Closing Old Credit Cards: Score Impact & How To Minimize Damage

• Closing an old credit card can negatively impact your credit score.
• Impacts include weakening credit mix, shortening credit history age, and increasing credit utilization ratio.
• A credit utilization ratio above 30% is generally considered detrimental to your score.
• The credit score drop is often minor and temporary if other credit payments are timely.
• To mitigate impact, keep lifetime free cards active or try to convert fee-based cards to free.

Why It Matters: Closing old credit cards can lower your credit score, affecting financial standing.