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Too many cards - which one to close?

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FutureBillionaire
Established Contributor

Re: Too many cards - which one to close?


@sqrt wrote:

@Revelate wrote:

@FutureBillionaire wrote:

@sqrt wrote:

@Repo-ed wrote:

Close none.


Then do I need to, say, use Delta card every 3 month? 

I may switch Delta to Blue cash anyway because the annual fee.


PC to a card that you like.  Close none unless you opened them just in the past couple of months.


I'm a bit confuzzled apparently; where does that make a difference in FICO or in underwriting?  If anything, uber short tradelines would be frowned upon by underwriting in my estimation, and I don't see where FICO cares (at least much, no seasoning bonus to be sure, may be a penalty in there somewhere but minor) either.


Yes, I am a bit confuse too...


If you absolutely had to close a card for some reason, closing a recently opened one would have less of a negative impact on your AAOA IF they decide to remove it from the report entirely.  This does happen sometimes.  Not all closed cards stay on there for 10 years.

Gas: Discover It, Penfed Platinum Rewards x2, Chase freedom, Citi TYP
Plane tickets: CSP
Groceries: AMEX BCP, Penfed Platinum Rewards,Citi TYP
Clothes: Express, Amex BCP, Discover IT
Amazon: Citi Forward, Cash +
Restaurants: Citi Forward, Chase Freedom, Discover IT, CSP
Hotels and other travel: Discover Escape, CSP
Movies: BofA travel rewards visa signature(fandango), Discover IT, Citi Forward, Freedom
Bars, clubs, tomfoolery: CSP, Citi Forward, Discover IT, Freedom
Balance transfers: Kroger 123 rewards
Bill Pay: Chase Ink Plus, Citi Forward,
Everyday spending: Bofa Accelerated cash rewards amex, Discover Escape
Message 21 of 36
scenery_guy
Established Contributor

Re: Too many cards - which one to close?


@sqrt wrote:

@Anonymous wrote:

@sqrt wrote:

@Anonymous wrote:

I dont know if it makes sense to close your two highest limit cards (33% of your total credit) with the hope that you will be able to replace them with cards of like limits. You will risk killing your util with the hopes of getting a lower rate?

 

Also considering that you plan a big purchase, what happens if you cant get the rates you want or cant get another card. Now you have to still make your large purchase, but you have given away 33% of your limits.


Well, close the card is not equal to lose CL. 

I want to transfer CL of UA to freedom, also CL of Delta to SPG.


If your concern is that your limits are toohigh, how will that help you? youd have the same limits just on different cards. But in any event, this is better than closing the cards and losing the limits


Well - I will have less cards in wallet, less cards to concern "which one to use". 

I just hate that you have to use the card every 6 month to keep it open. (not sure about this)


Why not set up an auto pay for a monthly expense? Auto insurance, cable, land line or cell phone, internet... we all have a bunch of expenses like this, you could put one on each card, set up auto pay in full and sock drawer them for a year. Monthly use and no thought on your part. 

Message 22 of 36
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Too many cards - which one to close?


@scenery_guy wrote:

@sqrt wrote:

@Anonymous wrote:

@sqrt wrote:

@Anonymous wrote:

I dont know if it makes sense to close your two highest limit cards (33% of your total credit) with the hope that you will be able to replace them with cards of like limits. You will risk killing your util with the hopes of getting a lower rate?

 

Also considering that you plan a big purchase, what happens if you cant get the rates you want or cant get another card. Now you have to still make your large purchase, but you have given away 33% of your limits.


Well, close the card is not equal to lose CL. 

I want to transfer CL of UA to freedom, also CL of Delta to SPG.


If your concern is that your limits are toohigh, how will that help you? youd have the same limits just on different cards. But in any event, this is better than closing the cards and losing the limits


Well - I will have less cards in wallet, less cards to concern "which one to use". 

I just hate that you have to use the card every 6 month to keep it open. (not sure about this)


Why not set up an auto pay for a monthly expense? Auto insurance, cable, land line or cell phone, internet... we all have a bunch of expenses like this, you could put one on each card, set up auto pay in full and sock dI rawer them for a year. Monthly use and no thought on your part. 


You are my hero. I know it seems so simple, but I never thought of that.

Message 23 of 36
sqrt
Contributor

Re: Too many cards - which one to close?


@scenery_guy wrote:

@sqrt wrote:

@Anonymous wrote:

@sqrt wrote:

@Anonymous wrote:

I dont know if it makes sense to close your two highest limit cards (33% of your total credit) with the hope that you will be able to replace them with cards of like limits. You will risk killing your util with the hopes of getting a lower rate?

 

Also considering that you plan a big purchase, what happens if you cant get the rates you want or cant get another card. Now you have to still make your large purchase, but you have given away 33% of your limits.


Well, close the card is not equal to lose CL. 

I want to transfer CL of UA to freedom, also CL of Delta to SPG.


If your concern is that your limits are toohigh, how will that help you? youd have the same limits just on different cards. But in any event, this is better than closing the cards and losing the limits


Well - I will have less cards in wallet, less cards to concern "which one to use". 

I just hate that you have to use the card every 6 month to keep it open. (not sure about this)


Why not set up an auto pay for a monthly expense? Auto insurance, cable, land line or cell phone, internet... we all have a bunch of expenses like this, you could put one on each card, set up auto pay in full and sock drawer them for a year. Monthly use and no thought on your part. 


Great idea!!

freedom|forward|delta|spg|It|marriott|dividend|ua|aa|csp|typ
Message 24 of 36
chnceit
Valued Contributor

Re: Too many cards - which one to close?


@sqrt wrote:

Question: If my total CL is close to my gross income, can I still get new CC? 

 

I've tired of too many CCs, which one to close?

 

Citi: Dividend 3.5k, Forward 5k

Chase: CSP 5K, UA 7K, Freedom 5K

Amex: Delta 9.5K, SPG 3K

Barclay: NFL 1.5K

Discover: It 5.4K

 

Intend to close Delta and UA soon. 

Thanks.

 


I am in the same boat OP, I have/had way too many cards now and did/is planning to close some because:

 

- I have no use for them.

- I dont want to track them anymore

- I aquired other cards to replace a lot of them. 

 

I had 12 CC's as of yesterday. I closed and will be closing the following and here is my reasons. 

 

- Closed one of my oldest accounts because it will not grow with me, had the card for 5 years

- A card that I just got in November and the limit was not what I want it to be so its going to the chopping block.

- I PC'd my CITI Diamond Preferred to the Thank you Preferred because I was just approved for the Thank you Preferred last week so I want to combined the accounts since its the same type of card (Its CITI not holding my breathe) so I might just close it if they cannot accomodate

 

Most will say why close them when there is no AF..... Well its easier to close it and not worry about it at all and if you close one of your newest accounts that you opened the effect will be less, but try to combine accounts to one card first that you use the most so you wont lose the CL and/or keep your oldest account open. 

 

This is from my personal experience and current situation sorry for the rant if it sounds and if I high jacked your thread. 


Last Pulled EQ: 809
Last Credit Card App: 02/05/2016
Last CLI: 02/06/2016
Find Me: Gardening
Message 25 of 36
sqrt
Contributor

Re: Too many cards - which one to close?


@chnceit wrote:

@sqrt wrote:

Question: If my total CL is close to my gross income, can I still get new CC? 

 

I've tired of too many CCs, which one to close?

 

Citi: Dividend 3.5k, Forward 5k

Chase: CSP 5K, UA 7K, Freedom 5K

Amex: Delta 9.5K, SPG 3K

Barclay: NFL 1.5K

Discover: It 5.4K

 

Intend to close Delta and UA soon. 

Thanks.

 


I am in the same boat OP, I have/had way too many cards now and did/is planning to close some because:

 

- I have no use for them.

- I dont want to track them anymore

- I aquired other cards to replace a lot of them. 

 

I had 12 CC's as of yesterday. I closed and will be closing the following and here is my reasons. 

 

- Closed one of my oldest accounts because it will not grow with me, had the card for 5 years

- A card that I just got in November and the limit was not what I want it to be so its going to the chopping block.

- I PC'd my CITI Diamond Preferred to the Thank you Preferred because I was just approved for the Thank you Preferred last week so I want to combined the accounts since its the same type of card (Its CITI not holding my breathe) so I might just close it if they cannot accomodate

 

Most will say why close them when there is no AF..... Well its easier to close it and not worry about it at all and if you close one of your newest accounts that you opened the effect will be less, but try to combine accounts to one card first that you use the most so you wont lose the CL and/or keep your oldest account open. 

 

This is from my personal experience and current situation sorry for the rant if it sounds and if I high jacked your thread. 


Well, I won't close the oldest account, also, I don't think CITI can combine accounts.....

freedom|forward|delta|spg|It|marriott|dividend|ua|aa|csp|typ
Message 26 of 36
bs6054
Valued Contributor

Re: Too many cards - which one to close?


@Revelate wrote:

Oh and to jump on the main point; if you apply for a card and are denied, and they tell you it's because you have too many cards or too much available credit, then offer to close a card.  No need to do that beforehand really.

 

While it's true you don't lose much by closing a card, keeping it open even a day longer is marginally better at some point in the future; that extends into the advice of open a tradeline as soon as you can, and close it as late as possible too.  Other than a non-utilized card with an AF (or a security deposit), I think I'll struggle to come up with a rationale (I don't personally think the additional fraud risk is much if any) to close any card of mine in the next several decades... and even in those two scenarios I don't always decide to close it either honestly.  


Well, the "marginally better" might be effectively zero, especially if you are talking several decades!  Hopefully for most here, a non-growing $300 CL will really be contributing nothing 20 years from now (and even if it got to $750, still no big deal).

 

Even if you ignore fraud risk (and the risk that the issuer will impose an AF at some point) there is a small cost, even if it deleting emails saying "new statement", "payment received" etc, but more important there is opportunity cost if you have to buy things every now and then to keep the cards open.  Over time, this adds up to spend that would be better used on one of your better cards (or to meet bonus spend when you get a new card).  Of course, you could decide not to do this, and take the chance that issuers would close for non-use, but if that's OK, you may as well close them yourself.

Message 27 of 36
Revelate
Moderator Emeritus

Re: Too many cards - which one to close?


@bs6054 wrote:

@Revelate wrote:

Oh and to jump on the main point; if you apply for a card and are denied, and they tell you it's because you have too many cards or too much available credit, then offer to close a card.  No need to do that beforehand really.

 

While it's true you don't lose much by closing a card, keeping it open even a day longer is marginally better at some point in the future; that extends into the advice of open a tradeline as soon as you can, and close it as late as possible too.  Other than a non-utilized card with an AF (or a security deposit), I think I'll struggle to come up with a rationale (I don't personally think the additional fraud risk is much if any) to close any card of mine in the next several decades... and even in those two scenarios I don't always decide to close it either honestly.  


Well, the "marginally better" might be effectively zero, especially if you are talking several decades!  Hopefully for most here, a non-growing $300 CL will really be contributing nothing 20 years from now (and even if it got to $750, still no big deal).

 

Even if you ignore fraud risk (and the risk that the issuer will impose an AF at some point) there is a small cost, even if it deleting emails saying "new statement", "payment received" etc, but more important there is opportunity cost if you have to buy things every now and then to keep the cards open.  Over time, this adds up to spend that would be better used on one of your better cards (or to meet bonus spend when you get a new card).  Of course, you could decide not to do this, and take the chance that issuers would close for non-use, but if that's OK, you may as well close them yourself.


I think the people using the same cards decades from now either did something incredibly right, or incredibly wrong Smiley Happy.  Either way that's statistically probably 2 standard deviations out on the bell curve.

 

Closing an account: your future benefit is fixed in time.

Keeping an account open: you may (might?) get a bonus out of it.

 

If it costs me next to nothing in order to do that, I'd estimate maybe 5 minutes per year per tradeline, why wouldn't I take the shot of getting an extra FICO gift out of it?  I seriously waste a lot more than that just on these forums every day! Smiley Happy  Ostensibly for the same reason too.

 

I'd be a hypocrite saying it'd make any relevant difference decades from now (as I've argued differently previously on a 7 year timeline for AAoA for that matter); however, I don't plan over that term, really I am only effective making educated guesses about my life 5ish years out and anything else is just fantasy.  In that time though, it's hard for me to not see where the additional payment history and possibly additional seasoning of a tradeline as it ages, might not get me a point here or there.  If that kicks me over a magic lender tier when it comes to the 2ish mortgages I need to be looking at within that five year period, why not spend that extra bit of time?  

 

My theory / philosophy anyway.




        
Message 28 of 36
bs6054
Valued Contributor

Re: Too many cards - which one to close?


@Revelate wrote:

@bs6054 wrote:

@Revelate wrote:

Oh and to jump on the main point; if you apply for a card and are denied, and they tell you it's because you have too many cards or too much available credit, then offer to close a card.  No need to do that beforehand really.

 

While it's true you don't lose much by closing a card, keeping it open even a day longer is marginally better at some point in the future; that extends into the advice of open a tradeline as soon as you can, and close it as late as possible too.  Other than a non-utilized card with an AF (or a security deposit), I think I'll struggle to come up with a rationale (I don't personally think the additional fraud risk is much if any) to close any card of mine in the next several decades... and even in those two scenarios I don't always decide to close it either honestly.  


Well, the "marginally better" might be effectively zero, especially if you are talking several decades!  Hopefully for most here, a non-growing $300 CL will really be contributing nothing 20 years from now (and even if it got to $750, still no big deal).

 

Even if you ignore fraud risk (and the risk that the issuer will impose an AF at some point) there is a small cost, even if it deleting emails saying "new statement", "payment received" etc, but more important there is opportunity cost if you have to buy things every now and then to keep the cards open.  Over time, this adds up to spend that would be better used on one of your better cards (or to meet bonus spend when you get a new card).  Of course, you could decide not to do this, and take the chance that issuers would close for non-use, but if that's OK, you may as well close them yourself.


I think the people using the same cards decades from now either did something incredibly right, or incredibly wrong Smiley Happy.  Either way that's statistically probably 2 standard deviations out on the bell curve.

 

Closing an account: your future benefit is fixed in time.

Keeping an account open: you may (might?) get a bonus out of it.

 

If it costs me next to nothing in order to do that, I'd estimate maybe 5 minutes per year per tradeline, why wouldn't I take the shot of getting an extra FICO gift out of it?  I seriously waste a lot more than that just on these forums every day! Smiley Happy  Ostensibly for the same reason too.

 

I'd be a hypocrite saying it'd make any relevant difference decades from now (as I've argued differently previously on a 7 year timeline for AAoA for that matter); however, I don't plan over that term, really I am only effective making educated guesses about my life 5ish years out and anything else is just fantasy.  In that time though, it's hard for me to not see where the additional payment history and possibly additional seasoning of a tradeline as it ages, might not get me a point here or there.  If that kicks me over a magic lender tier when it comes to the 2ish mortgages I need to be looking at within that five year period, why not spend that extra bit of time?  

 

My theory / philosophy anyway.


Right, but you were the one how brought up decades!  My point above is it may not cost you almost nothing, I agree the time spent is practically zero, but the opportunity cost of not always using your better cards is real, albeit small.

 

Now in reality it probably makes little difference, but I was reacting more here to the prevailing "Never close a card" (with the possible exception of an AF).   I view this as more a matter for the individual, the costs of doing so and of not doing so aren't that critical to justify such a strong view.  

 

The real issue is FICO score worship!  I don't think anyone here can really answer: "What is the real cost to me if my score drops 10 points 10 years from now?" (which is the real impact of closing a card if utilization isn't a concern). 

Message 29 of 36
Revelate
Moderator Emeritus

Re: Too many cards - which one to close?


@bs6054 wrote:

Right, but you were the one how brought up decades!  My point above is it may not cost you almost nothing, I agree the time spent is practically zero, but the opportunity cost of not always using your better cards is real, albeit small.

 

Now in reality it probably makes little difference, but I was reacting more here to the prevailing "Never close a card" (with the possible exception of an AF).   I view this as more a matter for the individual, the costs of doing so and of not doing so aren't that critical to justify such a strong view.  

 

The real issue is FICO score worship!  I don't think anyone here can really answer: "What is the real cost to me if my score drops 10 points 10 years from now?" (which is the real impact of closing a card if utilization isn't a concern). 


Good point; I think if everyone stayed gainfully employed (or otherwise had income/assets to cover obligations) we'd all be gold-plated by the time 10 years goes by assuming that our current behaviors learned via this forum are kept.   If I stay above ~760, I really don't care what my score is, and I think unless we move to a non-FICO system that this number will remain pretty grail-like in the future too.

 

I did bring up decades, yeah too much hyperbole Smiley Happy.  I'd guess my cards will be closed before that by a lender or changed to some medicore tradeline vis a vis what BOFA continues to do with checking account roulette.  I can't really see some ludicrous amount of rewards being added to cards beyond what we have today, we're already seeing pushback from the merchants as to the additional costs of rewards, and lenders are pruning them back (Amex, USBank).

 

I guess the real praying at the FICO gods comes with whatever I decide to do with my Orchard account and that silly $59 AF I just paid.  To be fair, I'm already expecting to close it in 11 months so there's some limit to even what I'm willing to put up with anyway, and now we're just debating what that line is which is pretty pointless as it's utterly individual. 

 

Thanks senor.

 




        
Message 30 of 36
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