According to FICO’s estimated model, your score is made up of and weighted as follows: Keeping an old credit account active may seem like a meaningless task, but doing so can boost your credit score for several reasons. Why you shouldn’t cancel unused credit cards
Conversely, negligence with an open account could lead to financial turmoil because your credit score may decrease with card inactivity, so preparing yourself on how to maintain your unused card accounts is a must.
Correctly managing an open, rarely-used account may require some extra attention, but the added effort will help your credit in the long run. Your new card is better, so why not just do away with its predecessor?Ĭanceling a credit card will cause a direct hit to your credit score, so more often than not, you’ll want to keep the account open.
If you’re a cardholder who’s looking for a card upgrade or you’ve already moved onto a new one, you may be wondering what to do with your old card.
