I have over 10 credit cards and I want to close 9 of them

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Melina Smith

• July 07, 2020 16:18

I know, I know, that's a lot of credit cards lol I made too many impulsive decisions when I was younger. I don't use most of these credit cards and I don't plan on using them anymore. I want to close them but I'm worried my credit score is going to take a nose dive. Should I just not use them? I've done my research about closing credit cards and even lowering credit limits but I'm still not sure what I should do. I just don't want a bad credit score. Right now my score is in the good range. For context, I have student loans in the 30,000 range. Other than that, I have no balance on my credit cards. Thank you for taking the time to read my post. 

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  Philip

  • July 10, 2020 22:30

   

  Hi Melina,

  I see you have discovered that your credit score can be quite the numbers game!  With so many that you no longer use, each card should be evaluated as to whether it is a good one to close, or a good one to keep.  I found this article in our content that could come in useful for you:

   

  • Pruning Your Wallet: When Is It a Good Idea to Cancel a Credit Card?

   

  Best of luck with your task at hand!

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  CHRISTOPHER BATTISTA

  • July 07, 2020 18:52

  Educated guess is YES. you will lower your credit score by reducing your lines of credit. Depending on the current score, it could take you out of the GOOD category if it drops too far. I have 9 cards as well. I use them to keep my score up. I got my credit into the GOOD territory with defaulted student loans on my back.  now the student loans are gone I am in EXCELLENT territory. 

  I cannot say how much closing any lines will affect your credit score.  My advice is to pick one card to use occasionally, gas or netflix or whatever, and pay every month. making the payment helps your score a lot.  Cancel ANY cards that have "Membership" or "Annual" fees because these fees are a waste.  Lastly I would  keep the rest of the cards open, just to reap the benefit of debt/credit ratio.  

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