Considering Closing Cards

[monkeywre]

Long time lurker here. Lately I've been considering closing some cards which I no longer use, and after reading the sticky closing cards thread I'm really unsure what effect doing so would have on my score. My main reason for wanting to close some of these cards is that I no longer use them and I'm concerned that if someone were to get a hold of them I would not quickly notice they had been stolen. A summary of the cards I have is below if anyone has an idea of what effects closing some of these cards would have on my score it would be appreciated. I am not planning on any large purchases in the near future, but I do like to take advantage of CC signup bonuses if they are sufficently lucrative. Also I always PIF on all cards so utilization should not be a concern.

Current Scores

TU - 765

EX - 803

Personal Cards

Cap One $750 CL opened 5/05 - Want to Close no rewards + useless CL

Local Bank Visa $11k CL opened 3/09 - Keep

Citi Forward $6k CL Opened 4/10 - Keep

Citi AA 11k CL Opened 6/13 - Keep

Citi AA 8.5CL Opened 7/13 - Want to close and transfer CL to other Citi AA

Chase British Airways 10.5k CL Opened 5/12 - Want to Close and Transfer CL to Chase Freedom

Chase United MilagePlus Explorer 10k CL Opened 3/13 - Possible Keep or Close and Transfer CL to Chase Sapphire

Chase Sapphire Preferred 5k CL Opened 11/13 - Keep

Chase Freedom $500 CL Opened 12/13 - Keep

Business Cards - Only CapOne reports on personal CR

Cap One Business 4.5k CL Opened 5/06 - Want to Close other cards have better rewards

Chase Ink Bold Charge Card Opened 6/13 - Keep

Citi AA Business 1k CL Opened 10/13 - Want to close after bonus posts to avoid AF and reapply for new bonus miles

Amex Platinum Charge Card  Opened 9/13 - Keep

Other TL

Open Mortgage since 1/10

2x Student Loans since 1/11

Paid Auto Loan 5/10

Paid Mtg 12/09

[NotUsher]

It looks like you're wanting to close your most seasoned CC (age-wise). That's typically a no-no. Maybe call Cap One and try to PC to Quiksilver?

[gdale6]

The only one I see a problem with is the personal Cap-1, it is your oldest and you have nothing around the same time that it was opened. I would contact the EO to get the AF removed and have the limit increased, once these 2 things are accomplished I would call CS and get it product changed to the QS.

[user5387]

Closing CCs has no immediate effect on AAoA, since closed CCs factor in AAoA.

It can affect utilization, but you said that you PIF.

[notfancy]

Definitely email the EO. You can google his name and email address. Tell them what you want, and aim high. Explain how long you've been a customer, etc. You can also search the posts here about the capital one EO for ideas before you write. You can very likely get a CLI, product change to a rewards card, and removal of the AF. It would absolutely be worth it, especially since you've been with them for so many years.

[monkeywre]

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@user5387 wrote:

Closing CCs has no immediate effect on AAoA, since closed CCs factor in AAoA.

It can affect utilization, but you said that you PIF.

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I was not aware of this. Would it be correct to say that closing a card regardless of age would have no immediate effect on credit whatsoever if all revolving accounts reported a $0 balance because it would take 7 years to fall off my CR?

Also while I appreciate all of the constructive feedback I'm not interested in a PC at CapitalOne and the last thing that I would want would be a CLI because if my card were stolen it would be that much larger of a mess to clean up.

The reason behind this is that I was a loyal customer to CapOne for about 4 years and I've always received the runaround when I had to deal with them. I just don't have much desire to do business with them at all. But I don't want to lower my score either. As you can see from my post I got my first card from CapOne at 18 it had a $500 credit limit it has a $750 credit limit now 8 years later.  I never in 8 years paid them or anyone else late even once. During the first 4 years of having the card I requested CLIs probably yearly and only once received a $250 CLI. I was told that CapOne did not give out CLIs for "my safety and security" whatever that is supposed to mean. Finally I had to purchase airfare which was over my credit limit so I applied at my local bank and havent used their card since. I don't mean to sound entitled but I was a loyal customer for a long time and I don't feel my loyalty was reciprocated.

With regards to my business I used CapOne's exclusively for 3 years and in 2009 I ran over 100k in charges through the card paying it off several times per month. I contacted CapOne numerous times requesting a CLI citing the inconvenience of paying them several times per month and was never once given a CLI. Finally I applied for an Amex and that card I use almost exclusively for my business now with zero issues. As an added bonus Amex doesnt report my often large chargecard balance either so my util is not affected while CapOne stuck it to me on my personal CR.

[colinstu]

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@monkeywre wrote:

I was not aware of this. Would it be correct to say that closing a card regardless of age would have no immediate effect on credit whatsoever if all revolving accounts reported a $0 balance because it would take 7 years to fall off my CR?

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Closed accounts will continue to be calculated into one's AAOA for 10yrs since closure. So technically 10 years from now if the card is closed, the score might go down a little, but I doubt it will. 

I agree that you should close that Cap1 card. Quicksilver is the only decent option you'd have with them and that's up to you if you want that card. Not sure if you'd be better off with a PC + CLI or just app for QS. 

What's the benefit of keeping the local bank's visa? Any decent rewards? High CL but you have other high CL cards too. Guess it can't hurt to keep it just in case Citi and Chase want to stop doing business with you for whatever reason.

Still getting 5x points on restaurants/entertainment on the Forward? They might be bumping that down to 1x sometime... if they do you'll probably want to transfer that CL to your AA card too. 

Your chase consolidation plan sounds good. 

Good luck!

[monkeywre]

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@colinstu wrote:

What's the benefit of keeping the local bank's visa?

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Thanks for the reply. That card doesn't carry any rewards and I don't typically use it. I suppose I could close it but I've kept it so far because I have my deposits there so it is easy to keep an eye on. Also it has a much lower interest rate than any of the other cards I have so if I ever was in an emergency where I would need to carry a balance I would use it at that time.

[09Lexie]

Closed accounts may stay UP to 10 yrs on your CR's- meaning they can stay longer or shorter.  I wouldnt be concerned with vlosing the cards you mentioned.

Not sure you can close/transfer the new Citi because it was just opened.