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I am 60. I have a mortgage that's nearly paid off. I have also paid off all my cards, and my oldest cards were closed from lack of utilization.
In order to protect my age of credit, do I need to not pay off my mortgage? Or, do I need to keep charging and paying off my cards, so they don't close? Because if I were to pay off all my cards, and never borrow again, everything would age off in a few years and my excellent credit would disappear.
I've paid off my mortgage and never carry a balance on a credit card and my credit score is 818 (excellent).
Banks don't publicly disclose how exactly a credit score is calculated, so it's hard to predict anything with certainty but, chances are you will be just fine with paying off your mortgage and credit card balances.
Close the credit cards that you are not using but I would certainly keep one or two (good ones). Credit cards are a very convenient and safe form of payment. They are accepted world wide, it's easy to keep track of your expenses and with the right card you get cash back.
I recommend using credit cards for pretty much everything you buy (unless they charge an extra fee) but make sure to pay the balance off every month. This will result in you having more money in your pocket and an excellent credit rating.
Unless you are planning and getting a large loan in the near future, just ignore your credit score. Do what's financially best for yourself and that will take care of the credit score as well.
Because if I were to pay off all my cards, and never borrow again, everything would age off in a few years and my excellent credit would disappear.
Credit cards stay in your credit file as long as they are active. To keep them active use them and pay the balance off before you are charged any interest. It doesn't take much usage to keep them alive. Use one for your groceries, and another for your gas, and those two are very unlikely to be cancelled.
Using them on a regular basis shows you know how to use the credit lines you have. You don't have to pay interest to the credit card companies to keep a good score. Using them regularly makes money for the bank even if you never have to pay interest.
Closing accounts will impact your score. The average age will be lowered and the maximum age will be lowered if you close accounts that you have had for many years.
After the mortgage ages off your history you will you will see another decrease because you will not have a many different types of credit. But keeping a mortgage alive is not a good plan to keep your score high.
I believe this is similar to an XY question.
Since you own your home, don't have debt, likely aren't applying for a new job, and don't need to borrow money, your credit score probably is irrelevant and not worth a moment's thought or your valuable energy.
There is virtually no need to worry about your credit score if you are never going to need to borrow again.
I can only think of 1 possible exception: If you have sudden large unexpected expenses, and want to (or need to) borrow to cover them. If that is a possibility, the questions would be: How would you borrow that money, and will your credit score even matter? For example, if your loan is collateralized, it's possible your credit score will not matter.
Sit back, relax, and enjoy your accomplishments!
In order to protect my age of credit, do I need to not pay off my mortgage?
No, pay off your mortgage. It would be stupid to pay interest as an effort to keep your credit score higher.
Your score might drop a whole 10 points per https://www.fool.com/the-ascent/personal-finance/articles/what-happens-to-your-credit-score-if-you-pay-off-your-mortgage/
my oldest cards were closed from lack of utilization
I set up my oldest credit card on autopay for my Internet bill to avoid this scenario.
This isn't a superfluous expense at trying to trick the almighty credit bureau; it's a necessary planned expense so it's okay to just autopay it.
Because if I were to pay off all my cards, and never borrow again, everything would age off in a few years and my excellent credit would disappear.
Correct, don't let your credit history go stale for 10 years.
https://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/credit-score-disappeared-inactivity/
It's easier to keep a credit history active by maintaining 2-3 credit cards for an extended period of time than it is to start from scratch; albeit not impossible.
As an 18-year old I got my first credit card with a $300 limit; presumably I had zero credit.
As a 23-year old I got my first car loan on a score of about 720; paid off after just 4 years.
As a 29-year old I got my first house with a credit scored of about 810.
We all started somewhere so for you it's just a matter of not starting completely from scratch because I would bet that a $300 credit limit does not sound enticing at your age.
Lastly, a loan is not impossible to acquire if you have zero credit. A creditor will assess your occupation and assets to determine if they can trust you. The interest rate might not be stellar and collateral could be required but if you need the loan then you'll take it, no?
You don't want to close all your cards. You want to maintain a credit agency file which shows that you are a good risk, by using cards and repaying in full every month, at no cost to yourself. A cash-back card works to your benefit in any retailer, and retailer-branded cards often have better fringe benefits for spending with that particular retailer (e.g. Amazon card, or a supermarket card).
In particular, keep the card that you have held for longest. For me, that's the almost completely useless card that came with my bank account. I have hardly used it in three decades, but it pays a quarterly magazine subscription so it doesn't get cancelled for non-use! All things being equal, keeping the one with the highest credit limit may also be a good idea.
Reducing the number of cards may be a good idea. In a couple of years time, you may then become eligible for some introductory or zero-interest balance-transfer deal with the same card issuer. Card-swapping was quite lucrative back when bank deposit accounts paid 5%. If inflation kicks off, this might once again become true.
You also want several cards for travelling. I would say at minimum one Mastercard, one Visa card, and one "spare" card chosen for the lowest currency conversion fees on overseas purchases. You may run into a retailer that won't take one of the card brands, or into a situation where one of the computer networks is down. Or you may have your pocket picked, and be very thankful that you have a spare card or two in your hotel safe. (Note, a "currency card" such as Wise is likely to be the cheapest way of withdrawing cash while travelling. It may also be the cheapest way to make purchases, but it's not a credit card, and so you lose the protections which a credit card may offer).
