G.K.
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Hello...I am just wondering if I am to close some of my cc's would it hurt my credit score and also if I asked the cc companies to take a pay off amount (less than what is owed) is there a chance of my credit taking a huge hit...please only respond if you know or have had exp. with this.. thank you so much
Hi S.,
You retain good credit just by paying bills (phone, utilities, etc) on time. I know you don't need to have a credit card to keep your credit score. I have never heard that closing too many credit cards can lower you score. My husband and I have been using Dave Ramsey's system for almost a year now and we absolutely love it. It helped us build a brand new home this past summer. His website is http://www.daveramsey.com/ and he has many resources about credit cards and would be able to give you good advice. Good luck and God bless!
I have heard that closing to many can hurt your score. I an going to recommend www.crown.org this is a Christian organization that give great and blblical advice. This is where I heard that from, they also have a radio program that you can link to from their website. Good luck with your quest to get out of debt. God Bless.
I'm not sure about closing your credit cards, but if you took the pay off amount it will. I did that in 2001 as a last resort & my credit has just gotten better within the last year. If you can pay it, do it. Also, I didn't have much credit card debt at the time... about $2,000.
I know that a big part of your credit score is based on how much you owe versus your credit limit. If you have 5 credit cards, all with a $10,000 limit and you have $3,000 on two of the cards, your score will be okay, because your limit is $50,000. If you were to close 3 of those cards, your score will go down because now your limit is only $20,000. Also, if you had 2 cards, each with a $10,000 limit and you had $3,000 on each you would be better than if you had all $6,000 on one card because you are closer to that one card's limit.
I know these things from recent experience. I had a number of cards that I had not used in quite some time and the card companies closed my accounts because they were idle. It affected my score. I also had a company suddenly decide to change my credit limit, even though I had always paid on time and more than the minimum due. I owed $3,200 on a card with a $10,000 limit and now I owe $3,200 on a card with a $3,500 limit. This also lowered my score. Seems like there's nothing I can do about it either.
If you do not have to close your cards, you would be much better off!
K.
