experian credit report explained
experian credit report explained
Should I close these credit card accounts?
I don’t know my credit score but I just received my credit report (from TransUnion, Equifax and Experian) and two credit card accounts that aren’t really active are still open. One is Mervyns, which I used until they went out of business. Should I close it? Or will leaving it open help my credit? The other is Express, which I opened and used a lot when I was in college but I haven’t used it in a couple years. Does it hurt my credit to close it? Can someone please explain how this works?
Closing unused accounts will only cause a minor ding in your score and your score will rebound quickly.
While many will suggest that you keep all credit card accounts open forever, having a stack of unused credit cards sitting in your sock drawer is a bad idea. You have to monitor and secure all those cards against fraud and ID theft.
I suggest that you keep any one of the two credit cards that do not charge annual fees. If you can get a new major credit card with better interest and/or rewards, keep that. Only keep store and gas charge cards if you have some special reason and actually use them.
Close credit card accounts by mail and request a written confirmation that the account is closed and 0 balance.
Regards
