From what I understand, cancelling them can damage credit. I wish I had known before I cancelled two of mine. My advice...if they don't have any fees (yearly or inactivity), keep em open and lock em up. Cancel paper statements to decrease the risk of identity theft and monitor them monthly to ensure they haven't been used. At least then you will always have them if an emergency comes up.
It won't necessarily damage credit. I think what creditors look for when making big purchases is revolving accounts in good standing. But if you have good credit and you close your credit cards they can still see your account was in good standing. We recently purchased our home and a car so we really don't need them to "boost" our credit. I would like to buy another home in the future as investment and prior to doing so we will reapply for a credit card.
From what we were told they do lower credit score I think 2 points when cancelled but o well so much nicer living without one, just make sure you check it all out before signing anything
Just throwing this out there, I would look for credit cards with cash back and rewards attached to them. I have a credit card that earns cash back and then you get a bonus for redeeming it at a certain amount (the bonus is like free money, since I'm spending my money anyway).
Also with AMEX I heard their point system is pretty good. I know someone who recently got an iPad 2 by cashing in her AMEX points. All in all, if you are spending your hard-earned money you might as well get something out of it.
^ also with amex you can't use them at most gas pumps bc technically they only have 15 numbers instead of 16. You can go inside and pay but then where's the convenience ya know
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Also with AMEX I heard their point system is pretty good. I know someone who recently got an iPad 2 by cashing in her AMEX points. All in all, if you are spending your hard-earned money you might as well get something out of it.