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Question about credit report?

I am looking at a copy of my credit report as I type this. All 3 credit reporting agencies are included. My question is for those who say that you shouldn't close a credit card account you're no longer using, because it will no longer serve as a credit reference: What do you mean when you say that? I'm looking at my credit all the way back to the early 90's, and there are numerous accounts I have closed, but the accounts still show up on my credit report and they still show that the account was paid on time, in full, and is in good standing. If what you say is true, that closing the account means it will no longer serve as a credit reference, how is it that I can still see all my closed accounts, and they all still reflect positively on my credit report? Shamieya - If what you're saying is true, why don't people just close BAD accounts to get them off their credit report? Why would anyone file bankruptcy if cleaning up your credit was as simple as closing the accounts that were negative? JenniferJohnson2008 - Perhaps you are not aware, but TOO MUCH available credit also hurts your credit score.

Public Comments

  1. It may be on your credit report, but it is unrated. meaning it's not used in your actual credit score. Even if you stop using a card for 4 to 6 months, it can become unrated and not used in your score.
  2. What you want is a good ratio of available credit to used credit. So let's say right now you have available credit lines of $5,000. And let's say you owe $4,000. That's not going to look very good because you have only a little credit left. Now let's say you owe $4,000, but you left all your old credit accounts open. You'd have a total available credit of $15,000, for example, and you'd be using a lot less of your available credit, and that would make your score higher.
  3. The first poster is wrong. I have accounts that show on my credit report that are well over 10-years old and they are still rated accounts. You are correct about the accounts still showing up with payment history's. I think what most people mean is your debt to credit ratio. When you close a open account, your available credit drops so if you have balances on other accounts your debt to credit ratio goes up and this can cause your score to drop. Actually having high credit limits helps your score because it makes it hard to exceed 30% of your limit which is where your score takes a hit.
  4. I agree with the other poster. Closing accounts that still have a balance is bad. however closing accounts that are paid in full, does not affect your score adversely. I believe good credit stays on your report and is used as part of your score for up to 10 years. Bad credit stays for 7 years. If they are over 10 years you can have them removed if you wish. But if it is still showing favorable I would leave it.
* Some answers may have been provided by Yahoo! Answers.