On 1/17/2011 1:58 PM, SMS wrote:

If you're carrying balances on any cards then it makes sense to not
cancel unused cards. But if you're not carrying a balance then your
credit utilization percentage is 0 no matter how much available credit
you have.

A while back Discover offered a deal I couldn't pass up. 0% no-fee
balance transfers with 0% interest for as long as you had the card and
missed no payments. You did have to make at least two charges of at
least $1 every month which would be subject to interest (later they
dropped that requirement). I took out $30,000 and bought CDs. I have to
make a payment each month but the interest rate is 0%.

They are betting that people use the card for more and more purchases,
then your payments only go toward the 0% principle. Your purchases add
up and keep charging you 21% interest month after month. I think they
may have passed a law against it. It got my ex. We split up our debts
and I told her to get a new card to use and not to use that one for
purchases. No, she used it. Then she and her father were ****ed at me
for giving her that debt.