I have 6 credit cards with no debt. Will my FICO score go up or down if I close any accounts?

My credit score is currently 745. I have 6 credit cards: Macy's Visa Sam's Club Discover American Express Paypal MasterCard B of A Visa WaMu Visa I have absolutely NO debt, and always pay my full balance on time. My question is: do I have too many open lines of credit? I know 745 is a pretty good FICO score, but I am curious why it's not even higher. I know that credit scores can go down if you close a credit account, but in the long run would it go back up and possibly be higher if I had less open lines of credit? If you think I SHOULD close a credit line, which one (or two) do you recommend I close and why? Thank you very much for your help! Thanks for the advice so far. I'm fairly young, and do not yet have car loans, or mortgages, etc. Just the credit cards which I pay on time in full. keep those answers coming!!!

Public Comments

1. Fico score is determined by ALOT of variables. CLOSING tradelines is not a good way to improve your score, particularly if they are accounts in good standing. The major part of a credit score is TIME . . . . length of accounts in good standing. If the cards are not charging you annual fees or anything like that, I'd simply shred them and not use them, and/or put them in a safety deposit box. Judging from what you have listed there, I would say in order to improve your score, perhaps you should diversify the types of accounts you have . . . mortgage, car payment, fixed loan, etc. The key to a good credit score is time and consistency.
2. With a 745 FICO the best thing to do would be leave well enough alone! Any FICO over 720 is over kill. There are hardly any purposes for which you will need a higher FICO than a 720. Having said that if you wish to close anything in the hopes that your FICO score will go up you can close the newest ones first. The older the account is the more bearing it has on your FICO. Also, your available credit limit is important if you have cards with a high limit leave those open. Lastly your FICO will go up over time even if you did nothing because your FICO calculates how long you have had credit. It is best to do nothing.
3. I had a bunch of business accounts and credit cards tied to a home based business I had. I phased out the business but still had the accounts for a good two years still with just $50-$100 in them... Anyway, after I closed the business bank accounts and rolled over all the balances into just one remaining business account and closed all the business credit cards (paid up ofcourse.) my credit score dropped by 200 points... In the last few months I closed the last remaining business bank account (It has been another 2 years.) my credit score appears to have jumped (up) by about 100 points... I don't really think the current credit companies know what they're doing. They're all over the place with their policies and calculations If you are curious you can try to close one and see what happens.... Don't close them all at the same time, otherwise you could see a huge swing in your credit score. As some people on here stated if you like your good credit consider leaving them be.... Esp. if the credit card company doesn't charge you any annual fee just for having their card.