Maybe closing my Amex Zync/Gold PRG - Overrated

[Cdnewmanpac]

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@chris2k5 wrote:

Thanks for the insight guys.

I would never use my Amex card whether its the Zync or Gold PRG for a $3000 purchase. I am afraid of the stress and effort needed for a FR. I don't even own a fax machine...

I think I will close my Barclays, Southwest, Zync, and Gold PRG as the annual fee comes around again.  I find the Freedom card PRICELESS and so useful. I will aim for the CSP once I can get my freedom card over $5000 as a limit.

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So for you, I agree that there is little value in keeping your charge cards. Not sure that makes the cards "overrated", just not appropriate for you. But you mention fear of fr as a reason not to use the card. I think these forums are great for a lot of things, but this is one of the two areas where I feel it may do more harm than good. There are millions of people using Amex charge cards. A few a year get financially reviewed. All of those people (it seems) post here. That gives the impression that it is some sort of frequent occurrence. It isn't. Not to mention that I can think of only one poster recently who didn't pass the review, and he had lied about income. Amex wants you to use the card. Their entire model is built around attracting spend-centric users. To me, being able to put a bill on a charge card is very freeing. I don't have to worry about limits, utilization, when the statement cuts, what may balance is, etc. maybe someday when my limits are high enough (say 20k or so), I won't have to worry about these things with credit cards either. I just feel like some of the more experienced forum members need to include HOW they use the cards they have, in addition to which ones they have. Maybe then some of those starting out would be better able to identify cards useful for them and won't end up in the op's situation of ending up with a bunch of cards that don't fit his needs or spending patterns.

[FrugalRican]

If it makes you feel any better, I only use my BCE for groceries right now.

[Quips]

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@Cdnewmanpac wrote:

So for you, I agree that there is little value in keeping your charge cards. Not sure that makes the cards "overrated", just not appropriate for you. But you mention fear of fr as a reason not to use the card. I think these forums are great for a lot of things, but this is one of the two areas where I feel it may do more harm than good. There are millions of people using Amex charge cards. A few a year get financially reviewed. All of those people (it seems) post here. That gives the impression that it is some sort of frequent occurrence. It isn't. Not to mention that I can think of only one poster recently who didn't pass the review, and he had lied about income. Amex wants you to use the card. Their entire model is built around attracting spend-centric users. To me, being able to put a bill on a charge card is very freeing. I don't have to worry about limits, utilization, when the statement cuts, what may balance is, etc. maybe someday when my limits are high enough (say 20k or so), I won't have to worry about these things with credit cards either. I just feel like some of the more experienced forum members need to include HOW they use the cards they have, in addition to which ones they have. Maybe then some of those starting out would be better able to identify cards useful for them and won't end up in the op's situation of ending up with a bunch of cards that don't fit his needs or spending patterns.

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 Agree with Cdnewmanpac - I have been an Amex user since 1988 - have had Green, Gold, PRG - now have TE and BCP. Through the years they have been great cards - i had the charge cards earlier as I need the push to ensure that i paid in full every month and did not overspend my income. I pushed all of my spending through those cards (utilities, groceries, gas etc) - Ended up getting a lot of great rewards through the MR program (Cruises, airfares etc). The charge cards were great and I pushed some big expenses through them - like $8K college tuition, $10K for a trip to ireland with my buddies - and I have NEVER had an FR. Amex wants you to spend money - they make their profits on swipe fees since they do not collect interest on the charge cards. I think all of the Amex cards are great, dependant on what rewards you want out of them. After I had the charge cards for all those years, I decided I wanted cash back instead of the MR points, so I cancelled my PRG and got the Costco and BCP cards - I plan on using those 2 almost exclusively for my spending - unless the Qtrly Freedom or US Bank bonus categories are higher.

[Quips]

So for you, I agree that there is little value in keeping your charge cards. Not sure that makes the cards "overrated", just not appropriate for you. But you mention fear of fr as a reason not to use the card. I think these forums are great for a lot of things, but this is one of the two areas where I feel it may do more harm than good. There are millions of people using Amex charge cards. A few a year get financially reviewed. All of those people (it seems) post here. That gives the impression that it is some sort of frequent occurrence. It isn't. Not to mention that I can think of only one poster recently who didn't pass the review, and he had lied about income. Amex wants you to use the card. Their entire model is built around attracting spend-centric users. To me, being able to put a bill on a charge card is very freeing. I don't have to worry about limits, utilization, when the statement cuts, what may balance is, etc. maybe someday when my limits are high enough (say 20k or so), I won't have to worry about these things with credit cards either. I just feel like some of the more experienced forum members need to include HOW they use the cards they have, in addition to which ones they have. Maybe then some of those starting out would be better able to identify cards useful for them and won't end up in the op's situation of ending up with a bunch of cards that don't fit his needs or spending patterns.

[Quips]

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 Agree with Cdnewmanpac - I have been an Amex user since 1988 - have had Green, Gold, PRG - now have TE and BCP. Through the years they have been great cards - i had the charge cards earlier as I need the push to ensure that i paid in full every month and did not overspend my income. I pushed all of my spending through those cards (utilities, groceries, gas etc) - Ended up getting a lot of great rewards through the MR program (Cruises, airfares etc). The charge cards were great and I pushed some big expenses through them - like $8K college tuition, $10K for a trip to ireland with my buddies - and I have NEVER had an FR. Amex wants you to spend money - they make their profits on swipe fees since they do not collect interest on the charge cards. I think all of the Amex cards are great, dependant on what rewards you want out of them. After I had the charge cards for all those years, I decided I wanted cash back instead of the MR points, so I cancelled my PRG and got the Costco and BCP cards - I plan on using those 2 almost exclusively for my spending - unless the Qtrly Freedom or US Bank bonus categories are higher.