Closing retail credit card accounts

I'm in my 20s and just now learning the importance of a credit score and what affects it. When I was in college, I opened two retail credit cards. I realized that I was spending more than I would have (constant coupons!), so I paid them off and closed them. I have opened up two more since then. The balances have always been low (usually less than half of the limit), but I just found out that retail cards hurt my score. I paid them off and decided to close them, but then I also read closing several cards hurts the score too.

Will closing these two accounts and having four closed retail cards hurt more than just keeping them open? Also, I know for a fact one of the companies will automatically close out my account after a certain period of inactivity. Won't that look worse than me closing it myself? Any advice would be appreciated.

I don't understand why you think that retail cards hurt your credit scores. As long as you keep the activity/debt low (below 10% of your available limit) and pay on time they help your credit. Perhaps you heard that opening new retail cards can hurt your credit, and that can be true since a new account with a balance may lower your score, at least for a while.

It sounds like these accounts are your oldest accounts. If that's the case, I'd recommend you keep them open and active. Use them once in a while to charge something you would buy anyway, then pay the bill in full and on time.

If you don't have a major credit card (Visa, MasterCard, Amex or Discover) you may want to get one. Handle it the same way. Keep the activity low and pay it in full. You can shop for cards here at Credit.com. (It helps to know your credit score range, and our Credit Report Card can help you gauge that for free.)

Good luck! Let us know what happens.