Reply #20: My understanding is, that open credit accounts add to your

[Cerridwen]

"debt load." For example, a card with a 3500 max plus a card with a 5000 max shows on your credit report as 8500 debt; depending on who's reading the report and for what they are looking - it can skew your debt to income ratio.

I am not a lawyer nor a credit adviser but this was something I investigated a few years ago as I was cleaning up my credit report. You may want to contact a professional who reads credit reports to find out what they look for. Example, a home lender...would they read your 8500 potential debt as a reason to refuse you credit since your debt load is too high?

If each card is only 1000 and you have 3, that may not be an issue. If you have 1 with a 20,000 max and a couple at 5000, it could be an issue. It could show that your debt is 30,000 to an income of whatever you make a year...say 45,000 income with 30,000 debt load doesn't look great. Please check with some real experts. :D

Just my $0.02.

edit; grammar