Today’s. They continue tomorrow

Smart Canadians help me out here...

Does having multiple credit cards (like 3) hurt your credit score?

What about cancelling credit cards I'm no longer going to use? I only have 1 credit card now but I want a couple new ones that have better rewards

Also what's the best way to check your credit score? I see a bunch of ads on tv for like CreditKarma and stuff. Does it actually hurt your score? I've lost my wallet with my SIN and license card in it, need to know if someone has stolen my identity.


Getting a bunch of different answers on google.

This post was edited by LuLer on Apr 16 2018 05:18pm

Habs knows best but no, none of that hurts it from what I’ve been told

This post was edited by partank on Apr 16 2018 05:20pm

If you have mastercard/capital one, they have a free credit score thing on their website.

Multiple cards depends on how new they are, how often you use each individual, and how quickly you opened each account in relation to eachother. Just having 3 cards doesn't hurt though

As long as your card(s) have no balance on them, cancelling wont hurt your score.

This post was edited by Farine on Apr 16 2018 05:20pm

Having multiple cards will improve your score.

Cancelling cards will lower your score until you get another card that is the same or higher limit.


A lot of banks/creditors (like capital one) have free credit checks, and doing a soft check, ie: looking at the score and current account summary will not affect your rating.




Not true. Revolving accounts with 0 balance will lower your score if cancelled.

I couldn’t imagine having more than one credit card.

this is what i have been told at least,

Opening a credit application hurts your credit score, but only a little, maintain good credit on that line quickly counter acts that.
Closing cards also lowers your score because it lowers your total credit offered, that being said random cards with little history can be safely closed.
you should not close your oldest / largest limit card instead if you no longer want to use them change them to the lowest limit cost card the bank offers and use just enough to maintain the card.

Basically your credit score is a function of your used credit/available credit and how quickly your turn over your debt, make payments but also spend more.

if you want to check if your identity is being used to open lines of credit you well probably need to get your credit REPORT not just score. probably need someone like equifax for that, there are other but not sure
https://www.equifax.com/personal/identity-theft-protection/

This post was edited by Nearin on Apr 16 2018 06:05pm

3 is fine, best is to not cancel all your cards and get new ones it's good to have an old card kept active for a long time is shows stability and helps your score. If you're not looking for a new car/mortgage in the next couple of months/year open all 3 but if you're looking for a bigger loan soon don't open 3 new credit cards right now at the same it will look fishy and credit requests will also bring down your score and make you look like a credit seeker. Credit is so important but people who have good credit worry about their score too much. In the end, it doesn't really matter if your score is 750 or 800, just manage you stuff well and pay your shit and you have nothing to worry about.

For your lost SIN, it is very likely noted in your equifax bureau and doesn't effect your score, worst case a bank will call you after you make a credit request to confirm it's really you. You can request a free equifax report by mail.

This post was edited by h4bs on Apr 16 2018 06:07pm

Credit Karma emailed me when I applied for my Amazon Credit Card

Thanks for all the replies.

I guess since the card I have now is my only and oldest, I'll keep it open.

I'm getting the Fido one for foreign purchases (I get gas in the states two or three times per month and pretty much all my online purchases are from American stores) and something else with better cashback% for everyday use (any suggestions? thinking Costco).