I have about 3 credit cards that I have now cleared. The only one I want to keep is my HSBC one as I pay off straight away (learnt my lesson on that one!). Is it worth keeping the other open from a credit rating perspective or should I close them all?

THanks!

Depends if you can trust yourself with them.

I have 2 – one Visa, one Mastercard – and they both get used, and both cleared before I have to pay any interest.

Whether it will actually help my credit rating, I don’t really know – despite asking several financial ‘experts’ nobody could produce a solid answer.

To me theres no harm in it.

Personally I believe you are as well off with one as you are with many – from a credit rating perspective. As long as you have some access to debt are able to repay that debt without getting into grief then it’s all good.

I could well be wrong, but I’m more of a one credit card person and I just got a mortgage ok. They even tried to offer me far more than I could afford to pay back so my credit rating must be reasonable.

From a credit rating perspective, it will benefit you to close the ones you don’t use. (Source: MSE)

If I were you I’d keep them in case of dire emergency, when on holiday or something.

Keep 2. You should then always have at least one that will be accepted. It was only after having a card refused at a cash till that I rang my bank and found out that they had frozen my card because of fraudulent activity.

I have about 3 credit cards

If you don’t even know how many you have then I’d start getting rid of some. I agree with fubar, 2 on different accounts is handy but you need to keep an eye on both.

I always keep a spare tucked away in the car, just in case I fill up and remember I’ve come out without my wallet. When I go on holiday I also keep a few different methods of payment in different places so if one gets nicked I don’t have a problem.

If you don’t even know how many you have then I’d start getting rid of some. I agree with fubar, 2 on different accounts is handy but you need to keep an eye on both

I know I have 3 which have nothing on and one that I actually use.

The banks are well on to this – I used to keep a clear one with about £20k limit for emergencies. After the banking crisis they closed it and told me rather than asked ! Saying that as I hadn’t used it. Fair dos I guess, they were systematically decreasing their potential exposure, hypocrites.

So, use it or lose it I would say !

Keep 2. You should then always have at least one that will be accepted.

Ideally one Visa and one Mastercard one, just in case one or other of the network is down.

I’ve currently got 7 (including a joint one and a work one).

2 of the personal ones are in regular use (one for misc spends and one for car expenses).

1 is on a longterm interest free period (with my new bike and Whistler flights on), 1 offers regular 0% offers which I use occassionally and the last one is for emergencies.

Whenever I want to buy something big and a current card isn’t offering any deals I just apply for a new 0% card. I must have had at least 20 over the years without it seeming to affect my rating.

I had a letter from Santander telling me they were closing a credit card of mine that hadn’t been used for 12 months that I didn’t even know I had!