Is it best to close a credit card account after you have paid it off?

I just paid off several credit cards using a consolidation loan. I was wondering if I should close my credit card accounts or not. I have heard that it looks bad on your credit report to close them all and I do not want anything to look bad on my credit report because I am planning on buying a house in a few years. Any input will be greatly appreciated!
Is it best to close a credit card account after you have paid it off?
It depends on how many credit cards you have and the total credit limit you have. In some situations if you have AVAILABLE credit many times your annual income, that will look bad on a credit report.





I would suggest you made a list of the cards you are thinking of canceling and the credit limit of each. If they total more then your salary, cancel half of them.





-luck
Reply:I agree, thank you! Report Abuse

Reply:It really depends on how many credit cards you have. If you still have a large debt to income ratio then it would benefit you to close a few (NOT ALL) of your cards just to lower your "available credit" due to having large revolving credit and debt. The worst mistake one can make is to close a credit card they've had opened for the longest......this will lower your credit score!





I closed one of my credit lines down and it ended up lowering my credit score by 20 points....which is a lot! The best thing you can do is pay off your balances, close your high interest rate cards (as long as they haven't been established for very long) and MAKE SURE YOU HAVE NO LATE PAYMENTS to any of your credit lenders. Last step is to start buying with cash and only use your credit cards for amounts that you can pay off in one to two months (to ensure you have a revolving credit history - which helps your score). Best of luck and email me if you have anymore questions.
Reply:There's no need to close the accounts, unless you feel that you won't be able to resist using them again.





You could go halfway and just destroy and throw out your cards - that way you won't be able to use them, but the accounts will still be there if you need to order a new card for an emergency purchase....
Reply:crdit card loan doesn't hit ur future loan sanction unless u have made the default in the credit card loan.





but it is always advisable to make all ur credit cards balance, since it will affect ur future financial in terms of interest payments .
Reply:Closing them all is better than using them again. If you cant just keep them without abusing them, I鈥檇 say keep one. But if you cant control yourself, just close them and stay out of debt.
Reply:Your credit score will be higher if you just leave the accounts open with a zero balance. Just cut up the cards, forget about them, and leave them open.
Reply:Yes,





If you have several cards close off all but at least one, if you can. Most credit card companies will do everything they possibly can to try and keep you on. In my experience this is what happened:





1. In one case I closed all my cards but it took several phone calls and an almost endless begging to get the operator(s) to do so. They will use every tactic to keep you as a customer. If you don't want the card tell them from the outset that if they do not listen that you will go over their head to a supervisor or manager.





2. When I cancelled a Mastercard I received about 30 days later a letter in the mail which stated that my interest level would be dropped by nearly 1/2 if I signed up again. I did and the card has remained at a lower level ever since! Just ensure you read the fine print.





3. Or, threaten to cancel your cards unless they lower your interest rate. If they don't, just cancel. Remember these companies want to keep you so be assertive as a customer and demand better service.





4. If you really must keep a card(s) keep at least 2, but from different companies.





Hope this helps. Take care.
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