Reader Question – Closing a credit card bad for credit?

It’s Q&A time again. This one comes from ‘matt’ who is asking…

I have 4 credit cards for a total of 20k available credit and a combined total $8500 debt on them. I was trying to build credit by using credit cards and paying them off. I have a few that don’t have a very high balance and would like to close them. Is it bad to close a credit card or have them left at $0 balance? I’ve had these credit cards for the almost 5 -10 years now and the interest rate is very high on them. Not sure what to do.

Answer: Don’t close them. The longer you have credit cards open, the better it looks on your credit report. Also having high limits and comparably low debt helps your credit. Keep those cards open but don’t use them.

Tagged:Credit

Tags: Credit Card Bad Credit

Category: Credit Card Bad Credit