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Hi,
I am aware that it's best to keep credit card accounts open rather than close them when you have paid them down to a zero balance. I know that keeping them open demonstrates to the credit reporting agencies that you have access to a particular level of credit. However, how does this apply in the case of American Express Gold Cards which (theoretically!) don't have a credit limit. How do the agencies determine how much credit you have available on these cards and are there the same advantages in regard to your credit score in keeping one of these cards open, compared with others like VISA and MC?
Thanks
@haulingthescoreup wrote:
I had a Gold with first-year fee waived, and I closed it at 11 1/2 months and opened a Blue, which is a revolving credit card instead of a pay-monthly charge card like the Gold. In this manner, I dodged the fee, and I picked up additional total available credit. And the Blue kept the year in which the Gold was opened, plus the month in which the Blue was opened, so I ducked the new account ding, which was very handy.
Sorry, the product change from Gold to Blue preserves the year of the original account, but the date of the new one? I'm curious about this as I am considering attempting the same 6-8 months in with my Green card that I just accepted...it sounds odd.
In either case, it still shows up as the same account on your CR, right? Same history, new #?
That is a pretty nifty feature!
I think I'll end up having to pay the annual fee on the Green if I wait until next Jan, since I just accepted the prequalified offer for the Green card last week. (Haven't even gotten the card yet, & I'm trying to find some way to get rid of it!)
I have heard great things about AmEx's affect on scores & credit profile, so I went for it...I figure it's easier to accept a prequal offer & then switch than it is to pass on the prequal offer & try from scratch for a different product...hopefully I'm not wrong in that belief or I just wasted $95.
Will closing the Green after only a year ding my FICOs?