Should you cancel credit cards with no balances

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READER QUESTION

Is it better for me to cancel credit cards with no balances on them, or keep them open?

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Bills.com Resident Expert
Dec 12, 2011
BILL'S ANSWER

The answer to your question depends on several factors, such as whether or not you have used the accounts in the past, if you have a good payment history with the creditors, and how much available credit you currently have on the accounts. If you have used the cards and have maintained a good payment history with the creditors, you may want to keep the accounts open, as accounts with long positive payment histories have a beneficial influence on your credit score. However, if you have never used the accounts, thus never established a payment history, it is possible that the open accounts could be weighing down your credit score. Having too much available credit tends to make you look like more of a risk to lenders, as you could potentially put yourself in financial trouble in a very short time.

For more information about credit reports, credit scoring, and what they mean to you, I encourage you to visit the Bills.com Credit Resources page, available at http://www.bills.com/credit/.

I hope this information helps you Find. Learn. Save.

Best,

Bill

www.bills.com/

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