them will affect my ability to get a card with a better deal when one comes around
  • Anthorn
    Anthorn Posts: 4,362 Forumite
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    grannyada wrote: »
    I am now in a position where i have 3 credit cards with limits of £8K, £9K & £12K and a zero balance on all of them. 2 of the cards give me cashback and the other has a low rate balance transfer option.
    What i am trying to work out is if having all this available credit actually harms my credit score and if i should close one of the accounts.
    My income is around £50K and the only debt i have is a PCP on a £56K car

    Swings and roundabouts: Your credit utilisation is very low and that's good. But if your available credit is equal to or more than your annual income this could flag you as a risk. But then again why would you need more credit when you already have credit available which is unused. Then again, you might want for example a 0% car loan which is refused because you already have credit which equals or is greater than your annual income.

    Get my drift?

    My golden rule is that if I have available credit which I don't need I close it with the exception of a bank overdraft facility. Then if I need credit in the future I apply for new credit.
  • Nebulous2
    Nebulous2 Posts: 5,116 Forumite
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    grannyada wrote: »
    Thanks all for the replies, i guess my worry is that having them will affect my ability to get a card with a better deal when one comes around


    I'm not very good at closing cards. I've had over my salary in available credit for many years and at times I've been up to twice my salary. I've never had a problem getting additional cards.
  • Samsung_Note2
    Samsung_Note2 Posts: 774 Forumite
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    Anthorn wrote: »
    Swings and roundabouts: Your credit utilisation is very low and that's good. But if your available credit is equal to or more than your annual income this could flag you as a risk. But then again why would you need more credit when you already have credit available which is unused. Then again, you might want for example a 0% car loan which is refused because you already have credit which equals or is greater than your annual income.

    Get my drift?

    My golden rule is that if I have available credit which I don't need I close it with the exception of a bank overdraft facility. Then if I need credit in the future I apply for new credit.

    But wouldn't closing accounts with available credit as not used,then put you in using majority of available credit ?
  • foxy-stoat
    foxy-stoat Posts: 6,879 Forumite
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    grannyada wrote: »
    Thanks all for the replies, i guess my worry is that having them will affect my ability to get a card with a better deal when one comes around

    I wouldnt worry about that as you have 3 cards, all with good limits that you are not using - why would you need another card with a better deal?
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