Dear Liz: My wife and I plan to buy a condo next year, so we want to keep our credit scores as high as possible. One of her credit cards, an airline mileage card, has doubled its annual fee and she’d like to close the account but we’re worried about the damage to her credit scores. She has excellent credit but not a terribly long credit history.

Can she switch cards while maintaining a continuous credit history with this provider? Or would this switch require her to cancel the existing account and start a new line of credit with this provider?

Answer: Most people with good credit worry too much about the effect of closing a single account. You’re probably right to worry, though, because her credit history is short and you’ll be in the market for a mortgage soon.

She should call her issuer and ask if her history with this card could be transferred to the new account. If not, it might be worth hanging on to the card until you’ve gotten the mortgage you want.

Post to Twitter