By Sabrina Karl

For anyone not super knowledgeable about how credit scores are calculated, it would be easy to assume that having fewer credit cards on your record is better than having a lot of open cards. But that’s not always the case.

In fact, one of the best ways to maximize your credit score is to leave some of your cards open rather than closing them. In particular, the card you’ve owned the longest could be your most valuable credit score asset.

While many people are aware of the most obvious factors influencing a credit score, like making your payments on time every month and not using all of the credit extended to you, another important factor is the age of your credit history.

The longer your credit history goes back, the more data you have feeding your score calculation. Individuals who are young and just getting started with credit have less of a track record on which to assess credit worthiness, and this is indicated by the age of their credit history.

In contrast, an older individual who has been using credit for decades will have a much longer history. But there’s a catch… The age of credit history is calculated by averaging how long you have had each of your currently open accounts. This means any card accounts you close will get removed from the equation.

For this reason, it’s smart to keep your longest-running credit card open, even if you aren’t using it. Just be sure it isn’t charging you an annual fee to do so. If it is, call your card issuer and ask to transfer your existing account to a different card that carries no fee. Most of the major card issuers have options for making this type of card change while keeping your original account.