My Radio Shack is paid off and now I no longer want it my wallet so should I (rate, credit report)

[FBJ]

cut up the card and keep the account open?

OR

or cut up the card and closed the account?


RadioShack has horrible items and i had no intentions of using the card again. Their selection of anything is crappy.

[christina0001]

Just cancel the account and cut up the card. In the long run, keeping it open is not going to matter.
If your credit history is relatively young and unestablished, having an open account for a long time can help you establish credit, but if you are concerned about that, just get a card at a store you actually shop at.
I've heard that cancelling a card you have had for a long time can harm your credit score slightly and temporarily. I don't know if you have had the card for a long time. But a couple of years ago I cancelled a card I had for many years and it made no difference in my score.

[FBJ]

Originally Posted by christina0001

Just cancel the account and cut up the card. In the long run, keeping it open is not going to matter.
If your credit history is relatively young and unestablished, having an open account for a long time can help you establish credit, but if you are concerned about that, just get a card at a store you actually shop at.
I've heard that cancelling a card you have had for a long time can harm your credit score slightly and temporarily. I don't know if you have had the card for a long time. But a couple of years ago I cancelled a card I had for many years and it made no difference in my score.

I had the card a total of three years.

[Flamingo13]

I don't think a store like Radio Shack will affect your score either way. On another note, Radio Shack used to be - YEARS ago, the place to go to get advice, find wiring, whatever, but they've gone the way of all the other stores - hiring warm bodies that show up

[wheelsup]

Originally Posted by Flamingo13

I don't think a store like Radio Shack will affect your score either way. On another note, Radio Shack used to be - YEARS ago, the place to go to get advice, find wiring, whatever, but they've gone the way of all the other stores - hiring warm bodies that show up

That is because the internet replaced those people.

[Dub D]

I actually use to work for Radio Shack about 4 years. Their problem is they decided to become a cell phone company. I really don't understand why they continue to call themselves RADIO Shack when they have the weakest selection of audio equipment ever. They actually make a huge profit margin on fuses and batteries but they focus on cell phones since 10% profit on cell phones equal more cash than 80% on fuses.

Additionally, when I worked there you didn't make any commission on fuses and whatnot so there was no good reason to learn about that stuff. Even more so, having a 4 dollar sale killed your sales numbers. It was a stupid system and I know they changed it as I was leaving. I was told they change the system just about every year so people don't take advantage of it...sounds like someone needs to keep their job so they create busy work to appear busy. I'm beyond surprised they haven't closed alot of branches down.

Regarding the card, why the hell wouldn't it be on a credit report? Thats just flat out stupid to assume it wouldn't. Plenty of department stores have their own credit card. Anytime you apply for a credit card, it affects your credit.

The interest rate on RadioShack cards are a huge ripoff and like you said, their products aren't really the best. Their good ones are extremely overpriced so I would cancel the card after a few months of zero usage.

[chet everett]

...the question of having inactive cards vs closed cards depends more on individual situation.

Suppose you have a nice mix of traditional revolving credit cards like Discover, Visa, MasterCard and some store cards. If they are all active and in good standing and you want to take advantage of some other offer that would give you a great rate on a new purchase or special discount then you would get "instant approval". Open or close makes no difference in such circumstances.

If you have none of those things and closed the one store account you have you may not be granted enough credit to take advantage of such deals. Keeping account open could help improve credit score in that situation.

If you have so many of the store cards and such that your POTENTIAL ability have debt beyond the normal debt-to-income limits then you may run into problems getting a good rate on mortgage / car loan refi -- basically if your credit score is below 650 or so. To deal with that it might make sense to close unneeded credit.

[Marv101]

Do not close that or any other credit card you have, since AAoA (Average Age of Accounts) is an extremely important factor when your credit score is calculated and your creditworthiness is being determined.

The tips you'll find at Free Credit Score & Credit Report Card. No Credit Card Needed, myFICO | Check Your FICO Credit Score and Credit Report Online, and/or CreditBoards.com - Credit Help, Credit Repair Tips, News, Forums will all confirm this.

[bradykp]

i wouldn't close it. having longer and more history is a good thing for your FICO score. cut it up, forget about it, and then years from now when you're doing cleanup on your credit report, close it then when it matters less.