Consolidate two Barclay cards into one? Pros and Cons

[Anonymous]

I'm a mininalist and my preference would be to consolidate both CL and keep the card I use most. Just keeping things simple. I rather have 1 card with a 15k CL vs two cards with $10k & $5k. It's just base on personal preference. I personally don't worried too much about what Barclay will do or what banks will do as long as bills are paid on time. Outside of that, it's NOT in our control. Good luck!

[ddemari]

my first with card with barclays was the apple visa. I used it for about 8 months before i decided to close it and transfer the limit to my newly opened SallieMae mastercard at the time. 

Absolutely no problems. The lady had no problem just telling me to make sure I ensured that no auto payments are setup or to change them. She very easily closed the card and transfered the entire limit over to SallieMae. 

I wasnt dealing with huge credit lines though lol. apple visa 2000 and salliemae, 1500 gave me a total limit of 3500 at a time when i only had a handfull of cards. For most people doing this wont cause any problems. 

[Anonymous]

One potential advantage of having two separate Barclays accounts is that it seems to give you more opportunities to qualify for one of their random quarterly bonuses on at least one of your cards. 3 quarters in a row, I have received a quarterly spending bonus on one of my two Barclays cards (Q4 2015 - Sallie Mae, Q1 2016 - Sallie Mae, and Q2 - Wyndham). This may not matter to you, but to me it's worth pointing out. I happen to love both of my Barclays cards and both are useful, but even if I found one of them to be otherwise worthless, I'd keep both accounts open just for this reason (assuming I wasn't paying an unjustifiable annual fee on it).

Disclaimer: I am not going to get into a debate about this not being a valid pro because it isn't a guaranteed benefit. I've been there and done that. I am simply pointing this out so the OP thinks about losing a potential benefit which has not been mentioned and might otherwise be easy to overlook.

[Kidcat]

I have used and abused my Sallie Mae, from maxing out for months at a time, to BT, to PIF regularly.   I recently consolidated Arrival into Sallie Mae, and I'm glad I did.  You gotta do what works for you and if AA occurs cross that bridge when you get to it.

They were one of the first major cards to give me an unsecured card.  Started at $500 now at $12000 (after consolidating).  Also my APR has been reduced by 8 pts over the life of the card.

It sounds like you've had a good relatonship so far with them.  I would not factor potential AA into my pros/cons if I were you.  Good luck with your decision.

[Anonymous]

I consolidated my apple visa into my barclay rewards and have had no problems. For me I just wanted to consolidate tradelines and simplify my credit life. Since I use the one card more I do earn more rewards since there is more activity on it so I find that to be a benefit.Good luck with whatever you decide 

[Anonymous]

---

@FinStar wrote:

---

@Anonymous wrote:

---

@FinStar wrote:

You mentioned BTs in your OP, meaning you wouldn't be doing "larger ones" so would you be entertaining doing any at all on Ring?

---

BT's will most likely come into play for no more than $1,000 at any one time.

---

Ok gotcha.

Here's what I can tell you based on my relationship with Barclays (>10 years - used to have 5 cards, now down to 3: Sallie Mae, Hawaiian, and Travelocity) eventually paring down to 2 (maybe 1).  Travelocity has been discontinued and is being phased into Arrival (no interest on that offering)

You don't seem to be an invidiual who would make large shifts in your credit picture or apply for too many accounts in a short period.  And, you've managed to close some dead weight and your utilization is in check. 

They do look at your entire history even if some of the cards you had have been closed for several years.  This is mainly addressed when speaking to lending under any type of manual review.  Now, that being said, those AA algorithms can be quite quirky.  They can slash both lines or just one.  It really depends on what triggered their sensitive risk models. 

Personally,  and I'm sure you can evaluate things toward the end of the year, I would keep both for now and close the rewards one.  You mentioned at one point you were interested in Hawaiian Airlines.  I would say for the sake of simplicity, two cards with them would be just fine.  You'd have Ring with the low APR and if you decide to go with Hawaiian, then hopefully you'll find a good promotion at that point and see how you like the card.

---

Thanks for your help and perspectives, especially regarding history. I will continue to evaluate both current cards as the year proceeds, and certainly try to keep on the utilization path I have been on.

At this point the Alaska Airlines card is on the application schedule for 2017 and it seems it may meet my needs as well as the Hawai'ian Airlines card, but still not ruling out Hawai'ian as a possibility, as both have nice benefits and are good cards.

[Anonymous]

---

@FinStar wrote:

---

@Anonymous wrote:

What does everyone think about the factors below? Those are my main concerns:

* Would Barclay be any more likely to ever reduce via adverse action one larger credit line vs. two smaller ones? (* This is my primary question. * One larger line seems to be a bigger target. I'm well aware there are many other factors involved in potential CL reduction by Barclay's, no need to remind me of that).

* Is having Barclay see one card with a long history important in terms of relations with Barclay? I would assume they can see that card history even if closed. I'm not worried about overall AAoA or anything like that due to closing- not even a concern.

also

I think my primary concern is whether one larger trade line comes under more scrutiny by Barclay's vs. two smaller ones. And, how favorably they look upon having a current open card with a longer history.

---

---

@Anonymous wrote:

What does everyone think about the factors below? Those are my main concerns:

* Would Barclay be any more likely to ever reduce via adverse action one larger credit line vs. two smaller ones? (* This is my primary question. * One larger line seems to be a bigger target. I'm well aware there are many other factors involved in potential CL reduction by Barclay's, no need to remind me of that).

* Is having Barclay see one card with a long history important in terms of relations with Barclay? I would assume they can see that card history even if closed. I'm not worried about overall AAoA or anything like that due to closing- not even a concern.

also

I think my primary concern is whether one larger trade line comes under more scrutiny by Barclay's vs. two smaller ones. And, how favorably they look upon having a current open card with a longer history.

---

Oh sorry forgot, for the bolded section, all exposure comes under scrutiny regardless if lines are split.  It just depends.  For instance, if the combined exposure is $20,000 on two cards, for example (let's say $12,000 and $8,0000).  If the AA algorithms calculate to reduce your exposure by 80%, it will do so proportionally taking into account any balances you have (if any).  If no balances, then it will reduce both lines to $2,400 and $1,600 respectively.  If there are balances on both and the full 80% reduction cannot be achieved, then both lines would be reduced to the amount of the balances less any calculated average for fees and finance charges.

---

Thank you, this is good to know.

[Anonymous]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

I'm a mininalist and my preference would be to consolidate both CL and keep the card I use most. Just keeping things simple. I rather have 1 card with a 15k CL vs two cards with $10k & $5k. It's just base on personal preference. I personally don't worried too much about what Barclay will do or what banks will do as long as bills are paid on time. Outside of that, it's NOT in our control. Good luck!

---

Thank you, copper! The minimalist viewpoint is one I will seriously consider, as it has definite merit. Good point.

[Anonymous]

---

@ddemari wrote:

my first with card with barclays was the apple visa. I used it for about 8 months before i decided to close it and transfer the limit to my newly opened SallieMae mastercard at the time. 

Absolutely no problems. The lady had no problem just telling me to make sure I ensured that no auto payments are setup or to change them. She very easily closed the card and transfered the entire limit over to SallieMae. 

I wasnt dealing with huge credit lines though lol. apple visa 2000 and salliemae, 1500 gave me a total limit of 3500 at a time when i only had a handfull of cards. For most people doing this wont cause any problems. 

---

ddemari, thank you. Always appreciate hearing your insights. It helps to know your combination process was very streamlined.

[Anonymous]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

One potential advantage of having two separate Barclays accounts is that it seems to give you more opportunities to qualify for one of their random quarterly bonuses on at least one of your cards. 3 quarters in a row, I have received a quarterly spending bonus on one of my two Barclays cards (Q4 2015 - Sallie Mae, Q1 2016 - Sallie Mae, and Q2 - Wyndham). This may not matter to you, but to me it's worth pointing out. I happen to love both of my Barclays cards and both are useful, but even if I found one of them to be otherwise worthless, I'd keep both accounts open just for this reason (assuming I wasn't paying an unjustifiable annual fee on it).

Disclaimer: I am not going to get into a debate about this not being a valid pro because it isn't a guaranteed benefit. I've been there and done that. I am simply pointing this out so the OP thinks about losing a potential benefit which has not been mentioned and might otherwise be easy to overlook.

---

Thanks jay, I was not aware of this and will look into it further.