Should I cancel this card?

[Anonymous]

Hey all, 

I had a question about one of my credit cards that I was hoping you could help me with. I would like to cancel a credit card that I have that has an annual fee of 59 dollars a year. It is my second oldest card, and I got it at a time when my credit score was bad. At this point, I have rebuilt my score pretty well, and I have gotten 2 new cards with a limit that is 10x that older card.

The only thing is, because it is my second oldest card, I'm not really sure how significant the effect would be on my credit score. The card was originally with some no name bank, but Capital One bought it, so now my 2 oldest cards are both Capital One. My original card also has a much higher limit than this second one, so it truly is a waste of money to be paying 59 dollars a year on it.

I have asked in the past to have the annual fee removed, and Capital One denied me. I was denied credit line increases twice on the card because "the account was new to them" and they didn't have enough history on that account to make a decision. So basically I have a useless card that I don't use, sitting around with a $300 credit limit and a 59 dollar annual fee. 

Should I cancel it if next time around they don't take the annual fee off or give me a significant CLI?

Would really appreciate any advice!

[Simply827]

Close it. 

The card will continue to report for up to 10 years and still positively contribute to your AAoA. You likely won't run into any utilization issues with only a $300 limit.

Cap 1 recently didn't want to waive my AF this year. I told them to close the card, and magically it was waived. I'll close when the AF comes due next year since I'm tired of the hassle. 

[Anonymous]

I would try calling them back & explaining your situation in full & "threaten" to request closing the card if they don't grant your requests.  You have nothing to lose if you're going to close it anyways.

[coldnmn]

+1 Close it. It will report as a positive TL for ten years.

[SpiceIslander]

Personallly, I wouldn't keep the card, with the low limit AND annual fee combo. Assuming the account has a zero balance, I vote for closure. It will report for 10 years, so you'll be fine. It all depends on what other cards you have in your line up and utilization. If you have high utilization, it may be wise to keep it open until you get util down.

[Anonymous]

Sounds good to me! I have been wanting to negotiate knowing I am willing to cancel, but I just wasn't sure how much of an impact it would have. If it stil is reported and contributes to my AAoA whether it's open or not, then it's a no brainer. I'm tired of paying an annual fee that's 15% of my credit limit! Besides, my other cards have been giving me CLI in the thousands, so I could care less about this 300 dollar limit. 

I'll set an alarm to give them a call a month before my annual fee renews, and go from there!

[Anonymous]

Thanks for all the help everyone! I have to say, I don't think I've ever received this many responses so quickly on any forum ever What an awesome community here!

[coldnmn]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Sounds good to me! I have been wanting to negotiate knowing I am willing to cancel, but I just wasn't sure how much of an impact it would have. If it stil is reported and contributes to my AAoA whether it's open or not, then it's a no brainer. I'm tired of paying an annual fee that's 15% of my credit limit! Besides, my other cards have been giving me CLI in the thousands, so I could care less about this 300 dollar limit. 

I'll set an alarm to give them a call a month before my annual fee renews, and go from there!

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FYI they have to refund the annual fee up to 30 days after the annual fee is paid for the year.

[SpiceIslander]

I recently closed my 3 Cap One cards for that very reason. They refused to budge on the AF and would not increase credit lines. I asked about removing the AF one card at a time. When they refused to waive the first one and I asked him to close the account, he asked if there was anything else he could help me and I told him I had another card with the same situation, same for the third one. By then, he seemed to be having second thoughts and hesitated quite a bit but at that point, my mind was made up.

Now I know that I agreed to the fees when I opened the accounts. What bothered me was that the cards were stuck and wouldn't grow with me. I don't mind an AF here and there if the CL is good.

[Anonymous]

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@coldnmn wrote:

FYI they have to refund the annual fee up to 30 days after the annual fee is paid for the year.

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Good to know! Unfortunately it renewed beginnning of the year. I've just been mulling it over over the last months while I've been requesting CLIs and taking a look at other cards. I upgraded the card to the quicksilver card, but my original card with them is also upgraded...with a much higher limit...so at the time I told them this, and said I would rather not have that annual fee for what amounts to a duplicate card with a much lower limit. They said they couldn't take it off. I didn't push at the time, because I wasn't ready to cancel, now this time I will be