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aliwnec10
mom of 3 boys
Member since 4/06 11426 total posts
Name:
Ali
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Closing credit cards... is it true?
I heard once that closing your credit card accounts can actually hurt your credit.
Is that true?  I find this hard to believe...
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Posted 4/28/08 1:02 PM  |
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jklein1323
LIF Adolescent
Member since 11/06 847 total posts
Name:
J
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Re: Closing credit cards... is it true?
I heard that too..my friend does Credit Restoration..and he said DO NOT close my CC's ..I don't remember what his reasoning was, but he said its better to just leave them open and unused then to close them.
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| Posted 4/28/08 1:04 PM |
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ave1024
I Took The Wrong Road
Member since 12/07 6153 total posts
Name:
That Led To The Wrong Tendencies
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Re: Closing credit cards... is it true?
It can definitely hurt your credit if it's an older account.
There is never a good reason to close credit cards because there is never any benefit from doing it..
Don't do it unless a mortgage underwriter says you have to close some accounts to get a committment. That's the only time.
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| Posted 4/28/08 1:05 PM |
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Blazesyth
*yawn*
Member since 5/05 8129 total posts
Name:
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Re: Closing credit cards... is it true?
Understanding debt to credit ratios
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| Posted 4/28/08 1:05 PM |
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bicosi
life is a carousel
Member since 7/07 14956 total posts
Name:
M
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Re: Closing credit cards... is it true?
Posted by ave1024
It can definitely hurt your credit if it's an older account.
There is never a good reason to close credit cards because there is never any benefit from doing it..
Don't do it unless a mortgage underwriter says you have to close some accounts to get a committment. That's the only time.
Agreed.
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| Posted 4/28/08 1:06 PM |
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CroatianBride
Our Angel Ivanka Rose <3
Member since 7/07 2031 total posts
Name:
Tat
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Re: Closing credit cards... is it true?
Yes, from what i understand, aside from paying your bills on time, your credit score is also based on the debt to credit limit ratio.
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| Posted 4/28/08 1:06 PM |
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MsMBV
:P
Member since 5/05 28602 total posts
Name:
Me
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Re: Closing credit cards... is it true?
It depends on the situation. I have spoken with an attorney about this, as one of my cards is constantly messing up my account. It can hurt you and if you close an account you need to be certain that you have it closed by you, rather than closed by the bank. That also makes a difference.
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| Posted 4/28/08 1:06 PM |
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ave1024
I Took The Wrong Road
Member since 12/07 6153 total posts
Name:
That Led To The Wrong Tendencies
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Re: Closing credit cards... is it true?
Posted by MsMBV
It depends on the situation. I have spoken with an attorney about this, as one of my cards is constantly messing up my account. It can hurt you and if you close an account you need to be certain that you have it closed by you, rather than closed by the bank. That also makes a difference.
Your attorney is incorrect. How can a card be "messing up your account". As long as you pay it on time it can't mess up your account.
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| Posted 4/28/08 1:08 PM |
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bicosi
life is a carousel
Member since 7/07 14956 total posts
Name:
M
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Re: Closing credit cards... is it true?
Posted by ave1024
Posted by MsMBV
It depends on the situation. I have spoken with an attorney about this, as one of my cards is constantly messing up my account. It can hurt you and if you close an account you need to be certain that you have it closed by you, rather than closed by the bank. That also makes a difference.
Your attorney is incorrect. How can a card be "messing up your account". As long as you pay it on time it can't mess up your account.
I agree. How is a card "messing up your account?"
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| Posted 4/28/08 1:09 PM |
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aliwnec10
mom of 3 boys
Member since 4/06 11426 total posts
Name:
Ali
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Re: Closing credit cards... is it true?
Basically i have a card that i really don't use anymore and i was thinking of closing it.
So should i not close it and just cut up the card? I really don't want an extra credit card laying around! 
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| Posted 4/28/08 1:16 PM |
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bicosi
life is a carousel
Member since 7/07 14956 total posts
Name:
M
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Re: Closing credit cards... is it true?
Posted by aliwnec10
Basically i have a card that i really don't use anymore and i was thinking of closing it.
So should i not close it and just cut up the card? I really don't want an extra credit card laying around!
Yup. just put it away! lol
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| Posted 4/28/08 1:17 PM |
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aliwnec10
mom of 3 boys
Member since 4/06 11426 total posts
Name:
Ali
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Re: Closing credit cards... is it true?
Thanks!
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| Posted 4/28/08 1:18 PM |
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MsMBV
:P
Member since 5/05 28602 total posts
Name:
Me
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Re: Closing credit cards... is it true?
Posted by ave1024
Posted by MsMBV
It depends on the situation. I have spoken with an attorney about this, as one of my cards is constantly messing up my account. It can hurt you and if you close an account you need to be certain that you have it closed by you, rather than closed by the bank. That also makes a difference.
Your attorney is incorrect. How can a card be "messing up your account". As long as you pay it on time it can't mess up your account.
My name is not exactly the same on my card as it is on my bank account b/c I hyphenate my name & it does not fit on my credit card. More than once my payment was not posted. Even when I attempted e-pay the payment would end up in some random file that the company themselves would have to pick through & try to match up with unpaid statements for that month.
The card did not affect my credit score, because I would notice that the payment was not posted & I resolved it, but it was aggravating me as it was a small balance and I wanted to just close the account. That is when I asked him about closing it.
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| Posted 4/28/08 1:20 PM |
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kms717
St Philomena Protect My Son
Member since 2/06 2747 total posts
Name:
Kelly
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Re: Closing credit cards... is it true?
Yes, it can. When DH and I were buying our house, our finanical planner told us that we need to close out some of our credit cards because we had too much available credit and that made lenders nervous, but that we should close more than one every couple of months. For some reason closing too many cards too quickly has a negative effect. I forgot the reason.
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| Posted 4/28/08 1:20 PM |
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aliwnec10
mom of 3 boys
Member since 4/06 11426 total posts
Name:
Ali
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Re: Closing credit cards... is it true?
Posted by bicosi
Posted by aliwnec10
Basically i have a card that i really don't use anymore and i was thinking of closing it.
So should i not close it and just cut up the card? I really don't want an extra credit card laying around!
Yup. just put it away! lol
but this only applies to major credit cards right? or does it apply to like jcrew cards, gap, babies r us, etc too?
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| Posted 4/28/08 1:21 PM |
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JenniferEver
The Disney Lady
Member since 5/05 18163 total posts
Name:
Jennifer
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Re: Closing credit cards... is it true?
Posted by aliwnec10
Posted by bicosi
Posted by aliwnec10
Basically i have a card that i really don't use anymore and i was thinking of closing it.
So should i not close it and just cut up the card? I really don't want an extra credit card laying around!
Yup. just put it away! lol
but this only applies to major credit cards right? or does it apply to like jcrew cards, gap, babies r us, etc too?
I think it applies to all accounts.
The amount of damange depends on your credit history. For me, closing an account is a bad idea since my average age of account is low, I need to keep accounts open for longevity. Closing accounts also hurts the debt/credit ratio.
It feels good to close cards, but it's better to just cut up the card and keep the account open
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| Posted 4/28/08 1:25 PM |
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aliwnec10
mom of 3 boys
Member since 4/06 11426 total posts
Name:
Ali
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Re: Closing credit cards... is it true?
Posted by JenniferEver
Posted by aliwnec10
Posted by bicosi
Posted by aliwnec10
Basically i have a card that i really don't use anymore and i was thinking of closing it.
So should i not close it and just cut up the card? I really don't want an extra credit card laying around!
Yup. just put it away! lol
but this only applies to major credit cards right? or does it apply to like jcrew cards, gap, babies r us, etc too?
I think it applies to all accounts.
The amount of damange depends on your credit history. For me, closing an account is a bad idea since my average age of account is low, I need to keep accounts open for longevity. Closing accounts also hurts the debt/credit ratio.
It feels good to close cards, but it's better to just cut up the card and keep the account open
THANKS GIRLS!!! 
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| Posted 4/28/08 1:26 PM |
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ave1024
I Took The Wrong Road
Member since 12/07 6153 total posts
Name:
That Led To The Wrong Tendencies
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Re: Closing credit cards... is it true?
Posted by MsMBV
My name is not exactly the same on my card as it is on my bank account b/c I hyphenate my name & it does not fit on my credit card. More than once my payment was not posted. Even when I attempted e-pay the payment would end up in some random file that the company themselves would have to pick through & try to match up with unpaid statements for that month.
The card did not affect my credit score, because I would notice that the payment was not posted & I resolved it, but it was aggravating me as it was a small balance and I wanted to just close the account. That is when I asked him about closing it.
That's your bank screwing up your account. But that account is not hurting your credit score.
If the bank can't figure out how to process a payment, sock drawer the card and go with somebody else.
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| Posted 4/28/08 1:27 PM |
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MsMBV
:P
Member since 5/05 28602 total posts
Name:
Me
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Re: Closing credit cards... is it true?
Posted by ave1024
Posted by MsMBV
My name is not exactly the same on my card as it is on my bank account b/c I hyphenate my name & it does not fit on my credit card. More than once my payment was not posted. Even when I attempted e-pay the payment would end up in some random file that the company themselves would have to pick through & try to match up with unpaid statements for that month.
The card did not affect my credit score, because I would notice that the payment was not posted & I resolved it, but it was aggravating me as it was a small balance and I wanted to just close the account. That is when I asked him about closing it.
That's your bank screwing up your account. But that account is not hurting your credit score.
If the bank can't figure out how to process a payment, sock drawer the card and go with somebody else.
That is what we ultimately did.
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| Posted 4/28/08 1:28 PM |
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Bellabear
1000 posts...FINALLY
Member since 11/06 1161 total posts
Name:
Michelle
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Re: Closing credit cards... is it true?
i closed everyone of my credit cards 2 years ago...but i made sure that i personally closed them...not the banks. it is never a good thing when someone else closes an account of yours...you should be personally doing it, at customer's request.
i haven't had a problem since i closed all of them. my credit score actually went up, way passed the number it was originally at.
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| Posted 4/28/08 1:28 PM |
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Babe49
M...
Member since 4/08 1880 total posts
Name:
Maria
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Re: Closing credit cards... is it true?
I heard it also. I keep em all open even if I am not using them.
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| Posted 4/28/08 1:28 PM |
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ave1024
I Took The Wrong Road
Member since 12/07 6153 total posts
Name:
That Led To The Wrong Tendencies
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Re: Closing credit cards... is it true?
Posted by kms717
Yes, it can. When DH and I were buying our house, our finanical planner told us that we need to close out some of our credit cards because we had too much available credit and that made lenders nervous, but that we should close more than one every couple of months. For some reason closing too many cards too quickly has a negative effect. I forgot the reason.
This is not true. I have over 400k in available credit lines. I can guarantee you I would never have an issue getting a mortgage based on my credit history. I know plenty of other people that have even higher credit lines available and they all get premium rates.
Unless a mortgage UNDERWRITER says to do this, don't close accounts.
Don't listen to what a mortgage broker says because half of them don't know their azz from their elbow. Some financial planners are even worse. I have heard supposed "advice" given by so-called financial planners and I just go "wow".
The underwriters are the ones that ultimately say whether or not you get the mortgage. So unless the underwriters say to close accounts, don't do it.
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| Posted 4/28/08 1:31 PM |
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bicosi
life is a carousel
Member since 7/07 14956 total posts
Name:
M
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Re: Closing credit cards... is it true?
Posted by MsMBV
Posted by ave1024
Posted by MsMBV
It depends on the situation. I have spoken with an attorney about this, as one of my cards is constantly messing up my account. It can hurt you and if you close an account you need to be certain that you have it closed by you, rather than closed by the bank. That also makes a difference.
Your attorney is incorrect. How can a card be "messing up your account". As long as you pay it on time it can't mess up your account.
My name is not exactly the same on my card as it is on my bank account b/c I hyphenate my name & it does not fit on my credit card. More than once my payment was not posted. Even when I attempted e-pay the payment would end up in some random file that the company themselves would have to pick through & try to match up with unpaid statements for that month.
The card did not affect my credit score, because I would notice that the payment was not posted & I resolved it, but it was aggravating me as it was a small balance and I wanted to just close the account. That is when I asked him about closing it.
What does your name have to do with it? The payment would be applied to your account number, which is tied into your SS#, regardless of whose name is on the check.
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| Posted 4/28/08 1:32 PM |
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ave1024
I Took The Wrong Road
Member since 12/07 6153 total posts
Name:
That Led To The Wrong Tendencies
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Re: Closing credit cards... is it true?
Posted by aliwnec10
Posted by bicosi
Posted by aliwnec10
Basically i have a card that i really don't use anymore and i was thinking of closing it.
So should i not close it and just cut up the card? I really don't want an extra credit card laying around!
Yup. just put it away! lol
but this only applies to major credit cards right? or does it apply to like jcrew cards, gap, babies r us, etc too?
All accounts. There are no difference on your credit report between store held cards (like GAP) compared to major bank credit cards.
Want to know why? Because even store credit cards are run by banks. For example, my Amazon.com card is really a Chase card. A lot of store credit cards use either GE Money Bank or HSBC.
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| Posted 4/28/08 1:33 PM |
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MsMBV
:P
Member since 5/05 28602 total posts
Name:
Me
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Re: Closing credit cards... is it true?
Posted by bicosi
What does your name have to do with it? The payment would be applied to your account number, which is tied into your SS#, regardless of whose name is on the check.
The way it was explained to me is that when they get a payment it goes to processing. Someone in processing verifies that the payment is posted to the proper account. Apparently they use the name, account number and zip code of the sender to verify the payment.
I am sure that the system is more efficient now. This was several years ago when DH & I were first married.
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| Posted 4/28/08 1:36 PM |
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