I was wondering how long it takes for your credit to get updated when you cancel credit cards? I have a couple credit cards I don’t use because the interest rate is high and I need to get them cancelled, just curious how long it takes for them to show up on my credit report as cancelled and will it improve my credit score much?
Thanks,
Ryan
depends on how old the cc’s are and if they are showing positive on ur report. sometimes scores go DOWN if u caxl a cc in good standing even w/o bal, becuz it can lower ur debt to income ratio.
if u do cxl, it can take 1-60 days for the credit report to update, just depnds on how long the cc co. takes to report the change.
I was actually advised by financial consultant that it was better to keep your cc, the thing was that you needed to keep your balance down to a minimum. But I tell you I am not certain if that benefits you. Does anyone know if in fact this will give you a great benefit in the long run…curious.
u should maintain a small balance monthly to keep activity. that will show responsibility and allow for limit increases as well.
The best thing to do with your CCs is to cancel them with the bank and at the same time send a letter to the 3 major credit reporting agencies, reporting said cancelation including personal and credit card info and state on your letters what you are trying to do, which in turn will give double the chances of getting your score up within 30 days perhaps less time.
This is what will happen, you have the 3 major credit reporting agencies working for you by law for free and they have 30 days to accomplish such task.
Equifax
P.O. Box 740241 Trans Union Experian
Atlanta, GA 30374 2 Baldwin PL. P.O. Box 2002
800-685-1111 P.O. Box 1000 Allen, TX. 75013
Chester, PA. 19022 888-397-3742
800-888-4213
Good Investing fellows!!! ;D
what exactly are the cra’s going to do beside verify the accounts are accurate? worse case is that the banks will not reply to the cra’s request and the tradelines get deleted. the worse thing u want it deletion of a good TL, that will lower ur score in a heartbeat. u ALWAYS risk deletion when u request the CRA’s investigate a TL. if the TL is a negative, deletion is ok. but not for a GOOD TL
Well, you are right and it seems you have good knowledge of CRAs Thanks for bringing that point to the table. I guess in this case he could do nothing, look at the glass all the way dry instead of half or all the way full…
Unless you are 16 or 17 years old and the only credit entry you have on your record is your first used car that your Mom co-signed, or you pay cash for everything then a deletion of a good entrie will be bad, in this case this person is a contractor, i’m sure he has 20 or more credit entries, i being a foreigner and have been in the country 14 years i have more than 25 in my report…and believe me your credit will not get deleted, it might happens for a few months wich in turn might give you a better score weather good or bad entries and meanwhile you can put it to good use…Well at any rate, don’t take my word for it, we can debate this credit report thing until my Grandma completes the Boston marathon ;D, and only CCRs will deside how to rate your score, i suggest if you have a computer, investigate, and you will come up on top because your knowledge of this monsters will be increased and you can fight them with bigger weapons in the future and besides any problem is an opportunity in disguise.
Invest on fellows.
I would agree with this…if you cancel them, your utilization rate will go up significantly and that could lower your FICO score. Just pay them off and don’t use them, but I would say don’t cancel them.
By the way, utilization rate is your revolving credit limits divided by the balance. You want it low, and definitely under 30% at the highest.
I am not an expert, for further input, seek the advice of one or more qualified professionals.
There are good, easy to understand books at your favorite bookstore that reveal myths about credit scores. I highly recommend picking up one or two and learning how to maintain a high score. Avoid credit repair services unless you have money to burn and no time. Even then finding a legitimate co. is not easy.
don’t cancel a cc you’ve had for years…a long credit history is in your favor. keep balances under 50% or better, as already noted, under 30%.
Ryan,
The consensus is do not cancel credit cards that you have had for awhile, especially if you have held them at least two years. Cancelling cards with long credit histories can hurt your credit score. If you have had these cards only a couple of months, then cancelling them will not really impact your credit score.
That said, you tell us that the reason you want to cancel the cards is that the interest rates are really high. Since these are cards you are not using anyway, do we assume that you have zero balances on these cards?
If the only thing keeping you from using these cards is the interest rate, you can pay off the new balance in full each month – no finance charges no matter what the interest rate may be. If you carry a balance, then call the card issuer and ask for a rate review. Credit card issuers will almost always give you a lower rate if it is available and your credit score can justify it.
Maybe your credit score was a little blemished when you applied for the card, and that explains the high interest rate for unpaid balances. As your credit score improves, the credit card company does not automatically lower your interest rate. You have to ask them for a better rate and they often will grant a lower available rate simply because you ask.
At the same time you are calling to get a lower rate, also ask for an increase in your credit limit. An increase in your credit limit will also improve your credit score once the new limit is reported to the credit bureaus.
This is an exercise you should go through once a year, every year. Keep three or four major credit cards, get high credit limits and keep the balances relative to your credit limit low.
Stephen Snyder would say NO! Do not close any of your credit card accounts. Check out Stephen Snyder’s website, www.lifeafterbankruptcy.com. Even if you have no bankruptcy history, the information contained on the website is invaluable. Good luck!
Don’t mean to repeat anything posted…
The time it takes for any change/transaction to show on your credit report depends upon the furnishers of credit, i.e. Macy’s, Visa, WalMart, Honda, etc.
The 3 credit bureaus update their database on the 15th of each month [ssshhh… I didn’t tell you this] and I would expect no more than 60-90 days until the updates show on your credit report.
Lets all remember that pretty soon we will have a scoring system that probably no one will understand including the creditors. But as of now, sometimes it makes sense to close some credit cards…That is if you have to much available credit. My friend with a 730FICO recently was turned down for financing for a business loan because the bank felt he had to much available credit and can just go out and use it and say f@%& to everyone. But he has over 15 active credit cards and well over 300K in available limits to use so it was hurting him in other ways. From a creditors standpoint not just using a score he can become a liability to them if he was hurt or decided to use all his credit…
Now generally if you have under 10 credit cards i say keep them open and every couple months use it for like a $10 purchase and pay it off to keep it active in the scoring process. Creditors go back 24months in calculating you score, so if its open andnot used in over 2yrs its not really getting calculated as much in the scoring decision.
And when closing a card it will reflect when the creditor does its next update…Most creditors update ever 30-90days your account information. If you closed the card and want it done fast just request the account to say CLOSED BY CONSUMER with the CRA and they will verify and do it.
HI THERE MY QUESTION IS MY SS# HAS BEEN COMPROMISED (STOLEN) WHAT CAN I DO TO PROTECT MY SELF AT THIS POINT. IM LOSEING SLEEP OVER IT?
Hi JR!
Sorry to hear about your SS#.
The next thing you should do is notified all your Financial institutions about your lose and they will be able to direct you in the right direction, but you have to do your do diligence once they tell you what to do, they don’t care if your finances get screwed up.
Please act as fast as you can it might not be too late to prevent the worst.
God bless
Fabio
Identity theft is a crime. Contact your district attorney’s office.
contact the 3 CRA and tell them you want to set up and identity theft notice on your credit report. Also tell them you want to set up a pin number so no one can access your credit without your permission.
just remember once you place the fraud alert on your file, all creditors will be required to check out all the contact information on there so do not get mad when they call the 1 or 2 tel#'s you listed to contact you. Its for your safefty and really your instructing them to do it…
its funny but many people get mad when you tell them you need to verify eveything before lending them credit, yet thats what they wanted when they placed it…
If you are that worried about your SSN - I would put a freeze on your credit reports, not just fraud alert.
Contact the 3 credit bureaus right away.
Also go to annualcreditreport.com - you are entitled to one free credit report from each of the 3 bureaus per year. Check each of them and see if there has been any suspicious activity.