I've Had One of My Credit Cards for 15 Years. Here's Why I Won't Get Rid of It, Even Though I Rarely Use It

What is the oldest credit card you still have? For me, it's a Capital One card. It originally started its life in my wallet as a secured credit card when I first got serious about establishing credit, and after a year or so of using the card and making my payments on time, Capital One sent my security deposit back and transitioned it to an unsecured card.

I'm still keeping this account open although it's largely unused

The name of the credit card has changed, as the original credit card product doesn't exist anymore, but today it's called the Capital One Cash card. It isn't a product that is open to new applicants anymore, and the closest current product would probably be the Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card. In simple terms, this is a starter credit card. It has a much lower limit than any other credit card I have (it's still the same as my original secured card deposit). It earns 1% cash back on all purchases.

To be fair, this isn't a bad credit card. I've just worked hard to build my credit, and now I have a few excellent credit cards that have higher limits, much better perks and rewards, and lower interest rates. So I don't really use this card anymore, and only make a small purchase with it every so often to keep the account active.

Why don't I close this credit card?

It might seem logical to close a credit card that I never use, don't need, and still have to spend time making sure I keep it active. However, there are a couple of good reasons I don't close it, both having to do with my credit score.

First, one of the most important categories of information in the FICO credit score model is the amounts you owe, which makes up 30% of your score. This doesn't refer to the dollar amounts of your debts as much as it does the amounts you owe relative to your available credit. By removing this credit line, my overall available credit would decrease, and the small credit card balances I do have would be a greater percentage of my available credit.

Second, there's a category in the FICO formula called "length of credit history" that makes up 15% of your score and considers several time-weighted factors. One is the age of your oldest credit account, which, for me, is this card. My second-oldest credit account I still have open is about five years newer, so this could have an impact. This category also considers things like the average age of all active credit accounts, and closing this one could lower my average significantly.

Now, the exact FICO formula is a closely guarded secret, so there's no way to say exactly how much my credit score could be affected, especially since that card's positive history could stay on my credit report for 10 years. But it's safe to assume that my score could take at least a mild hit if I were to close this account.

Should you keep your old credit accounts open?

Like most financial decisions, this should be taken on a case-by-case basis. For instance, my oldest credit card doesn't have an annual fee, so it doesn't cost me anything to keep it open. I might be willing to take a temporary credit score hit if it were costing me $100 per year.

The bottom line is that I have some good reasons to keep my oldest credit card open, but there isn't a one-size-fits-all answer for everyone. The takeaway here is that if you do choose to close an old credit card, it's important to be aware of how it could affect your credit score when you do.
The Capital One Cash card is unavailable on The Ascent. All information was collected independently and not reviewed for accuracy or provided by the credit card issuer. Some items may be out of date.