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Closing Oldest Card (Secured Card)?

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Anonymous
Not applicable

Closing Oldest Card (Secured Card)?

I am 19 and started with a Secured Capital One card in May of last year, started with a $200 CL and got a auto CLI to $500 a few months ago. I have the card at a $0 balance and really want to close it, it's such a low amount, high APR, and this past month I have been approved for a lot of cards. (2 Chase, 1 Wells Fargo, 1 Synchrony Mastercard, and 2 Syncrony Store Cards) My highest CL is $6,000 and my Syncronry Store Cards are at $5,000, $2,000 Wells Fargo, $750 2x Chase, C1 QS1 $500. (Probably gonna close both Capital One's). My AAOA took a big hit with all these new cards anyway. Would closing the C1 do me any bad?

Message 1 of 4
3 REPLIES 3
coldnmn
Mega Contributor

Re: Closing Oldest Card (Secured Card)?

In my opinion close it. It will still be a positive TL for 10 years.
Discover IT $17k / US Bank Ace (VSig) $13.5K / US Bank Cash+ (VSig) $13.5k
Sam's Mastercard $15k / Walmart Mastercard $10k / Blispay $7.5k PayPal Ex MC $10.8k
CareCredit 5k / Husq $5k / Cap1 QS $4.5k / Barclay Ring $5.35k / Citi DC (WMC) $12k
Gardening Date 7/01/16 / MyFico 08: EQ 801 / TU 777 / EX 771 / 06/08/17
Message 2 of 4
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Closing Oldest Card (Secured Card)?

Normally it's prudent to hang on to your oldest TL, but I say close it for these reasons:

  • It is a secured card and you have a tangible benefit to closing it, plus you don't need it anymore.
  • Your oldest and second-oldest tradeline dates aren't that far from each other. By the time 10 years rolls around and it falls off your CR, the difference between May 2015 and June 2016 won't have a large impact on your scoring. Plus, as you noted, your AAOA is getting skewed anyway by all your new cards. The value of oldest-tradeline isn't just related to AAOA, but nevertheless, a year isn't a deal breaker.

I've heard Cap1 doesn't play nice with converting secured to unsecured, but you could always try it and see what happens.

 

I would not close the QS1 a month after applying. Conventional wisdom is to wait six months after app'ing before closing any card. See if they will PC the QS1 to a normal QS...?

Message 3 of 4
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Closing Oldest Card (Secured Card)?

Definitely close it. It will be on your credit reports for ten years after closing.

Message 4 of 4
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