Open credit accounts are those that are currently active, whether the open account is a credit card or a collection. Identifying open accounts allows you to see how many accounts are being heavily considered in your credit score. You will also get an idea of what collection accounts you need to take action on.
Navigate to annualcreditreport.com.
Request a credit report from the three credit reporting agencies through the Annual Credit Report website. The three largest consumer credit reporting agencies in the United States are Transunion, Experian and Equifax, and these agencies offer a free annual report through annualcreditreport.com for most states. Use the drop down list for your state and click "Request Report." Enter your personal information on this page and click "Continue." The website sends you to each credit reporting agency's website in turn for you to access your free report.
Scroll through the list of accounts on the credit report from each credit reporting agency. The credit report can list the open accounts in several different ways, as each credit reporting agency has its own credit report template. The Transunion credit report displays an open account with either "Open Account" in the status field in the account information or does not provide a closed date for the account. Experian reports closed accounts in the notes of each account. Equifax provides a field for the date the account is opened and closed. If an entry is not present in the closed field, the account is still open.
