Average Age and Capital One

[ashjt2011]

Hello everyone,

I am looking for some advice on my accounts. I have 3 capital one cards that I don't want anymore. They aren't doing me any good and are just causing me to incur fees. The breakdown looks like this

Capital one World Elite Mastercard- Authorized User 2900.00 balance - 39 annual fee. Roughly 5 years old. 5500 limit.

Capital One Quicksilver One - 0 balance. 39 annual fee. 3.5 years old. 3500 limit

Capital One Quicksilver One - 0 balance. 39 annual fee. 3.5 years old. 3500 limit

Total Revolving Limit - $67,500 but like I said, 75% of my cards opened in the last 1-1.5 years. I do have an auto loan that is 3 years old, student loans in deferrment and my home loan that is a year old. I do have 1 personal loan that is a year old as well.

A majority of my other credit cards I have gotten in the last year. I had a ch. 7 back roughly 3.5 years ago. I then made a goal to buy a home so didnt apply for more credit cards until after I closed a little over a year ago. I was added to the Cap 1 World Elite for rebuilding purposes, but the balance on it isn't mine, and I don't like that its getting reported to my credit as a balance, as for most all my CC's are paid off at this point.

I am worried about AAoA if I take myself off the World Elite and then combine the two Cap1 Quicksilvers so I dont pay 2 fees for cards I don't use. The World Elite is stuck at a 5500 limit and has been for 2 years and the two Quicksilvers are stuck at 3500 and Capital One won't raise my limit's. All my other credit cards have limits between 6-12k, but Cap1 won't budget (hence why I won't use them). But these 3 cards are all my oldest credit accounts.

Should I just take a hit on my AAofA for now and move on? What advice do you guys have?

[Anonymous]

Close accounts won't affect your AAoA until 10 years.

I would do soft pull credit line increase on each of the 3 cards using the luv button.

Then I would apply for either a regular QS or Venture and combine the old cards into the new one for one big card with a nice limit.

[Dalmus]

 PC one of the Quicksilver One cards into a regular Quicksilver (ask via chat).  Then you can combine the other ards into that new Quicksilver card with no annual fee.  Now you've dropped both annual fees, increased your limit to $7,000 on the "new" Quicksilver ard, AND the new Quicksilver will retain the age of the Quicksilver One.  So you haven't lost any AAoA.

 Remember, one of the two Quicksilver One accounts will be closed, but will continue to report for up to 10 years, so don't worry about losing AAoA.  Applying to a totally new card is what will kill your AAoA.

[Anonymous]

Hop on cap1 chat and see if they can upgrade the quicksilver one cards to just the quicksilver with no AF or venture one.  id recommend QS tho

[Anonymous]

They also have a Cap1 Premier Dining card that gives 3% on dining, 2% groceries, and 1% everything else, if that works better for you as a PC. It is a new card.

[AverageJoesCredit]

Take yourself off the Authorized user if you dont want that balance to affect you. While its good at times to be an AU , there are also negatives to this as primary countholder can affect your credit if running high balances etc.

[ashjt2011]

Jumped on the chat and asked for an upgrade to Quicksilver, as recommended. He checked his tool and no offers. I asked him his ideas for getting rid of the annual fee and I explained that I don't use these cards to often but I would like to keep my relationship.. He simply informed me that the annual fees were spelled out in my account disclosures and referred me to them. I told him I understood that fully, but re-explained my situation. He simply stated that I have a mastercard that comes with more benefits, therefore warrants an annual fee.  Finally I asked if closing my accounts would be the only option to rid myself of all the annual fees and he walked around that question as well.

Needless to say, I am not to pleased with Capital One. I am thinking about just cancelling all my accounts with them. I've been a customer for a little while now, done plenty of business, never had a late payment, paid my fair share of interest and annual fees, and yet, I can't get a CLI, I can't get an annual fee waived, or better yet, permanently removed. They are at this point mostly my lowest credit lines. The only concern I had was around average age of account, which it seems won't be affected by closing the cards.

[HeavenOhio]

I've gotten about the same story, but it's come in a much more friendly and helpful fashion.

First, I've been told that once the annual fee posts, I should call in and ask if it can be waived. Also, they said to call in monthly to see about product change offers. The offers that we need come up infrequently, but they're likely to come up eventually.

I'm in the same boat in that I don't want to combine my cards. Whether it happens 10 years from now, tomorrow, or anywhere in between, I'd lose about 3.5 years on my AAoA.

[CreditDunce]

With the number of TLs you have, it shouldn't hurt you AAoA much when the closed cards fall off your credit report.  It might hurt your AAoA by 2-4 months, not a couple of years.  It also sounds like your oldest TL would be the student loans.  If we assume it takes you 10 years to finish paying them off, they will be on your credit report for the next 20 years or so. 

Personally, I would check Cap1 pre-approval site.  If you are pre-approved for a QS or Venture card, get it for the bonus.  Then combine the 3.5 year old accounts into the new card. If nothing shows up, keep trying until the next AF is due.  For the AU, I would remove myself.  It isn't needed at this point.

[Anonymous]

nvm