I have been slowly improving my credit over the last few years. I have two credit cards that were over the limit and clsed by the credit grantor years ago, but I have continued to pay the off the balances over time. They have been consistently paid on time for 2 and a half years. The balance of each card is around $100. One card was opened in 1993 and the other in 1995. I am looking to improve my credit as much as possible in the next 5 months before I get married. I will be house hunting this fall and my wife to be's credit should be fine to purchase the house. My question is should I a) Pay the cards off now and be done with them.This will close two of my oldest accounts on my credit history, although I have 3 student loans that are in good standing now from roughly the same time. b) pay the minimum each month which will probably pay it off in 5 months, therby giving me 5 more months of on-time payments. Note that the two cards are already closed by the credit grantor. Will making the payments on time on accounts like these improve my score? Sorry for the long post.
The accounts are closed...the balance is only $100 on each...pay them off and save the interest...I doubt it will do a thing to your score either way.
I agree, definitely pay it off. But this shouldn't erase your payment history at all. The "account closed by credit grantor" does hurt the score, though. I've heard that goodwill letters can work on "closed" accts and/or try planetfeedback.com. They may consider your diligence to still take care of the account even though it was closed. Be sure to have a good "sad" story. Good luck! "Never underestimate the heart of a champion"
