Closing Credit Card Affects Credit Score

Q: If I cancel one of my credit cards, will it affect my credit score?

A: It depends on how long you’ve had the card. If you’ve only had it for a short period of time, and you have other pieces of credit that have been open and active for much longer, then no, it shouldn’t affect it too much.

But if you carry a balance on a card and close the account before you’ve paid it off, or if you’ve had the card for ten or twenty years, closing it will dramatically affect your credit score.

Published: May 22, 2008