6. You Close Old or Inactive Credit Cards
Although it’s smart to limit the number of credit cards you have at any given time, Pukas noted that closing old or inactive cards can come back to haunt your credit score. “The length of your credit history affects 15 percent of your score,” she said. “This is why it’s important not to close credit card accounts that you have had for years.”
How to avoid it: Strive to keep older credit cards active by using them sparingly — once every few months — and paying off the balances on time.
How to fix it: If you don’t trust yourself not to rack up debt on those cards, “consider canceling newer accounts rather than old ones, so that the length of your credit history is not impacted,” Pukas said.
