Paid off all credit cards, what is better for my credit? Too keep one and not use it or dont have any at all?

Question

It doesnt matter either way, to have one and not use it or to not have any credit cards at all. I havent used any credit cards for 4 or so years so its not like i would be tempted to charge it up again. I just need to know what would be more benificial to my credit.

Answer 1

Good for you.  Now keep one to use for emergencies or relatively small purchases.  Get a debit credit card from your bank to use, if you don't want to use checks or cash.  Interest is charged on the balance of a credit card, while a debit card has no interest charge. You are using your own money.

Answer 2

Closing credit accounts actually harm your credit. You should leave it alone. If you are tempted easily to use it, cut it up now and forget about it. You should keep an eye on your credit report to be safe as well. Your credit score is most commonly determined by your available credit to debt level.

Answer 3

If you cancel any card you have now, that will be used against you as far as credit rating.

Answer 4

We paid off all ours...however, it was best to keep one.  We found out you have a hard time even getting a rental car or vacation rental without one....even though everything is paid off.      They use one for verification you are you.....I know sounds stupid but they don't want a debit or credit card that is connected with your bank account.

Answer 5

cat is right. The longer you keep cards and the greater the credit amount the better your rating will be. It is all the things that hurt a rating that you have to be careful of. Things like late payments and frequency of credit refrences and checks.

Answer 6

actualy everone so far that has answered is correct. Keep the 4 cards opened and do not close any as closing hurts scores as well. just spend what you can pay off monthly

Answer 7

The ratio of credit limit and how much of the limit you have used is what your credit is based on. Higher the limit and none of it used is excellent

Answer 8

Keep one credit card and use all the time to buy stuff but make sure that you always pay it off on time and that will increase your credit rating

Answer 9

You should keep one and use it, but pay it off regularly. That will show that you can make payments on time and boost your credit rating.

Answer 10

keep one or two, but not more than than. Too many can lower your score.

Answer 11

i think u should keep 1 just so it looks good

Answer 12

You will have an excellent credit rating the more credit cards you have. That is how credit rating is gaged. keep one

Answer 13

keep one but only use it 2 or 3 times amonth. like a chocolate bar here or lunch there. and then pay it off every month will keep your credit up but not break the back

leave it in the freezer and the 1st of everymonth use it on a couple things then pay it off the next day.

Answer 14

You will have an excellent credit rating the more credit cards you have.  That is how credit rating is gaged.

Answer 15

Keep two or three, and choose the "oldest" ones. The credit score is based on a debt to available credit ratio, so you want at least one. The idea behind keeping the oldest cards, is it shows that you have (or maybe you haven't) been financially responsible for a long time. Also, make sure you pay it off ON TIME. It's not the end of the world if you don't pay it off in full every month, you'll just be accruing finance charges. Whether you want to pay 10-25% interest every month is a slightly different topic. But definitely keep at least one.

Answer 16

It seems you have a handle on your finances!!! Congratulations.  I would utilize ONE credit card thusly.. ...  Occcassionaly charge something but pay it off within the 30 day period.  The major benifit to your credit is keep it clean.  I believe you know what you are doing.  Buy whatever but pay off before the interest is added on.  When you do charge something pay it early and you will always have an excellent credit rating.  God Bless

Answer 17

I had a HSBC credit card and didn't use it for 2 years so HSBC closed the account which lowered my credit score.

If you close the card or report it lost or stolen it still goes against your score. Which I think is ridiculous.

So, your best bet is to keep them and use it every once in awhile. Just to show some type of activity.

Answer 18

Here are some great things to know about your credit:

1.  Your credit score drops if you have a balance on a credit card that is more than 50% of the credit limit.  If your credit limit is $1,000 - keep the balance under $500.

2.  If you ever go over your credit limit on a card, your credit score will drop.

3.  Opening a lot of new credit accounts can be viewed as a liability.  Banks want to see that you have had revolving credit accounts for a steady and lengthy period of time.  

If you've had a card for a long time but don't want to use it, don't cancel the card.  Simply cut the card up and put it in a ziplock bag.  Put the card in a safe or lock box.  The longer you have that account open the better, and if it's cut up, you can't use the card - you win on both sides!

Answer 19

keep one and make monthly payment on time. dont use the card! and choose the one with the lowest intrest rate

Answer 20

if you close the account you loose the transaction history which raises your credit score. your best corse of action would be to simply cut up the cards and keep the accounts open. as for how many to use, thats up to you

Answer 21

It's good to have unused credit at you're disposal,  but having to much credit(money) at you're disposal, is considered to be a credit risk, plus every time you apply for a credit card, that goes against you're credit, keeping one card with a decent limit is good for you're credit, use it every once in awhile, but pay it off that month, this will also help you're credit  Hope this helps,  I went from bad credit to a 740

Answer 22

you should have no more than 3 under your name.  just be sure that you use them and pay them off monthly to help increase your credit worthiness and rating.

Answer 23

You are better off keeping a few of the older ones to show you've had a long credit history.  Having too much open credit actually can work against your credit score because people looking at the report will see you have a lot of available open credit to get yourself into.

Answer 24

keep one

Answer 25

Def keep one and use it sparingly. You never know when an emergency can happen, plus buying things on credit can have some advantages.

Answer 26

Keep one and buy gas once a month on it.  If you don't use it, it won't boost your rating because it won't show that you have a good monthly payback history (paying more than the min).  But, not having one at all is worse, because it is like not having any credit (which in the eyes of a lender = bad risk for not enough information).  

No credit is better than bad credit, but barely.

Answer 27

Keep at least one and USE IT (responsibly); that's the only way your rating will improve.

Answer 28

You should probably close all but one or two.  Do not do it all at one time. Close one and then a month or two later close the next one. Use the one you keep from time to time. Maybe charge something (that you have the cash to pay for) and then pay it off in two months.  Do that from time to time and it will keep your credit score high.

Answer 29

Let the card expire on its own without using it again. Time, while waiting for that enjoy what you got  and build your savings up until your ready for another large purchase then use your credit, repeat.....

Answer 30

best thing to do would be to open up a checking account and get a debit card with it. This way the money comes directly from your account, and you do not owe anything.

I always recommend carrying one of these around just in case of emergencies...

Hopefully you ain't one of those impulsive buyers...

Answer 31

keep one or two i was told by my financial adviser when i was fixing my credit to do that use it not a lot but enough to where you can pay it off every month. that will keep your score up.