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Information about paying off credit to improve credit rating and credit score - The Bills.com Blog
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Information about paying off credit to improve credit rating and credit score
Question: I have quite a few credit cards and either have low balances or will pay off the larger ones this week. If I cancel these cards after paying them off....does this hurt my credit rating?
Answer: Thank you for visiting Bills.com. Here is an answer to your Credit question.
This is a very good question. The quick answer is: it depends. If you are carrying zero debt,and you have high limits... it does not hurt to carry a small balance (keep in mind, that may cost you in interest and financing charges, so weigh any credit rating benefits against the actual cash flow costs incurred).
If, however, you are carrying large balances (over 50% of your limits)... you will want to pay them down asap to improve your credit.
For you, it is important to understand how your credit score is calculated. Your credit rating is calculated based on several variables,
including: your payment history (do you have any late payments, charge-offs, etc.), the amount and type of debt that you owe, if you have maxed out any of your trade lines, and then several other secondary factors like the length of your credit history and how many recent inquiries have been made to look at your credit history.
Therefore, if any of these cards have a very long (several years) history of never missing a payment, then you may want to keep them open just to support a strong
credit score.
Also, as an fyi, all items remain on your credit report for up to 7 years. A bankruptcy may remain on your credit report for up to 10 years.
These are a few of the considerations. If you would like more information, please visit our debt relief boot-camp at:
http://www.bills.com/guide/
We hope that this helped you to Find, Learn, and Save!
Best,
Bill
www.bills.com
Also, make sure to get a free financial health check-up with Bills IQ!
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