# What to do with old credit card ?



## larry81 (Nov 22, 2010)

I finally switched bank and got a few much better credit cards in the process. I am wondering what i should do with my old credit cards if i dont plan to use them anymore ?

1. Ask Visa to cancel them ?
2. Destroy and forget about them ?

Credit-wise, what is the best option ?


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## clovis8 (Dec 7, 2010)

larry81 said:


> I finally switched bank and got a few much better credit cards in the process. I am wondering what i should do with my old credit cards if i dont plan to use them anymore ?
> 
> 1. Ask Visa to cancel them ?
> 2. Destroy and forget about them ?
> ...


Cancel for sure. You don't want open accounts you never intend to use.


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## Larry6417 (Jan 27, 2010)

Ending longstanding accounts can harm your credit. I had a travel rewards credit card with MBNA that charged an annual fee. I switched to a no annual fee cc with the same company. My credit history stayed intact even though I got rid if the annual fee. If your credit score is good without the credit cards, then it may not matter.


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## Daniel A. (Mar 20, 2011)

Cancel them it's the only sure way to protect yourself in the event of identity theft.
Having to much credit on cards can hurt you when making a major loan application.


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## Jungle (Feb 17, 2010)

If you close old accounts your score will drop. Here's what I do, if there is no annual fee:

Lower the limit to $500 and put it in a drawer.


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## Potato (Apr 3, 2009)

I put a single recurring bill on my oldest credit card, just to keep the history alive, but don't carry it around with me anymore.


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## Sampson (Apr 3, 2009)

Jungle said:


> If you close old accounts your score will drop.


This is only temporary and assumes that the OP doesn't have other credit vehicles to his/her name. Assuming you open a new card, certainly the history of clean payments is not there, but other/larger loans elsewhere (mortgage, LOC etc), this shouldn't make much of an impact.

Also, credit scores are over rated. Good ones are needed only a few times in ones life.


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

If it's not your oldest card, you can just cancel it. If it's you're oldest card, then drop the limit and keep it.

I closed out my oldest card when I switched with another bank. I didn't realize that it was my oldest one. My credit score did take a hit of almost 20 points that year. It wasn't a big deal as it was still above 800, but it did take the hit. It's back up now, so no real big deal over all.


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## the-royal-mail (Dec 11, 2009)

I love the idea of lowering limit to $500. Is there a lower limit for this? $100 would be even better haha.

Another one is to encase the card in a block of ice and keep it in the freezer. That way it can't easily be lost or forgotten. And you don't have to fuss with call centers and such.


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## Jungle (Feb 17, 2010)

For the cards we have held the lowest limits are usually 500 and 1000.


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## Four Pillars (Apr 5, 2009)

Plugging Along said:


> If it's not your oldest card, you can just cancel it. If it's you're oldest card, then drop the limit and keep it.
> 
> I closed out my oldest card when I switched with another bank. I didn't realize that it was my oldest one. My credit score did take a hit of almost 20 points that year. It wasn't a big deal as it was still above 800, but it did take the hit. *It's back up now, so no real big deal over all*.


You've pretty much proved Sampson's point that for most situations, any drop in credit score is temporary and doesn't really matter.

I say just cancel any cards that you don't want, unless you are borrowing a lot of money in the near future.


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## larry81 (Nov 22, 2010)

Just cancelled them today 

Thanks for all the comments !


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## OhGreatGuru (May 24, 2009)

Keep life simple and cancel it. The modern obsession with credit scores continually amaze me. If keeping an inactive account open improves your score, then (il)logically you should be able to improve your credit score by taking out 12 more credit cards.


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## dotnet_nerd (Jul 1, 2009)

They make great guitar picks. 

I cut them into small triangles and round off the corners.


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