My credit union's advice tanked my score by 40 points

They told me to close my oldest card to 'simplify' things. Did it in March. That card was from 2010. My score went from 750 to 710 almost right away. Everyone says to trust your bank, but this was bad advice. The hit to my average account age was huge. Has anyone else gotten terrible guidance from their own financial institution?

3 comments

3 Comments

gibson.sean2mo ago

Trusting your bank blindly is a huge mistake, they often give generic advice that hurts your specific situation. That advice to close your oldest card is almost always wrong unless there's a big annual fee. Makes you wonder if they even know how credit scores really work, right? You have to do your own homework because their goal isn't always your best score.

mark_hernandez121mo ago

Yeah, banks give that same old script. I kept my first card open even with a tiny limit, just put a small monthly bill on it. My score jumped because the average age of my accounts went way up. You gotta check your own credit report to see what actually moves your number.

maxm502mo ago

Trusting your bank blindly" is something I had to learn the hard way, @gibson.sean.