Closing CC Accounts

[fuzzybean]

I have a bunch of credit cards I don't use anymore.  In fact, 2 lowered my available credit because I didn't use them.  I've decided I want to get rid of the ones that don't get used.  I know my credit report will take a hit, but I'm wondering for how long.  I'm 8 years post BK and at the 10 year mark I'm hoping to get an Amex.  I tried again recently and got declined so I'm going to wait.  I plan on keeping my BofA cash rewards Visa, Barclaycard cash rewards MC, Discover it, Capital One Platinum Visa, Target and Lowes.  I'll probably keep my Ashley Furniture and Best Buy for their 0% financing when/if I need it.  I'm considering closing my Shell gas, Furniture Row card and my Barclaycard Visa for Apple.  I definitely want to close Macy's, Walmart, Home Depot and Gap.  I won't need to apply for any sort of credit anytime soon (at least I hope not) so to me it seems like a good time to dump what I don't use. 

Is there any reason I should keep my Shell gas card?  I only use it every couple/few months to keep them from lowering my credit line like they did to my husband.  Otherwise, I'd likely never use it because gas is cheaper at other nearby gas stations.  I do plan on getting a new Mac in the next 6-12 months, but unless I can get 0% financing for it, I'll just use a rewards card and pay it off instead. 

Any tips or advice? 

My plan is to rid myself of these cards and then plop myself in the garden for a good long time.

[DeeBee78]

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@fuzzybean wrote:

I have a bunch of credit cards I don't use anymore.  In fact, 2 lowered my available credit because I didn't use them.  I've decided I want to get rid of the ones that don't get used.  I know my credit report will take a hit, but I'm wondering for how long.  I'm 8 years post BK and at the 10 year mark I'm hoping to get an Amex.  I tried again recently and got declined so I'm going to wait.  I plan on keeping my BofA cash rewards Visa, Barclaycard cash rewards MC, Discover it, Capital One Platinum Visa, Target and Lowes.  I'll probably keep my Ashley Furniture and Best Buy for their 0% financing when/if I need it.  I'm considering closing my Shell gas, Furniture Row card and my Barclaycard Visa for Apple.  I definitely want to close Macy's, Walmart, Home Depot and Gap.  I won't need to apply for any sort of credit anytime soon (at least I hope not) so to me it seems like a good time to dump what I don't use. 

Is there any reason I should keep my Shell gas card?  I only use it every couple/few months to keep them from lowering my credit line like they did to my husband.  Otherwise, I'd likely never use it because gas is cheaper at other nearby gas stations.  I do plan on getting a new Mac in the next 6-12 months, but unless I can get 0% financing for it, I'll just use a rewards card and pay it off instead. 

Any tips or advice? 

My plan is to rid myself of these cards and then plop myself in the garden for a good long time.

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The only way this will impact your credit immediately is if it drastically affects your utilization. Otherwise there will be no immediate repercussions from closing any of these cards.  

Barclay's will re-apply the intro APR on the Apple Rewards card anytime you want it. FYI iMacs with Skylake processors are due in the next few months. Look for them at the beginning of the year. 

Say goodbye to Home Depot - Lowes gives better limits. 

Keep the Walmart card. It has a MasterCard upgrade option that makes it more useful.

Close the Shell card. If you're only using it to buy gas every few months then you're clearly using another card you prefer. 

[OmarGB9]

Definitely consolidate and close the unused unnecessary ones. Also, no your score wouldn't take a hit unless the closed cards had significant CLs and would severely impact utilization. They'll continue to report for 10 years.

[fuzzybean]

It shouldn't really affect my utilization since I pay everything off each month except for the 0% interest on the new freezer we just bought and the furniture we got after we moved.  I have those planned out so they are paid off 2 months prior to the interest kicking in. 

Thank you for the tip on the Barclaycard for Apple Visa.  I didn't know that 

You are correct on the gas.  I use the BofA rewards for that and switch to Discover it when they have their 5% back.

Walmart and Gap recently dropped my available credit to about 1/5th of what I had.  HD stinks.  I can't get them to give me a CLI and I've had it for 18 months.  It's still at $500.  I have 10k on Lowes.

[BrianKill]

Also, Barclay will comine limits, so if you decide to close one of their cards, be sure to move its limit to the one you are keeping.

[fuzzybean]

Good to know.  Thank you.

[fuzzybean]

Macy's, Shell, Gap and Home Depot are closed.  That feels good.

[Anonymous]

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@fuzzybean wrote:

I have a bunch of credit cards I don't use anymore.  In fact, 2 lowered my available credit because I didn't use them.  I've decided I want to get rid of the ones that don't get used.  I know my credit report will take a hit, but I'm wondering for how long.  I'm 8 years post BK and at the 10 year mark I'm hoping to get an Amex.  I tried again recently and got declined so I'm going to wait.  I plan on keeping my BofA cash rewards Visa, Barclaycard cash rewards MC, Discover it, Capital One Platinum Visa, Target and Lowes.  I'll probably keep my Ashley Furniture and Best Buy for their 0% financing when/if I need it.  I'm considering closing my Shell gas, Furniture Row card and my Barclaycard Visa for Apple.  I definitely want to close Macy's, Walmart, Home Depot and Gap.  I won't need to apply for any sort of credit anytime soon (at least I hope not) so to me it seems like a good time to dump what I don't use. 

Is there any reason I should keep my Shell gas card?  I only use it every couple/few months to keep them from lowering my credit line like they did to my husband.  Otherwise, I'd likely never use it because gas is cheaper at other nearby gas stations.  I do plan on getting a new Mac in the next 6-12 months, but unless I can get 0% financing for it, I'll just use a rewards card and pay it off instead. 

Any tips or advice? 

My plan is to rid myself of these cards and then plop myself in the garden for a good long time.

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The only thing I would be mindful of are the opening dates for the cards you want to close. Are any of them your oldest credit line? It won't have an impact on your AAoA now, but in 10 years it could if all the accounts you leave open are very new. It's just food for thought.

Also, did you include any Citibank credit cards in your BK 8 years ago? If yes, that may have something to do with why they won't increase your Home Depot CL. It's issued my Citibank.

[NRB525]

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@fuzzybean wrote:

Macy's, Shell, Gap and Home Depot are closed.  That feels good.

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Congratulations, should be minimal impact from those closures.

I would suggest sitting still for several months now, even though you had a longer list of cards to close. Yes, you may still decide to close them, but it'll be for good reasons that you think through. Generally with cards with no AF, there is no rush to close them, so best to take your time. And sometimes best to not close them at all, let them sit, and maybe the lender will close them, or not and they keep reporting even longer.

[bk510]

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@fuzzybean wrote:

It shouldn't really affect my utilization since I pay everything off each month except for the 0% interest on the new freezer we just bought and the furniture we got after we moved.  I have those planned out so they are paid off 2 months prior to the interest kicking in. 

Thank you for the tip on the Barclaycard for Apple Visa.  I didn't know that 

You are correct on the gas.  I use the BofA rewards for that and switch to Discover it when they have their 5% back.

Walmart and Gap recently dropped my available credit to about 1/5th of what I had.  HD stinks.  I can't get them to give me a CLI and I've had it for 18 months.  It's still at $500.  I have 10k on Lowes.

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I haven't had a sniff on my wally and amazon in 2 1/2 yrs. They just don't like me.

I'm thinking its because of my BK reporting.....Not that I actually need a CLI from them for an obvious reasons.