How can I cancel credit cards I have without getting dinged on my FICO score?
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Edward G wants to know:
I have several credit cards that have annual membership fees required. But I do not use them and have no plans on using them in the future. I’ve been told that if I cancel these cards that my credit scores will suffer because of the cancellations. Is there a way to cancel these cards without causing anymore danage to my credit scores?
I have several credit cards that have annual membership fees required. But I do not use them and have no plans on using them in the future. I’ve been told that if I cancel these cards that my credit scores will suffer because of the cancellations. Is there a way to cancel these cards without causing anymore danage to my credit scores?
Tagged with: Cancel • Cancellations • Cards Credit • Credit Cards • Credit Scores • Fico Score • Membership Fees
Filed under: True Credit
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Nope. Your score will go down because your report will be showing you have less available credit. The more available credit you have, the better your score.
Now, if some of the cards are newer, as in you have had them less than 6 months, closing those accounts will not affect you as greatly as closing older accounts.
I think that it would be smarter to make the wisest financial decisions you can make without worrying about how it will affect your credit score.
I have never paid annual fees on credit cards because I think it’s crazy. When they first started doing this, I canceled all of them because they were all doing it!
As far as credit scores go, this is something that goes up and down all the time based on all kinds of things. I refuse to allow something like this control how I live my life. I pay my bills on time, I borrow responsibly, when I borrow at all, and pay my credit cards off in full every month because not to do so is….. crazy!
I think the people who care the least about their credit scores are likely to have the best ones.
Best of luck.
Do not close the card cause it lower you available credit line. You also can use this service to pre-estimate future scores for different scenarios of credit card payments. – freecreditreport.sinfree.net
I would call the banks and ask them if they can transfer your account to a “no fee” option. Sometimes they will do that. The no fee accounts don’t have points, rewards or stuff like that. But the transfer will be considered a continuation of your existing account, so you won’t get a ding on your FICO score.
Otherwise, if they won’t, close them anyway. The risk to your fico score is too little to pay hundreds of dollars in fees.
Yes boohoo, it will affect your credit score no matter what, but you will still “up” it up eventually… cancel the cards.