Closing the account will affect the "average age of revolving accounts." One factor in your credit score worthiness (I think 10%) is how long creditors have "trusted you" to have credit with them. You want that average to be 7 years or higher. So if you have 4 total credit cards that you've had open 20, 10, 5, and 1 years, the average age is 36/4= 9 years. If you cancel the 20 year card, it drops to   16/3=5.33 years. That would most likely drop your score 30 pts until the average age increases.  ... View more

Two tricks that work... 1. If you know you're going to pay the full balance each month, don't wait until your CC runs your statement. It reports that amount to the credit bureaus, which counts against your credit usage%. Instead, if your outstanding balance is for example $1,000 and the period ends June 25, then pay that balance (or a lot of it) June 23. Then when they run the report on the 25th, it'll show a balance of $0 on your credit report. 2. Always pay more than the minimum payment due--on credit cards especially, car loans, student loans, etc. Even rounding up to the next $10 makes a big difference in how credit bureaus view you. ... View more