How to Use Credit Cards to Improve Your Credit Score (15 Steps)

4. Keep Old Credit Accounts Open

The length of your credit history makes up about 15% of your score. The longer your accounts have been open, the better your score can become — as long as you’ve managed them responsibly.

When you close an old credit card, two things happen:

1. You lose the age of that account (reducing your average credit age).
2. You reduce your total available credit, which can increase utilization.

Unless the card has high annual fees, it’s better to keep old accounts open — even if you use them only occasionally.

Example: If you’ve had a store credit card for 5 years, keep it active by buying something small every few months and paying it off immediately.