I've asked this question before, but didn't get alot of responsese the first time, and some of the responses were confusing. So I ask, is canceling a record good or bad. Can it hurt your credit.
And Let me add, that the balance on the card is zero. Will it still hurt, even if u have paid off the card, and now to choose to cancel it.

http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/cc/20020102a.asp

Hope this helps, even if it hurts your credit in the short term, your much better off in the long.

[Qtip]

Originally Posted by cherryblossoms

I've asked this question before, but didn't get alot of responsese the first time, and some of the responses were confusing. So I ask, is canceling a record good or bad. Can it hurt your credit.
And Let me add, that the balance on the card is zero. Will it still hurt, even if u have paid off the card, and now to choose to cancel it.

Credit age is among some of the things the fico scoring system uses to calculate its score. So if this account you want to close is one of your oldest credit lines then you might want to re-think your decision to close the account.


Basically they will take all your active credit cards and assign an average age on the account based on how long you have had your credit and credit accounts. The longer you have managed your credit in a positive fashion the higher your fico score will be.