What is better, more credit cards or older cards?

I have about 6 cards that are all pretty much paid off but I like most of them for various reasons...Chase amazon b/c I shop there alot and the rewards are good. Chase freedom cus of the APR, Washington Mutual b/c of the 5500 limit (in case of an emergency) and USAA b/c of a 10% gas rebate. When I went to close my capital one, the lady told me that it was better to have "older cards" because that shows established credit then to have less open accounts. Is that true (my capital one has been open 2 years, but the APR isn't the best and the limit it 1000)

For your credit score, financial freedom, and sanity, it's better to have only one credit card with a really high limit.
Reasons:
1. When lenders check your credit, they look at the ratio of what you owe compared to what your limit is. So if you have one credit card and owe $200 with $1000 limit, you don't look as good as someone who owes $200 with a $5000 limit. You want to owe as little as possible at any given time, yet have a high limit on your card.
2. If you have a bunch of cards open, lenders will look at you as a "potential risk" because you have access to so much "money".

I have an answer for all your credit cards:
Chase amazon: sounds like you want to hold on to this one. You get rewards and you can use it in other places. ALWAYS PAY YOUR BALANCE OFF EVERY MONTH.

Chase Freedom: Drop this card. APR should mean nothing because once you've paid off you cards, you'll always pay the balance on your one card every month, right? :)

WAMU: Drop this card. If you have a good history with a credit card, you can call and request your balance be increased. I started with a credit card that had a limit of $1000 and requested every year that it be increased and now the limit is up to $7000. Also, you should NEVER rely on a credit card for emergency. Open up an e-savings/money market account at Citibank (or whichever bank has the highest interest rate right now) and set up an automatic transfer from your checking account every month for at least $200. This is your emergency fund. That way, after your emergency, you don't experience another emergency by seeing how deep in credit card debt you are.

USAA: Ok, maybe keep this one because of the gas rebate. But two credit cards should be your absolute limit.

I agree with your Capital One lady. I would get a Discover or other credit card you can use in most places (Capital One cards are really bad - they have a reputation of only appealing to people with bad credit), drop the others, pay off the balance, then continue to pay the balance in full each month so you never acquire interest and also ask them for an increase on your limit. Two years is not much of a history so now's the time to cancel cards and get yourself situated so you can grow your history. But remember, if your limit is $1000 or $10,000, you should pay no attention to that for your own finances. It's simply to make your credit score higher. In order not to get into trouble with credit cards you should never charge more in a month than you can pay in full when the bill comes (for me that's $300).

Good Luck and happy finances!!

Few and older is better. Shows better history.
More is bad. Shows "potential" to get too far in debt.

The longer you have cards and the longer your history goes back, the better your credit gets and the more likely it is that you'll get better deals on mortgage and car loans.

If you have too many new ones there's not as much history so they have less info to base your "credibility" on.

Only if your oldest card was not Capital One. The problem with them is that they report your high balance as your Credit Limit. This really messes with the credit scoring systems. It is true that the longer a card is open it looks better. But if your Capital one card is only 2 years old and it is your oldest then you do not have much of a history, so closing it out should not effect it that much. It should also not effect it much if you do have cards older than the Capital One card.

Does Capital One charge you an Annual Fee, if not there is nothing that it is costing you to keep them open. Just don't use it if you don't like the interest rate. If you do decide to cancel it make sure that it shows up on your report as "closed by consumer" not "closed by credit grantor".

Get rid of the Capital One card. I've heard that just having one makes you look like a credit risk.
The other important thing to remember is this: the more possible credit you have out there, the more of a risk you are when you apply for new credit, because they know tomorrow you could run out and jack them all up.

It is better to have older cards because it shows creditors you are responsible. When you have too many credit cards and try to get a loan you may run into trouble because you may not make as much money every month as you have out in credit.

the older ones are good because you have the oldest credit and its good for you.

Most everybody's said that having older cards are good, but I can explain how and why...

Check it out

1.Payment history 35%
2.Total amount of debt vs. available credit 30%
3. Length of time establishing credit 15%
4. Types of credit established 10%
5. Inquiries and New Accounts to established account ratio 10%

Having an older account affect all 5 factors. Especially #1. If you have had a credit card that you've been paying on religiously for let's say 5 years even. That payment history is going to directly affect aspect #1 and also aspect #3 becuase the scoring system is built on stability and longevity. It's not expected to apply for types of credit because as long as you manage the credit you have it should be all that you need. If you've had an account like that for 5 years or more, and did what was expected, chances are the limit would be large which would eliminate the need for smaller credit cards. Also, the scoring system dictates that 3 revolving accounts (credit cards or line of credit) and 1 installment loan either closed or currently paying on equate to a good mixture of credit usage.

So, I hope that my explanation was useful to you

Best is cash. Credit cards are 'debt' cards and older cards are better retired.

b.n.dastoor

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