I read somewhere on the board that having more than 3 major CCs can lower your scores. I would like to pay off one of my BOA cards (I have a VISA and MC) and close it. My question is: will it lower my scores if I pay off the BOA MC and close it or should I transfer the balance ($2922) to my VISA BOA card? Thanks!
The # of cards will not necessarily lower your score. What will is if you don't pay on time or go over your limits. Sometimes getting close to your limit will. Transferring a balance mathematically does not make sense either because basically your overall debt amount stays the same. The only reason to transfer balances would be if you had cards that impose an annual fee, and want to transfer the balances to a cards with no annual fees.
Thanks for the reply, Greg! What if I paid off one of the cards and closed it? Would that help my scores? The card is in good standing, never late, less than 30% utilization (limit: $13,500, bal: $2922).
I'd keep it open. It helps your history and also your debt to available credit ratio. I have many more than three bank cards and my scores are in the high 700s.
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