How do I improve my credit score? I have a number of credit cards that I will...?

I have a number of credit cards that I will be paying off in full. Is it better to close most of them (except for one or two), or should I keep them open?

How do I improve my credit score? I have a number of credit cards that I will...?

If you do chose to close out a few credit cards make sure you don%26#039;t close more than 1 or 2 per month as closing too many at once can actually reduce your score. I believe you should keep your balances always down to at least about 40 percent of your credit limit and ALWAYS pay them on time. I would go to Equifax.com and request a copy of your score power report which you can do online for a 15.50 fee if you are american. This report will also give you some solid advice on how to approve your score. You can also monitor your score at this website which you might be interested in. Hope this helps!! BTW Don%26#039;t close out all your dept. store credit cards because it actually helps if you have at least one..GOOD LUCK

How do I improve my credit score? I have a number of credit cards that I will...?

Pay your bills on time

Payment history is the single most important factor in determining your credit score, making up 35% of the total. Since recent history carries more weight than what happened five years ago, getting in the habit of making on-time payments is an incredibly powerful way to start rebuilding your credit rating.

Likewise, delinquent payments can devastate your score. Missing even one payment can knock 50 to 100 points off a good score. Skipping payments for a single month on all your bills can lower your number from a respectable 707 to the dismal range of 562 to 632, according to the credit score estimator at Bankrate.com. The simulator lets you estimate your credit score and see the impact of various credit behaviors on your score.

Pay down your debts -- and consider charging less

Lenders like to see plenty of breathing room between the amount of debt reported on your credit cards and your total credit limits.

What many people don%26#039;t know is that credit scores don%26#039;t distinguish between those who carry a balance on their cards and those who don%26#039;t. So charging less can also improve your score -- even if you pay off your credit cards each month.

Your credit-card issuer takes a look at your account once every month or so and reports the outstanding balance on that day to the credit bureaus. This snapshot doesn%26#039;t reflect whether you pay off that balance a few days later or whether you carry it from month to month.

Don%26#039;t close old, paid-off accounts

We used to tell people to close accounts they weren%26#039;t using. Now here%26#039;s the word from direct from Craig Watts, an executive at Fair Isaac %26amp; Co., one of the leading credit scorers: %26quot;Closing accounts can never help your score, and often it can hurt.%26quot;

This knowledge is frustrating to those who want to simplify their lives and reduce the opportunities for identity theft by closing unused accounts. But credit facts are credit facts.

Shutting down credit accounts lowers the total credit available to you and makes any balances you have loom larger in credit score calculations. If you close your oldest accounts, it can actually shorten the length of your reported credit history and make you seem less credit-worthy.

Of course, perhaps you can afford not to care too much about the effect of closing an account. If you don%26#039;t use your cards much and your score is already high, the damage caused by shutting down more recent unused accounts will be minimal and may be well worth the peace of mind.

If you do carry balances or charge a lot, however, leave all your old accounts open, especially if you%26#039;re about to apply for new credit.

Don%26#039;t be afraid of credit counseling

If you%26#039;re overloaded with high-interest debt and are in danger of falling behind on your payments -- or you already have -- consider working with a nonprofit agency such as Consumer Credit Counseling Services to set up a debt repayment plan. These services can negotiate lower interest rates and help you pay off your bills within a few years.

Contrary to what you might have heard, credit counseling probably won%26#039;t hurt your credit score. It used to, but about three years ago Fair Isaac discovered that people in debt-repayment plans were no more likely to default or go bankrupt than other consumers.

Stay out of bankruptcy if you can

Bankruptcy is the nuclear bomb of the credit world -- worse than delinquencies, loans or collections. Its impact, however, depends on how many black marks you made on your credit before you filed.

Bankruptcy can knock 200 points, or more, off the score of someone with otherwise good credit. People with multiple delinquencies or collections on their reports will see less of a decline because their scores are low to begin with. Either way, recovering from a bankruptcy can be tough. Once a score is pushed below 620, which bankruptcy inevitably does, credit becomes scarce and far more expensive.

High-interest lenders love recent bankruptcies, because they know consumers aren%26#039;t allowed to file again for another six years -- plenty of time to squeeze out lots of high-rate payments.

How do I improve my credit score? I have a number of credit cards that I will...?

If your only focus is improving your credit score it is best to keep them open and active but manage them very efficiently, the best thing for your credit is having revolving accounts (credit cards) with low balances, this shows that you have the responsibility to manage open ended credit

How do I improve my credit score? I have a number of credit cards that I will...?

If you have department store credit cards, such as Old Navy, Sears or home depot, go ahead and close them. They don%26#039;t do much for your credit score.

Once you%26#039;ve paid off your cards, you%26#039;re score will likely improve, but it will take time. Keep a one or two national cards (like citibank), and try not to use them unless you%26#039;re going to pay the balance within 30 days, because they really have been hiking the interest rates up dramatically in the past two years.

other things that help your score is paying bills on time, and not applying for department store cards and having your credit report pulled for no good reason. It all costs you points.

How do I improve my credit score? I have a number of credit cards that I will...?

It is better to keep all good standing accounts open. If you have been more than 30 days late on any account it close it. The longer you have an account open in good standing the better it is for your credit raiting.

How do I improve my credit score? I have a number of credit cards that I will...?

to raise my credit score?

1. Always pay on time or ahead of time.

2. maintain low balances on credit cards

3. keep your total potential debt to earnings load low - If you have a card with a $15000 credit line, you may ask them to reduce it to something more realistic, like $5000.

4. I was told by an underwriter that having just two cards, a major credit card (VISA, MC) and a consumer card (Sears, best buy, etc...) is the best mix for revolving credit.

5. You should have a recent history of both installment or term (Car or house loans) and revolving credit.

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http://www.bestcreditrates.net

How do I improve my credit score? I have a number of credit cards that I will...?

If it were me, I would pay them off, and cancel them all. I%26#039;ve made a choice this year to not borrow money anymore. So we%26#039;re paying everything off, then will pay cash for what we want and need going forward.

But, I%26#039;m also not worried about my credit score anymore. I now look at the credit score as the %26quot;I love debt%26quot; score, and I don%26#039;t love debt anymore.

How do I improve my credit score? I have a number of credit cards that I will...?

pay your bills on time: