With all due respect to Neil Sedaka, breaking up is not hard to do when you've paid off that credit card.
It's exhilarating to see a zero on your card statement -- and tempting to shut that bad boy down with a Dear John letter to your credit card company.
Don't write that letter just yet, said Lynn Oldshue, editor of the Birmingham-based LowCards.com (www.lowcards.com).
"Closing an old or unused card erases some of your available credit and increases your credit utilization ratio (or debt-to-credit ratio)," said Oldshue.
She said increasing that ratio may decrease your credit score.
"For example, say you have two credit cards--one with a $3,000 balance and one with no balance," she explained. "Each card has a $5,000 credit limit.
