With some reservation, a few days ago I finally closed my first credit card. It was a Capital One QS1 that started as a basic Platinum account back in 2008.
For a first card the APR was decent (Prime + 14.7). To get this rate on a starter card, and the fact that I got approved for it in the first place, was probably the fortunate result of me applying just a few months before the housing bubble blew up at the end of 2008. I had gone for years not caring about credit cards, but thankfully I came around and got started with them just in the nick of time.
It was a bit rough at first - I never missed payments but I overutilized the card sometimes and tended to roll over with interest. In those days I didn't know or care much about credit and utilization was not something I worried about.
In spite of the nervous times those were for the banks, no matter how high my utilization was at times, CapOne never panicked on me. I paid the bills and they left me alone. I appreciate the fact that they got me started on credit without having to deal with a bottom feeder like Credit One or the like.
A few years ago CapOne finally raised the limit on this account to $1500, then changed it to a QS1, but it still had the $45 annual fee. With the 1.5% QS1 rewards I started using this card for most purchases. It was still the lowest limit of any of my cards.
I've noticed that other people in these forums talk about CapOne sending out 0APR BT offers, but they've never sent me a single one. My scores have been over 750 for 2-3 years and around the 800 level for the past year or so. These offers are very useful to me (I can make a profit on them) so I'd like to be getting them.
I believe my account is stuck with some permanently crippled status due to who I was or what contract I was given when I applied for it in 2008. I also don't want to pay the $45 annual fee anymore. Therefore I decided it was time to close it.
I had no problems with CapOne (other than outgrowing the account) so I will likely reapply someday. If I do, I should be able to get a full fledged Quicksilver with a signup bonus and promotional 0APR, and hopefully get binned as a more valued customer than what I was with my old account. So I think it's the right move.
I feel funny about it - at 9 years it was double the age of any other account that I have, but I've been convinced that it shouldn't hurt me much. I've had this account for so long and used it so frequently that I've memorized the account number. When I was shopping recently, I had to think for a bit about what card to use in it's place. I don't know if you can get emotionally attached to a credit card, but it's almost like that in this case.
I don't have a proper replacement for the 1.5%, but I did add the BoA BBR recently. I don't spend a lot, so the fixed $25/quarter rewards appealed to me more than worrying about the difference from 1.0% (available from other cards) versus the 1.5% that I lost.
So with 1 card added and 1 removed, I'm still at 4 credit cards. That's as many cards as I care to keep up with, but I may still end up with a 5th before the year is up. I'd like to do some car work this summer but cash is limited, so a signup bonus+0APR promo might be helpful in a few months. I have some options on how to handle that and haven't decided what direction to go with it.
I'm not really cutting as much fat as I could. I cut the CapOne, but I stil have a useless Merrick card. Since it has no AF and it's now my oldest active card, I'd rather leave it alone.
