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Is it worth closing my crdit card accounts?

Over the last few years I have taken out several credit cards to take advantage of the 0% balance transfer and 0% purchase charge to pay for house and car insurance to avoid paying monthly. I now have a situation whereby I have several credit cards which I don't use and will take out a new one when the 0% rate finishes. Is it worth cancelling these cards or will it affect my credit rating? I have a further three cards which I use regularly.
Thanks :)

Comments

  • If you have no further use for them, and you're planning on making any immediate applications for credit, then you could close a few of them.

    I'd keep at least three of four, depending on what they offer.

    As long as the limits are still substantial (and current balances are low), it's not likely to make any significant difference to how lenders see you.

    To answer your specific question, it will drop your CRA scores but that's fine, because they're not used in credit decisioning.
  • T-G-C
    T-G-C Posts: 591 Forumite
    500 Posts
    Like the first poster said, if you feel like they could be of use in the future, keep them, otherwise close whichever one has no further purpose to you.

    It should not impact a credit application, as long as the records for those accounts are clean, as this is what the computer will focus on during a decision assessment, rather than dwelling on the fact that they are closed.
    Advice provided from this account does not consist of any professional knowledge. For professional debt advice, please contact either National Debtline or StepChange. Advice may consist of personal experience, opinion and/or informational sources.
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