? about raising or lowering your credit score

Never mind opinion - read these from the industry:

There's a tab on this one that specifically addresses closing credit cards (starts with Rumor):

http://www.experian.com/credit-advice/topic-what-affects-credit.html

#10 on this list as well:

http://www.wisebread.com/10-surprising-ways-to-negatively-affect-your-credit-score

These two are more generic:

http://www.myfico.com/crediteducation/whatsinyourscore.aspx

https://www.wellsfargo.com/financia...challenges/repair-credit/affect-credit-score/