How long should I wait to check credit score after closing cards?

karenkc · #1 (**permalink**) 10-20-2009, 06:10 PM

I ended up closing about 12+ cards so I don't have to monitor them for new fees the companies may decide to charge or for fraudulent activity. These cards had 0 balances. So I kept my oldest cc open so I would still have a long credit history and I still have 5 credit cards.

So I think if I check my credit score now it will be inaccurate since the changes are so recent. How long must I wait to get an accurate picture of my score?

disneysteve · #2 (**permalink**) 10-20-2009, 08:07 PM

I think the CCs report monthly, but not all at the same time, so after 30 days, they all should have reported. I'd give it an extra week to be sure. Keep in mind, though, that your FICO score is not a fixed number. It can change daily and the effect of closing the accounts will gradually decrease over time.

MonkeyMama · #3 (**permalink**) 10-21-2009, 10:17 AM

I'd check it after 2-3 months. IT takes a while for it all to adjust.

& THEN I would check it again in a year. It can affect your score for a while.

It's just no so simple as that it will all be reflected in your score in 30 days. Trust me, it won't (& not in 180 days either).

AtlantaLife&Health · #4 (**permalink**) 10-21-2009, 11:45 PM

Your scores are going to drop big time. You're not supposed to close accounts. I have worked as a mortgage broker and that is the number one "No-No". I can understand not wanting to monitor fees but your score might tank. You just eliminated good credit history from your profile. Part of your score is weighted on the amount of all your balances to the total number of open accounts. This portion of your score could've been very high. You have now consolidated your total debt to only 5 cards. Give it a few months and you will see your score tank a little or a lot.

Snodog · #5 (**permalink**) 10-22-2009, 11:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AtlantaLife&Health

Your scores are going to drop big time.

I don't think they will drop that much. Length of credit lines only accounts for 15% of your score.

karenkc · #6 (**permalink**) 10-22-2009, 02:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AtlantaLife&Health

Your scores are going to drop big time. You're not supposed to close accounts. I have worked as a mortgage broker and that is the number one "No-No". I can understand not wanting to monitor fees but your score might tank. You just eliminated good credit history from your profile. Part of your score is weighted on the amount of all your balances to the total number of open accounts. This portion of your score could've been very high. You have now consolidated your total debt to only 5 cards. Give it a few months and you will see your score tank a little or a lot.

I considered this aspect. All of my cc debt will be paid off by spring so the ratio of debt to credit won't be a factor in the long term. Another thing is I thought that by keeping my oldest credit card open it would maintain the length of my credit history. (To be honest that's the part I don't fully understand. When they look at the age of your credit don't they go by your oldest card, or do they consider each card?) I don't mind my score dropping as long as it's temporary. (I've also heard that when people apply for home loans they can be denied if they have too much credit available on credit cards because the bank sees it as potential debt. I won't be thinking about a home loan for a long time though.)

Mistee · #7 (**permalink**) 10-22-2009, 04:00 PM

I have actually profited from having my cards closed. Then again, I am in the sixty and over Baby Boom crowd and have had my oldest card atleast 30 years. I have had my Capital One card since 1990. I closed Citibank, Chase AARP, Comerica Bank just to name a few of the mega banks in 1995 My credit score climbed very high (780+ and higher).

Most recently I closed another Citibank card. I have three cards that are relatively new (newer than 1990 and the Amex Gold Card). I thought the creditors that were open would like to see that they are not in competition with other credit card companies and could relax "picking on you!"

Debt to ratio didn't even enter into my equation when I closed the cards. I did get more and with better than the last credit lines.

Alex_Adviser · #8 (**permalink**) 10-23-2009, 01:42 AM

Make sure you negotiate a "pay for delete" with every single one of the collection companies BEFORE you pay. Get it in writing that they will remove any negative/collection information from your credit report once you pay your debts. If you do this with all of your collection accounts, you'll soon have no record of collection activity and your credit score with jump dramatically. Keep in mind that sometimes it takes up to 3 months for credit files to update.

am_vanquish · #9 (**permalink**) 10-23-2009, 05:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by karenkc

(To be honest that's the part I don't fully understand. When they look at the age of your credit don't they go by your oldest card, or do they consider each card?)

On the most recent credit report that I pulled for myselft it showed the average length of my CURRENT accounts. So in that respect, if you close a bunch of newer cards and keep some older cards, your account history would actually improve (becasue the average of the cards still open is higher after dropping the newer cards). I'm not sure if everyone does it like this or not.

boosami · #10 (**permalink**) 10-23-2009, 10:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by am_vanquish

On the most recent credit report that I pulled for myselft it showed the average length of my CURRENT accounts. So in that respect, if you close a bunch of newer cards and keep some older cards, your account history would actually improve (becasue the average of the cards still open is higher after dropping the newer cards). I'm not sure if everyone does it like this or not.

For FICO, "average account age" is calculated including closed accounts. If you close your oldest account--or any account--it will not immediately lower your average age. It will continue to count towards it for 10 years after the closing date, and then it will drop off your report completely. At that point, it may not hurt your score at all as your active accounts are now probably a decade older.

The only way closing credit card accounts hurts you in the immediate is because your total available credit limit will go down, which can cause it to look like you are using more of your available credit if you carry any balances.

mortgage-wiz · #11 (**permalink**) 04-24-2010, 04:08 AM

I thought the the Credit score checkup is annual no?

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