I have 3 credit cards, 1 I use frequently, 1 I use rarely, and the third one I don't even use at all.?

Question

Should I cancel/turn off the one I don't use at all or would it help my credit score to keep it???

Answer 1

It helps your credit score/credit history to keep all three.  Try to use all three periodically.  

Do not close accounts.

Answer 2

Generally speaking your credit is built off of showing you can hold a credit line problem free for a long period of time. So if you pay off your cards every month and don't close them, you can build your score up long term. Supposedly closing an account temporarily affects your score but I honestly don't know how true that really is. Also, you will want to not max out your cards, so if you don't pay off your cards every month, you may want to spread your debt across multiple cards to have lower balances. The key to a higher score is simply proving you have a long term history of good credit management, and that includes having credit cards you never use.

Answer 3

it would hurt your score to cancel it.  The more available credit you have the better.  Plus having it for a long time helps too.

Answer 4

Owners of high credit scores have credit they don't use.    Owners of high credit scores have long relationships w/ the same creditors

Answer 5

15% of your FICO scores depend on length of credit and they use the time when you opened your oldest account currently not closed. Plus closing unused cards tends to hurt your debt to credit ratio. If you have too much credit and want to close down a few cards, make sure to keep the 2 oldest ones open. If you close the old accounts even if you dont used them,  you will loose points as the length of your open credit is now reduced.

I have a card since 2000 with limit of $500 (those idiots never increased my limit) which I use once a year to keep it alive. The only reason I have this card is because most of my cards are in 2003 and 2004 and some in 2006 which I usually use. FICO scores calculate the length of my credit to be 8 years old. If I cancel it, it would be 2003 (next oldest account open) so I loose 3 years which will not look good.

Since you have 3 cards, I wouldn't close any of them. The one you don't use, use it sparingly once every 6-12 months. I had one of my Target visa cards closed by them because i didn't use it for 13 months.  go figure!

Answer 6

Do not cancel the credit card you do not use.  You should periodically use it to keep it active.  Your credit score in part is based on how much you owe in relation to the total of all your credit lines.  The lower the debt to credit line ratio is, the better off you are.