Need to know definitively if this will help or hurt

[Anonymous]

I have a credit card that I'd like to close. If I close the card it will RAISE my average credit age by roughy 1 year, but LOWER my available credit by $8,000.

Does anyone know FOR SURE what impact it will have if I close this card?

[calyx]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I have a credit card that I'd like to close. If I close the card it will RAISE my average credit age by roughy 1 year, but LOWER my available credit by $8,000.

Does anyone know FOR SURE what impact it will have if I close this card?

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It will NOT raise your average credit age.  Closed cards are still counted in age related factors.
It can change your aggregate utilization, which could impact your score if it goes above 8.9/28.9/48.9/68.9.
Since we don't know what balances you have, you'll have to math it for yourself.

[Remedios]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I have a credit card that I'd like to close. If I close the card it will RAISE my average credit age by roughy 1 year, but LOWER my available credit by $8,000.

Does anyone know FOR SURE what impact it will have if I close this card?

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Hi and welcome to the forums 

Is that AU card or your own card? 

[GApeachy]

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@Remedios wrote:

Is that AU card or your own card? 

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I was wondering this too.  Why do you ask @Remedios?

[Anonymous]

Thanks. Are you saying the cards I had when I was 18 that have been closed for 20+ years are still being counted towards credit age? That doesn't sound right.

I don't know how Fico and VantageScore differ in terms of calculations, but for example Credit Karma shows my average credit age, and this number only reflects my open cards. I have confirmed this by doing the math.

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@calyx wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

I have a credit card that I'd like to close. If I close the card it will RAISE my average credit age by roughy 1 year, but LOWER my available credit by $8,000.

Does anyone know FOR SURE what impact it will have if I close this card?

---

It will NOT raise your average credit age.  Closed cards are still counted in age related factors.
It can change your aggregate utilization, which could impact your score if it goes above 8.9/28.9/48.9/68.9.
Since we don't know what balances you have, you'll have to math it for yourself.

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[Remedios]

Because if it's AU card, some issuers will leave it as closed account while others will completely remove their reporting, so in theory, if the card is new(ish) and gets removed from CR, the AAoA can increase. 

OP would need to let us know if that's the case, and also who the issuer is, so those who  had  AU accounts with that particular lender can chime in with their own experience on how AU removal was handled afterwards 

[Anonymous]

This particular card is a Fidelity Visa card with a zero balance that I will never use.

[Remedios]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Thanks. Are you saying the cards I had when I was 18 that have been closed for 20+ years are still being counted towards credit age? That doesn't sound right.

I don't know how Fico and VantageScore differ in terms of calculations, but for example Credit Karma shows my average credit age, and this number only reflects my open cards. I have confirmed this by doing the math.

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@calyx wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

I have a credit card that I'd like to close. If I close the card it will RAISE my average credit age by roughy 1 year, but LOWER my available credit by $8,000.

Does anyone know FOR SURE what impact it will have if I close this card?

---

It will NOT raise your average credit age.  Closed cards are still counted in age related factors.
It can change your aggregate utilization, which could impact your score if it goes above 8.9/28.9/48.9/68.9.
Since we don't know what balances you have, you'll have to math it for yourself.

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Credit Karma is good only for credit monitoring, nothing else. 

Fico includes closed accounts when AAoA is calculated. You only need to worry about impact on your fico scores, because unlike Vantage scores, they are actually used for most lending decisions. 

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Thanks. Are you saying the cards I had when I was 18 that have been closed for 20+ years are still being counted towards credit age? That doesn't sound right.

I don't know how Fico and VantageScore differ in terms of calculations, but for example Credit Karma shows my average credit age, and this number only reflects my open cards. I have confirmed this by doing the math.

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CreditKarma calculates the Average Age of Accounts incorrectly....  AAoA includes ALL accounts on your credit report; not just open accounts.  An account closed in good standing can remain on your credit report for up to 10 years and must be included in the calculation.  Again, as long as the tradeline appears on your credit report, it must be included when calculating your Average Age of Accounts.

This is relatively well-known in these forums as this recent thread discusses:  AAoA

[Anonymous]

Long story short, my Fico was 850. Then I sold a house and opened this Visa account. Score is now down around 812. Nothing I can do about selling the house, but since I'll never use this card (opening it was a mistake) I thought to close it.