Credit Cut and Consolidations

[BronzeTrader]

I've been cutting down on my credit and credit cards over the past year.  There are so many junk cards.  Here is the fat we've trimmed:

Amazon Store Card	$2,400
Amazon/SYNCB	$2,200
AmEx Blue for Business	$15,000
AmEx Business Gold
AmEx Costco	$9,000
BA ?	$2,000
BA AAA	$15,000
Chase ?	$14,500
Chase ?	$12,000
Chase Freedom	$5,000
Chase Marriott 2050	$18,000
Chase Milleage+	$5,000
Chase Southwest	$5,000
CHLD/CBSD	$1,500
Citi Expedia+	$8,000
Citi AA	$18,000
Citi Hilton	$12,000
Comenity Limited	$1,000
Comenity Potery Barns	$1,070
Comenity Victoria Secret	$1,000
Crate & Barrel (Comenity)	$20,000
Discover	$3,000
Gap	$2,000
Paypal	$5,000
Paypal Extras MasterCard	$3,000
Sears	$3,950
Synchrony Aamerican Eagle	$1,024
Synchrony Gap	$1,024
Synchrony Old Navy	$1,024
Synchrony Toy R Us	$1,024
TJX	$1,024
Valero	$2,000
Wells Fargo	$18,000
Total	$209,740

The cut is across the board, almost any CC banks.  We do not use those much and it is hard to keep track of those.  The high credit lines also limit our ablity to apply for new cards.

Of course we applied for several new cards last year and we try to keep it no more than 5 cards total per year.  So we can stay within Chase 5/24 limit.  2017 is another consolidation year.  

[Anonymous]

Holy mackerel! You closed 26 cards? How many do you have left?

[BronzeTrader]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Holy mackerel! You closed 26 cards? How many do you have left?

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35 open. Two of us. 

[UpperNwGuy]

Holy mackerel!  That's too many cards!

[BronzeTrader]

The dead credit lines won't do anything.  After the cards are cancelled, they still stay in credit report and won't go away immediately.  So the AAOA is not really affected.

[Anonymous]

Congrats!

Once you have the main cards you need, there's no need for useless cards to be in your pocket. Some will keep them, I rather not. I am down to 9 (6 main cards and 3 backup).

[BronzeTrader]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Congrats!

Once you have the main cards you need, there's no need for useless cards to be in your pocket. Some will keep them, I rather not. I am down to 9 (6 main cards and 3 backup).

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Agreed.  We have Chase Ultimate Rewards, AmEx MR program, BA Preferred Rewards.  Then do not really need much else.  We do keep some store charge cards which still offer specialty discounts, such as Lowe's etc.

Huge credit line does not really do anything.  It is negative if you keep tons of cards and do not use.  

[driftless]

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@BronzeTrader wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

Congrats!

Once you have the main cards you need, there's no need for useless cards to be in your pocket. Some will keep them, I rather not. I am down to 9 (6 main cards and 3 backup).

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Agreed.  We have Chase Ultimate Rewards, AmEx MR program, BA Preferred Rewards.  Then do not really need much else.  We do keep some store charge cards which still offer specialty discounts, such as Lowe's etc.

Huge credit line does not really do anything.  It is negative if you keep tons of cards and do not use.  

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I am happy concentrating my spend on UR's & MR's.  My level of spend would be too dilluted if I added another rewards program.  

[BronzeTrader]

Yes, it is just a waste of time trying to manage all the store cards and different reward programs.  There is no end....

[UpperNwGuy]

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@BronzeTrader wrote:

Yes, it is just a waste of time trying to manage all the store cards and different reward programs.  There is no end....

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I finally reached that same conclusion and closed out my remaining five store cards over the last year, and I got rid of my one MR card.  Now I'm focused on UR, cash, and United perks.