Restoring credit

[Anonymous]

Is it better for your FICO to keep credit cards that have been open for 14 years and have some minor dings or to open new ones which have a clean slate?

[SpecFile]

From what I have learned, I would keep the 14yr. old and make sure that the util. is between 1-9%.  As the dings age, they will not affect you as much.  There are some people on these forums with way more knowledge than me so i would wait for a few more responses.

Message Edited by SpecFile on 08-21-2007 01:52 PM

[fused]

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bara wrote:

Is it better for your FICO to keep credit cards that have been open for 14 years and have some minor dings or to open new ones which have a clean slate?

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What kind of dings? How many? How old are they? What's the current util% on these cards.

Util% = CL/Balance: CC 5,000 CL, balance 1,500 = 30% util

[Anonymous]

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fused111 wrote:

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bara wrote:

Is it better for your FICO to keep credit cards that have been open for 14 years and have some minor dings or to open new ones which have a clean slate?

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What kind of dings? How many? How old are they? What's the current util% on these cards.

Util% = CL/Balance: CC 5,000 CL, balance 1,500 = 30% util

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I would think you would want to keep the TL since they are aged 14+ yrs. As far as what the dings are...if they are lates or accurate whatever...closing will not get rid of it and it will still be reported...

[ronq]

keep the old ones. the dings only last for 7.5 years and your account age is a big factor in your score.