while paying the payments if you have lates I am trying to re-establish our old payment patterns , but some of the cards we have I dont want any more ,should I keep them open and positive for a while them close , or close them with late pays and then pay off ? any help would be wonderfull
if you close an account that has a balance, let the rate jacking begin. You want a zero balance to close. And if it is a positive trade line, you can keep open to improve your ratio of debt to credit. FWIW
Also, I would suggest that you keep the accounts open. If you have sporatic late payments, you may be able to use the "goodwill" adjustment letter. This tactic can help you get rid of the late payments. The results vary by creditor, but it is worth a try. Also, I would kep the accounts open and with a 0 balance to help improve your debt to income ratio and your credit utilization ratios. Plus as previously stated, the older the tradeline, the more of an affect it may have on your credit score. Good Luck
I also would recommend keeping the oldest card open. Do not close a card with a balance. Try to keep your total credit utilization below 15% of your total credit line. Beyond that, if you have over 7 or so VISA, MasterCrad, or Discover cards, closing a couple won't hurt your score. I would space these closings out 3 months apart.
Here is my TAKE in the subject...I GET "EXCESSIVE CREDIT LIMITS"...so I close something...then my DEBT TO CREDIT LIMIT RATIO is messed up so I OPEN something... LOSE~LOSE BUT IF YOU JUST "GO FOR THE PRIZE"---->EVERYTHING 0.00% TO 9.99% THEN YOU HAVE WON THE GAME!!! If you could get your lowest rate cards to increase the credit limits...you could get rid of the stuff over 9.99% real easy... 9.99% IS JUST THE UPPER END I (AND OTHERS) WILL PAY...
