If you have five credit cards but regularly reach for only two, closing the other three may seem like obvious financial housekeeping. Fewer accounts can mean fewer statements, fewer passwords and less temptation to spend, but unused credit cards can still play an important role in your credit profile. Closing them may reduce your available credit and potentially affect your credit scores, even when the cards carry zero balances.
Before calling the issuer, it pays to understand exactly what you would gain and what you could accidentally give up.
