Credit Cards on Report with $0 balance

[Anonymous]

Hello, I just pulled up my credit report and noticed several old credit cards that have $0 balances but I don't remember opening them at all!  I might have opened them up during college, but have NO idea.  I know I should keep some old accounts open for history purposes... but what should I do about these cards I don't know remember even opening?  Should I close them?  Keep them?  I'm getting ready to open up a few rewards credit cards.  Thanks!  I'm new

[pizzadude]

Moving to Credit Cards forum

[jamesdwi]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

Hello, I just pulled up my credit report and noticed several old credit cards that have $0 balances but I don't remember opening them at all!  I might have opened them up during college, but have NO idea.  I know I should keep some old accounts open for history purposes... but what should I do about these cards I don't know remember even opening?  Should I close them?  Keep them?  I'm getting ready to open up a few rewards credit cards.  Thanks!  I'm new

---

leave them open, if they have zero balance they are only helping your AAoA, and UTL, no reason to close unless they have an AF. Or you hope to churn them at some point in the future, I closed my Chase Slate card in hope of APP'ing again in a year or so if necessary for zero percent interest for 12-18 months. 

[CreditDunce]

Just because they say they are open on your CR, doesn't mean they are actually open.  Sometimes CCC's close accounts and never update CRA's. It is also possible they are still open.  The CCC will eventually close them with no activity.

If there are any old accounts your want to keep, contact the CCC and see if the account can be re-activated.  If not, they will eventually fall off.  In the mean time, they are helping your credit score.

I am assuming they are your accounts.  It is also possible someone in your family opened the accounts in your name.  If so, they didn't default.  However, if that was true, you should monitor your CR more closely since they have your SSN, etc.

[SunriseEarth]

---

@CreditDunce wrote:

Just because they say they are open on your CR, doesn't mean they are actually open.  Sometimes CCC's close accounts and never update CRA's. It is also possible they are still open.  The CCC will eventually close them with no activity.

If there are any old accounts your want to keep, contact the CCC and see if the account can be re-activated.  If not, they will eventually fall off.  In the mean time, they are helping your credit score.

I am assuming they are your accounts.  It is also possible someone in your family opened the accounts in your name.  If so, they didn't default.  However, if that was true, you should monitor your CR more closely since they have your SSN, etc.

---

+1.  If they're legitimately your accounts, they're a good thing.   You may as well leave them be.  

[takeshi74]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

Hello, I just pulled up my credit report and noticed several old credit cards that have $0 balances but I don't remember opening them at all!  I might have opened them up during college, but have NO idea.  I know I should keep some old accounts open for history purposes... but what should I do about these cards I don't know remember even opening?

---

You should probably start by verifying whether they're actually still open and whether or not they're accounts that you acutally opened.  If they're not open or not yours then get them updated on your reports.  What you do with accounts that you opened and are still open is for you to determine.  Keep in mind that closing accounts immediately impacts utilization (you can do the before and after math to determine impact to aid you in your decision making) but does not impact AAoA until the accounts fall off your reports -- typically 10 years later.

If you can't keep track of your accounts then you may want to close them as having accounts that you aren't monitoring can be a major problem if any of them are subject to fraud.  While you do have fraud protection on those accounts there is a limited window to act.  You'll also want to consider how you're going to keep track of the new accounts you intend to apply for to avoid this in future.  You should know exactly which accounts are yours and which are not.  Figure out what works best for you and act accordingly.

If these aren't your accounts then make sure you're pulling your reports on a regular basis to monitor.