Keeping a good credit rating

[kanerf]

I swap my cards out every quarter or so to make sure that I am using each them a bit. It is not an issue if you pay them down.

 

[EACarlson]

I'm no expert, but I also once had a lot of cards like that, in some cases more than one issued by the same bank due to business buyouts and merchant changes. I *believe* that asking a bank to consolidate multiple lines of credit into one account does less to hurt you than full account closure. Also, there should be a note on any closure that you ask for, that says something like "closed at account holder's request", which makes it clear that it was not closed for failure to pay.

All of the cards I have now I use for everyday purchases like gasoline and toiletries, all of them are reward cards, and all of them are paid off in full each month by automatic payment. I use an Amazon card for gasoline, and earn enough back to cover nearly all my Amazon purchases that way, including the Prime fee, which gives me a painless way to pay for movie streaming.

(BTW, never use a debit card at a gasoline pump; skimmers are too much of a risk. A credit card is not nearly as risky because there are loss limits in place once the theft is discovered. Just set it to automatically pay off every month.)

There is no difference between "consolidating" or combining credit lines and closing accounts. If you look at it on the credit report, one account is closed and the other gets a credit line increase. Notes on accounts are almost never looked at and are completely irrelevant when it comes to credit scores. In case of a manual review, a note may help or harm you, but very few things are done with a manual review.
I will go a step further on the debit card. Never use one, full stop. There is almost no good reason to use a debit card, only additional risks. Merchants prefer you use a debit card because it costs them much less to process and puts all the risk back on the customer. If they would let me I would have an ATM card that isn't linked to the Visa or Mastercard network.

 

[_19disnA]

I have always considered my credit score as the result of how someone handles credit. Do you pay on time, do you minimize the amout of debt you have, are you spending within your means, etc.? Unless you work for one of those rating agencies, you have no idea of the exact formulas they use to determine that. Having a good credit score matters the most when intending to make a large purchase on credit such as buying a house or car.

I have a debit card and find it handy to use on vacation for cash purchases. Rather then carry a large amount of cash with me, I rather use a local ATM as needed. No idea if having a debit card vs a credit card does anything to my credit score.

 

[Neapolitan Ice Cream]

The best thing you can do is pay slight amounts and then pay them off in full every month.