too many accounts, most of which are closed

[Anonymous]

I'm 60 and have a 21 year credit history--was bamboozled into a number of chain store credit cards and revolving credit lines over the years just to get the 10% off for one item at one time.

I now have 32 accounts, but only 5 are actually open and some are carrying balances due to 0% balance transfer offers.  Is there any way to get any of those old accounts OFF that lengthy list as "too many accounts"  is one of the detrimental factors listed on my FICO  summary.

Does closing accounts unused since the late 90's/early 2000's affect my average length of accounts which is now in the good range?

Or does anyone have any other advice?

[fused]

Welcome to the forums!

I'm going to move this thread to the Understanding FICO Scoring forum.

[JoeBJay20]

Welcome to the forums!

Well since these accounts aren't being used, it's safe to assume that they aren't carrying any balances.  Closing CC accounts can hurt your score in two ways.  It lowers your amount of available credit, which can increase your utilization.  This will hurt your score in the short term.  Open accounts in good standing remain on your report into perpetuity, but accounts closed in good standing fall off your report 10 years after the closing date.  This will affect your average age of accounts and could potentially hurt your score down the road.  The following thread provides a little more detail on the subject.

Closing Credit Cards

[MarineVietVet]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I'm 60 and have a 21 year credit history--was bamboozled into a number of chain store credit cards and revolving credit lines over the years just to get the 10% off for one item at one time.

I now have 32 accounts, but only 5 are actually open and some are carrying balances due to 0% balance transfer offers.  Is there any way to get any of those old accounts OFF that lengthy list as "too many accounts"  is one of the detrimental factors listed on my FICO  summary.

Does closing accounts unused since the late 90's/early 2000's affect my average length of accounts which is now in the good range?

Or does anyone have any other advice?

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Welcome.

I have 38 accounts with most of those closed and get that same "too many accounts" message. I wouldn't worry too much about it in my opinion.

From a BK years ago to:
8/09 TU-765 EQ- 783
9/09 EX pulled by lender 802
3/10 EQ- 800

You can do the same thing with hard work

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