Will it increase my credit score if I close the account on my 10 credit cards that I do not use anymore?

I already paid off all of my credit card bills which is $4000 all in all. I have 10 credit cards that I do not use anymore. So If I close them all.... do you think it will increase my credit score? My current score is 718 as of May 2007.....

Public Comments

1. no closing credit lines can actually lower ur score in some cases
2. Sorry closing credit card does not increase credit score.
3. If you have paid credit cards thats good use them little bit may be just $10.00 (Ten) and pay them off do it 6 months several times almost every month once or twice your credit score will go up.
4. Keep them open and just don't use them if you don't need them. There are two benefits. The first, is they are available if you need them for emergencies. The second, is part of your credit score is determined by the length of your credit history, so if you close an old one, it could actually hurt your score. The only thing negative that could happen is MAYBE someday when you are trying to make a large purchase like a house, they may ask you to close a couple of them so that you have less available credit that could get you in trouble if you maxed them out. Cross that bridge if and when you come to it.
5. Actually closing credit cards you do not use can help your credit. You need to have the companies note that the cards were closed at customer request. If you have this many cards open then that is the same as outstanding credit, that is, you could fill those at any time and many lenders see that as a potential problem. You do need to keep some credit open to show that you have borrowing ability, but you really only need one or two small credit cards.
6. Credit card scores are partly based on your outstanding balance to available credit. So in many cases it can actually hurt your score if you were to close out your accounts because your outstanding balance to available credit ratio would be lower. Your best bet is to get a few credit cards with higher available balances in order to keep your current available balance relatively stable. if you currently have a ZERO balance it probably won't hurt you that much since as a percentage, it's always zero of whatever your available balance is, however if you use your credit card then you might hurt your credit score more than if you left them open. .
7. You have what is for many people a rare opportunity to close some of your credit card accounts with little or no adverse impact on your credit score. That's because you avoid the biggest negative in closing accounts - increasing your debt as a percentage of your credit limit. I encourage you to close some of the accounts. Just make sure you don't close any of the oldest accounts - shortening your credit history is another big negative. I doubt that you'll see any improvement in your credit score. The payoff is likely to come more indirectly. You will probably find it easier to qualify for new credit, or get higher credit limits on the cards you use most often.
8. I would keep the 5 oldest accounts open! I would even make small charges on them every now and then. (Unless, they have horrible interest rates or annual fees.) But, it's unnecessary to keep more than 5. Some people would say even 5 is too many. It just looks like you have too much available credit. 3 or 4 would even be plenty.
9. The following 5 critical factors affect your credit score in a major way. By knowing these you can keep a check on them and make your credit score a healthy one. 1. Re-payment history This factor carries the highest weight in your credit report. How steadfast are you in repaying your loans, makes your credit report shine. Experts claim that this factor alone accounts for 35% of points in your credit score. So, if you falter on repayment front it is sure to be reflected poorly on your credit score. 2. Outstanding debt The next comes your debt burden. How much you owe is a factor that according to experts carries about 30% weight in your credit score. This is 30% is based upon outstanding debt. To get a better score it is advised that you keep your outstanding debt to a minimum. 3. Length of your established credit history The time for which you have a credit history also matters. The longer your established credit history the more credit reporting agencies believe in you. This could be simply because of the fact that they have more data to analyze your financial position. Experts give it a 15% weight in determining your credit score. 4. The state of your financial accounts How much money do you have in your bank account, your income levels, your house, car, your assets etc. comes the next. A healthy bank account reflects a healthy credit score. Experts find that credit reporting agencies give this factor 10% weight while determining your credit score. Read more from: http://www.credit-card-gallery.com/article/204,5_critical_factors_affecting_your_credit_score
10. Some say that you should close all of them, while some say that you should close ½ of them, but I say that closing any of them will do you more harm than good. About ⅔ of your score consists of payment history(35%) and utilization(30%). Closing those cards now, will definitely have an effect on that. You could roll the dice and close a few of them, but me myself, I wouldn't take that chance. I would use them lightly, a couple dollars here, a dollars there, to where I'm using far less than the 30% allowable of your combined available credit on all of the cards, and of course pay the minimum payment, which should be the total amount that's chraged as well. But hopefully, you'll make the right decision on what you want to do.