I still have the first CC I ever was issued....over 20 years ago. I haven't used it in 12-15 years, yet every once in a while they send me a notice that they've increased my limit...again. According to what I've read at MyFICO.com as well as other places, it's recommended that you keep your oldest accounts open (if possible), because that helps establish that you have a long credit history....which is a major positive when it comes to credit scores.
Also, as I understand from what I've read, not only is the ratio of credit balance to credit limit on any particular card a piece of the credit score puzzle....they also use total credit balance on
ALL accounts combined compared to total credit limits on
ALL accounts combined as well. IOW, like Walt said,
"if they have one cc with a $5k limit with a $2,500 balance they've used 50% of the available credit on it - not bad, but not good either" However, if you have 2 CC's each with $5000 limit, and you have that $2500 balance on only
the one CC, you're carrying a balance of (only
) 25% of your
total credit available. So the higher your
total combined CC limits, the lower your percentage of available credit used (still assuming here the $2500 balance on the CC as you originally mentioned).
This is from the MyFICO website:
FICO® scores are calculated based on your rating in five general categories:
* Payment history - 35%
* Amounts owed - 30%
* Length of credit history - 15%
* New credit - 10%
* Types of credit used - 10%
Hope that helps a little.
goon
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Edited to add:
How about putting the forbidden cards offsite in a safe deposit box?
That's a very good recommendation! The other cards are still available if ever
needed for an
emergency, etc.....but they aren't
readily available for whims or last minute spending sprees. I have a big ol' safe that I keep all my CC's in except for my bank credit/debit card and the one rewards card that I use
AND payoff monthly. When I go on an extended vacation, I usually grab one of the other cards out of the safe to take with me
'just in case' it's needed. (so far after many years, I've NEVER had to use the 'just in case' card!
) I keep all of the other CC's (that are in the safe) open
merely for the credit history that they represent, and for the total combined credit limit that they provide......also they are there if I ever actually
need them in a
real emergency.