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Too many accounts??

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Anonymous
Not applicable

Too many accounts??

Hi there... I just pulled my credit report and I have a total number of 32 accounts. The majority are store credit cards that haven't been used in many years. I know closing the accounts may hurt my score, but it says having this many accounts hurts my score too. Any advice?? Thanks so much!
Message 1 of 9
8 REPLIES 8
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Too many accounts??

Well you are correct having 32 plus cards are a bit much in revolving credit. What I would advise and what I myself would do in this case would be is to garden a little bit and find 15 cards ....yes 15 cards that are the newest that you have opened and close them no questions asked. Try and leave the oldest cards alone. Having that many revolving store cards is saying to a potential lender that you are a possible risk because if they issue you more credit then you could just run up the 32 cards etc. and then be over extended and lenders don't like to see a smorgasbord of credit cards on any report and neither does myFICO even if you have the income to support it. Get rid of half of them and you should see an improvement.

 

Just a few thoughts...I'm sure others will weigh in as well but this is what I would do. I have a total of 12 credit cards with utilization that sits at about 2% 

Message 2 of 9
TangMeister
Frequent Contributor

Re: Too many accounts??


@Anonymous wrote:
Hi there... I just pulled my credit report and I have a total number of 32 accounts. The majority are store credit cards that haven't been used in many years. I know closing the accounts may hurt my score, but it says having this many accounts hurts my score too. Any advice?? Thanks so much!

 

Don't worry about having too many accounts.  The negative impact, if any, is negligible. I know of multiple individuals with 50+ (even 80+) accounts with FICO scores in the 800s.  Your old accounts and long credit history they will continue to give you are far more valuable to your FICO score.  Think long term... 

Message 3 of 9
MarineVietVet
Moderator Emeritus

Re: Too many accounts??


@Anonymous wrote:
Hi there... I just pulled my credit report and I have a total number of 32 accounts. The majority are store credit cards that haven't been used in many years. I know closing the accounts may hurt my score, but it says having this many accounts hurts my score too. Any advice?? Thanks so much!

One concern sometimes is closure of accounts by the issuer because of inactivity. You say though that most are store cards which remain on your reports even though not used in years. I would thank my good fortune and leave them alone. Tiptoe away from the thought of closing any of them.  Smiley Happy They are only helping you.

 

IMO

Message 4 of 9
Woolfman
Established Contributor

Re: Too many accounts??


@MarineVietVet wrote:

@Anonymous wrote:
Hi there... I just pulled my credit report and I have a total number of 32 accounts. The majority are store credit cards that haven't been used in many years. I know closing the accounts may hurt my score, but it says having this many accounts hurts my score too. Any advice?? Thanks so much!

One concern sometimes is closure of accounts by the issuer because of inactivity. You say though that most are store cards which remain on your reports even though not used in years. I would thank my good fortune and leave them alone. Tiptoe away from the thought of closing any of them.  Smiley Happy They are only helping you.

 

IMO


I agree if they are willing to keep them open without usage , run with it . Im jealous of my wife she has a JC penny card that she had forgot about up until last year that has been reporting since she was in her early 20s . 12+ years of history with no use. I could only wish i was that lucky!

Message 5 of 9
Uborrow-Upay
Valued Contributor

Re: Too many accounts??

+3

 

Leave 'em alone...they're good for you!    :smileyhappy:

Message 6 of 9
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Too many accounts??

If there are no annual fees, then I don't see a whole lot of issue with the accounts either way. 

 

1.  Whether you close or keep open, your AAoA will remain the same, as will your oldest account age

2.  Whether you close them or the merchant for inactivity makes no difference to your FICO score

3.  The TL's drop 10 years from the date of close, so the sooner you close them the sooner they will drop

 

The main reasons I may find in closing some, if you decide to, would be:

 

1.  If you planned to shop new credit.  The sheer number of accounts can sometimes be a factor in new credit decisions

2.  If the stores are not local and do not offer useful online access

3.  If the store is outrageously priced and you would never use them

4.  If the credit limits are all low...sometimes closing many of them and then focusing on CLI's and higher CL accounts down the road is best

 

The problem with 32 accounts at say $400 average CL is that the total available credit may be considered in granting CLI's or new credit.  Closing some of them may allow you access to more CLI or higher CL's in the future, depending on your credit, AAoA/oldest and income.

 

 

Message 7 of 9
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Too many accounts??


@Anonymous wrote:
Hi there... I just pulled my credit report and I have a total number of 32 accounts. The majority are store credit cards that haven't been used in many years. I know closing the accounts may hurt my score, but it says having this many accounts hurts my score too. Any advice?? Thanks so much!

How many of these accounts are currently open?  Remember your credit report counts all accounts - both open and closed.  For 800+ FICO scoring, some experts recommend a maximum of 10 open accounts.

 

One of the issues with FICO Reason Code 28 "Number of established accounts" is that your card issuers also see the ding and may decide to close their account with you (especially nowadays)  Several posters have had this happen recently.  To avoid that, choose the accounts you want to close, rather than having your card issuers choose which accounts to close.  Keep your AAofA in mind when closing accounts.  In your case, closing accounts will not hurt your FICO score but will help it.  FICO's giving you a nudge!  Just be sure to close those which will be most beneficial to you.  And remember the FICO gods like to see at least one bank/national cc actively reporting - they don't care if you have a merchant card or not; and would rather not see a Consumer Finance Company account at all.

 

DH had a 20 year old merchant card that appeared to be open on his CR's - so we thought he should give it some use.  It had not been updated for 5 years (check your last reporting activity date on your CR's).  It turns out it was closed, but it was hard to determine that from his CR's.

 

One of the most common issues on these boards is opening and recommending too many active accounts - it's easy to get caught up in it, but it can ding you!

 

 

Message 8 of 9
creditwherecreditisdue
Senior Contributor

Re: Too many accounts??

If a TL has not been updated for six months or longer it is considered "dormant" and is not included in the FICO calculations.
Message 9 of 9
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