@neveroptedin Closing a card you never use can quietly work against your score. Have you ever closed one and watched it move? #creditscore #creditcards ... See more
The claim
According to FICO, the "amounts owed" category — which includes your credit utilization ratio on revolving accounts — determines 30% of a FICO Score, and FICO states that closing credit lines may hurt your score by reducing your overall available credit and increasing your credit utilization ratio, while noting it is not possible to measure the exact impact of a single factor without looking at your entire report.
The receipt
Amounts owed on accounts determines 30% of a FICO® Score
Don't close unused credit cards as a short-term strategy to raise your scores. Closing credit lines may hurt your score by reducing your overall available credit and increasing your credit utilization ratio.
It's recommended to keep your credit utilization (the percentage of your available credit that you're using) below 30% of your credit limit, and ideally below 10%.
Because of this, it's not possible to measure the exact impact of a single factor in how your FICO Score is calculated without looking at your entire report.
What the source doesn't say
The 30% belongs to FICO's whole "amounts owed" category — utilization is one part of it, not the entire 30%. FICO also says closing a card may hurt a score, not that it will, and that the effect of any single factor can't be measured without the whole report.
What you can do
Before closing a card, add up the balances and credit limits across your revolving accounts and see how the ratio changes without that card's limit.
Consumer info, not financial advice.