Keep or Cancel?

[swpopham]

also on a lenders prospective dose one really need 20 open credit cards? That is a ton to manage

[Cory]

Well, I'm in a kind of delima myself. I'm debating, day in and day out about closing 3 or 4 of mine accounts. Don't really care about the limit, as I have some pretty, hefty limits. I'm trying to decide between Citi, BofA, and Chase. 2 from BofA, 2 Chase, and 1 Citi. I am not interested in the BofA rewards, but from a lender's perspective, I like them. Generous $13K line, and the other $5K. Chase, great rewards company, but lender's perspective, I'm not sure. Citi, reward program is so lackluster, but from lender's perspective, love them. Advice needed please?

[bs6054]

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@Cory wrote:

Well, I'm in a kind of delima myself. I'm debating, day in and day out about closing 3 or 4 of mine accounts. Don't really care about the limit, as I have some pretty, hefty limits. I'm trying to decide between Citi, BofA, and Chase. 2 from BofA, 2 Chase, and 1 Citi. I am not interested in the BofA rewards, but from a lender's perspective, I like them. Generous $13K line, and the other $5K. Chase, great rewards company, but lender's perspective, I'm not sure. Citi, reward program is so lackluster, but from lender's perspective, love them. Advice needed please?

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What do you mean when you like/love them from a lender's perspective?   You like them for other products (loans etc) or you think OTHER lenders look favorably on applicants with cards from that issuer?  (Or something else)?

[Cory]

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@bs6054 wrote:

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@Cory wrote:

Well, I'm in a kind of delima myself. I'm debating, day in and day out about closing 3 or 4 of mine accounts. Don't really care about the limit, as I have some pretty, hefty limits. I'm trying to decide between Citi, BofA, and Chase. 2 from BofA, 2 Chase, and 1 Citi. I am not interested in the BofA rewards, but from a lender's perspective, I like them. Generous $13K line, and the other $5K. Chase, great rewards company, but lender's perspective, I'm not sure. Citi, reward program is so lackluster, but from lender's perspective, love them. Advice needed please?

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What do you mean when you like/love them from a lender's perspective?   You like them for other products (loans etc) or you think OTHER lenders look favorably on applicants with cards from that issuer?  (Or something else)?

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Yes, thank you. I meant that I like BofA as a lender, easy to deal with, generous credit lines, (in my opinion). I understand that other's have different experiences. I have had no problems with those particular lenders. I just want to close out some of my credit lines, as I don't utilize all of them, and are not interested in monitoring them.

[Cdnewmanpac]

To the OP: It is hard to answer without understanding why you applied for these cards in the first place. Do you shop at VS? Does the card give you access to special pricing or sales? Why did you get both the gold and platinum? Without understanding why you wanted these cards and what they do for you, it is hard to say which ones you should keep or close. Here, there is so much focus on the impact of card decisions on credit scores. But really, the value in credit cards is that they increase either your spending power, your flexibility in purchasing or they offer discounts or rewards. Any card that doesn't do one of those four things (assuming you are not trying to establish or repair credit, which you clearly no longer are) should be closed. The risks of fraud, accidental error, etc. outweigh the benefit of keeping a card with a tiny limit and no benefit open. 

So personally, I would close any card (fee or no fee) that you cannot explain how it benefits you directly to your mom, your best friend and your accountant (you don't really have to do that, or have those people, but the point is that the story should make sense to all three of those people).

[MountainHiker]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Which accounts should I keep/cancel to help my overall outlook?   All accounts opened less than 1 year ago unless otherwise noted:

Acct      balance/limit

Crate & Barrel  0/1500

Pottery Barn  0/4000

Victoria Secret  0/300

Express  0/250

Walmart  274/700

Sears  0/700

Target (opened 2006)  0/200

Macys (opened 2006)  0/600

Kohls  0/700

Limited Too  0/300

Home Depot 398/5000

Cap 1  0/500

Penfed Visa 0/20000

USAA MC  700/20000

Best Buy MC  198/5000

Navy FCU Visa   0/11000

Navy FCU MC  0/1000

AMEX Gold - PIF Monthly

AMEX Plat - PIF Monthly

I'm taking a pretty big hit for all the inquiries in the last year, so I figure now is the time to eliminate anything that's going to hurt in the long run, since I don't think I'll be needing any credit anytime soon.  Any suggestions?

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I think getting rid of a card in your case would be a personal choice.If none of them are hurting your bottom line such as fees or high interest rates then I would keep them if you can get use out of them.Personally speaking I would eliminate those cards that don't offer perks,cash back,reward points or the option to run up a balance without being charged a high interest rate.The whole purpose of having credit is to provide you options and to save you money and to earn you money.If the cards are not doing that and you have added cards that do, then its time to shred the cards that don't. Just my opinion but its only an opinion.