To 1, it actually isn't or at least not as much as you might think. Relevant factors are utilization and average age of your credit accounts, going back 10 years; an account doesn't stop aging when you close it, and it doesn't fall off of your report until 10 years from the closing date. If closing an account decreases your amount of available credit enough that your utilization spikes (over 20%), then you should leave it open. Otherwise it's fine.