Credit cards

[Anonymous]

I have about 7 credit cards all in good standing I really want to pay a few off and get rid of them but I’m afraid it will drop my score any suggestions?

2 capital ones, indigo, creditOne, Avante.2 Navy Federals, 1 State employees. I want to purchase a home scared to apply with all these cards

[TSlop]

I'm sure someone else will chime in, but I don't think having 7 will affect you for a house purchase.

The debt might though, so I would work on paying off as many cards as feasible while still having extra money for emergency use (an example: we had a fire the day of move-in). My mortgage company checked everything (income and debt) to determine my ability to pay and I'm sure how much they are willing to lend. I can only assume that if I had credit card debt (I fortunately don't) it would eat at my ceiling and/or they may not lend to me if the debt is too sizable.

On a side note, know your own pay limits. I was approved for $350k but there was no way I could pay on that (we bought @ $160k).

[Anonymous]

Thanks for your input I appreciate definitely something to ponder on

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:
I have about 7 credit cards all in good standing I really want to pay a few off and get rid of them but I’m afraid it will drop my score any suggestions?

2 capital ones, indigo, creditOne, Avante.2 Navy Federals, 1 State employees. I want to purchase a home scared to apply with all these cards

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A lot of this is profile dependant. At a high level I would say that the CreditOne, Indigo and Avant would be on my short list for chopping block. 

That said, what are your total credit lines? How much utilization? what is the average age of accounts? Oldest one? Newest?

Remember that a closed account stays on and ages for another 7-10 years regardless of it being closed. 

[AllZero]

If your utilization is not negatively affected, closing cards should not be a problem. I would recommend you pull your mortgage FICO scores to see where you are.

For mortgage application, to achieve best FICO scores, it's recommended to do AZEO All Zero Except One card reporting a small balance e.g. $5-$10. Aggregate Utilization 8.9% or under.

[M_Smart007]

@Anonymous  Welcome To myFICO Forums!

[pinkandgrey]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:
I have about 7 credit cards all in good standing I really want to pay a few off and get rid of them but I’m afraid it will drop my score any suggestions?

2 capital ones, indigo, creditOne, Avante.2 Navy Federals, 1 State employees. I want to purchase a home scared to apply with all these cards

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A lot of this is profile dependant. At a high level I would say that the CreditOne, Indigo and Avant would be on my short list for chopping block. 

That said, what are your total credit lines? How much utilization? what is the average age of accounts? Oldest one? Newest?

Remember that a closed account stays on and ages for another 7-10 years regardless of it being closed. 

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Agreed. Close the sub-primes right away and keep and use the better cards. If you're planning on getting a mortgage any time soon, hold off on APPLYING for anything new. Just use and pay your cards well.

Good luck!