Effect of closing 20+ yr old credit card account

[RobertEG]

If you close a card, you are not ensured that it will continue in your file for 10 years after closing.

The 10 year deletion is a housecleaining measure taken by a CRA.

The credtior,, upon closing of the account, can decide to simply report deletion at any time, which will of course result in total loss of the account in all scoring.

A creditor may decide to delete, in that it totally removes any necessity for any review of their prior reporting, and negates any possibility of any disputes or other issues relating to any reported information.

You take your chances if  you close....

[Thomas_Thumb]

Yes, I can attest to a creditor removing.an account early.I had an account that was closed in 2009 and the creditor, Cap One, deleted it after only 6 years.

In this case they were reporting my closed old BB store card account credit limit as $300 when it had been $5000. I sent them some documentation along with a letter to correct the error. Well, they elected to delete the account instead.

Nonetheless, closed accounts generally will remian on file for 10 years if nothing is done to prompt a creditor to take action..

[RonM21]

With the risk of them removing it earlier, you might have to put more thought into it. I think it is a little more unlikely that would happen. But I personally would close it. If you don't need it and it is better for your situation, then that is the move to make.

[grillandwinemaster]

Personally, I would sock drawer that puppy, and forget all about it. Im assuming it's no longer secured. Maybe run something small every 6 months our so. 

It's TWENTY years old! It's only helping you. But that's my take, different strokes for different folks.