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After rebuilding over the last couple of years, I've been able to recently apply for some new cards with better rates and/or rewards. Now I feel as if I have too much credit, and too many cards. Is it better to keep all of them open and just SD some of them, or is it better to bite the bullet and close some of them and just hope for CLI's on my newer cc's to make up for the loss in available credit (which is the least of my problems because I already feel as if I have too much credit). I'm also afraid of what might happen 10 years from now when the older canceled cards fall off my report even though they are only 3-4 years old.
Below is my wallet. Newer cards are listed first. Any help/advice would be much appreciated! Thanks!
My Wallet:
CSP (2015): 5k
EDP (2015 - backdated '99): 5k
Penfed Promise (2015): 11.5k
Barclay Ring (2015): 11k
Amex BCE (2012--backdated '99): 3k (Would like to eventually transfer limit to EDP and then close)
Citi Diamond Prefererd (2012): 5k
Discover IT (2012): 7.5k
Amex Zync: NPSL (Will close at the beginning of next month)
Amex Platinum: NPSL
I don't see anything there that screams 'close this now.' Just manage your spending on 2-3 rotated cards per month, maybe one you always use and PIF, and keep the rest handy.
Don't worry about the cards falling off in 10 years since the open cards will be 10 years older.
As always you will get varied answers on this topic. I am a believer that if you are no longer using something, or getting benefit from it, just close it. It remains on your report for 10 years as a positive account no matter what, and newer cards will have aged too so it's not a big deal. No need to keep it around just because.
Looking at your list, I would agree with transferring BCE's limit to EDP and closing it because you seem to value travel cards so you don't really need both. Also, do you need the Diamond Preferred anymore? Other than possibly a low APR it doesn't offer much.
Look into what you need and use, and go from there, but there's absolutely nothing wrong with paring down until you are comfortable.
@ccb2115 wrote:After rebuilding over the last couple of years, I've been able to recently apply for some new cards with better rates and/or rewards. Now I feel as if I have too much credit, and too many cards. Is it better to keep all of them open and just SD some of them, or is it better to bite the bullet and close some of them and just hope for CLI's on my newer cc's to make up for the loss in available credit (which is the least of my problems because I already feel as if I have too much credit). I'm also afraid of what might happen 10 years from now when the older canceled cards fall off my report even though they are only 3-4 years old.
Below is my wallet. Newer cards are listed first. Any help/advice would be much appreciated! Thanks!
My Wallet:
CSP (2015): 5k
EDP (2015 - backdated '99): 5k
Penfed Promise (2015): 11.5k
Barclay Ring (2015): 11k
Amex BCE (2012--backdated '99): 3k (Would like to eventually transfer limit to EDP and then close)
Citi Diamond Prefererd (2012): 5k
Discover IT (2012): 7.5k
Amex Zync: NPSL (Will close at the beginning of next month)
Amex Platinum: NPSL
One question, why the low limit with Amex BCE? Do you know about the 3X CLI from Amex? Did you ask for a CLI on that card?
I bet you can get your EDP to 15k or your BCE to 9k right now.
EDIT: well you have several cards from 2015, maybe that will change the odds
@newhis wrote:
@ccb2115 wrote:After rebuilding over the last couple of years, I've been able to recently apply for some new cards with better rates and/or rewards. Now I feel as if I have too much credit, and too many cards. Is it better to keep all of them open and just SD some of them, or is it better to bite the bullet and close some of them and just hope for CLI's on my newer cc's to make up for the loss in available credit (which is the least of my problems because I already feel as if I have too much credit). I'm also afraid of what might happen 10 years from now when the older canceled cards fall off my report even though they are only 3-4 years old.
Below is my wallet. Newer cards are listed first. Any help/advice would be much appreciated! Thanks!
My Wallet:
CSP (2015): 5k
EDP (2015 - backdated '99): 5k
Penfed Promise (2015): 11.5k
Barclay Ring (2015): 11k
Amex BCE (2012--backdated '99): 3k (Would like to eventually transfer limit to EDP and then close)
Citi Diamond Prefererd (2012): 5k
Discover IT (2012): 7.5k
Amex Zync: NPSL (Will close at the beginning of next month)
Amex Platinum: NPSL
One question, why the low limit with Amex BCE? Do you know about the 3X CLI from Amex? Did you ask for a CLI on that card?
I bet you can get your EDP to 15k or your BCE to 9k right now.
EDIT: well you have several cards from 2015, maybe that will change the odds
Thanks for the responses, everyone!
I applied for the BCE in 2012 when my credit file was very thin and subpar. I had to actually recon my BCE denial and they stuck me with a 1k limit. I attempted to increase the limit 61 days later, but was denied, so I just gave up and decided to use my other cards instead. I eventually forgot about trying to increase the limit because it wasn't my main card at the time. Fast forwad to this year... I requested 3x the limit and it was increased to 3k.
@ccb2115 wrote:Thanks for the responses, everyone!
I applied for the BCE in 2012 when my credit file was very thin and subpar. I had to actually recon my BCE denial and they stuck me with a 1k limit. I attempted to increase the limit 61 days later, but was denied, so I just gave up and decided to use my other cards instead. I eventually forgot about trying to increase the limit because it wasn't my main card at the time. Fast forwad to this year... I requested 3x the limit and it was increased to 3k.
Ok, so if you just got that increase then you need to wait 180 days. Maybe you can transfer the 3k to the EDP and request 24k in the future. Good luck!
Right off the bat I see too many AF fee cards. Platinum, EDP, and CSP? Do you make use of the platinum perks (travel a lot for lounges, etc)? Do you spend enough in restaurants and travel to make the CSP make sense? How about groceries to make the EDP make sense? Can you spare 30 swipes for the EDP bonus while spreading spending across your cards?
Once your credit is decent, you should look into keeping cards that give you more value than their AFs. No AF cards can be kept open permanently or SD'd and closed slowly. But AF cards need much quicker action. If they give you good value for money, more so than other no-AF options, keeping them can make sense. Otherwise, close them before the next AF hits.
@Anonymous wrote:Right off the bat I see too many AF fee cards. Platinum, EDP, and CSP? Do you make use of the platinum perks (travel a lot for lounges, etc)? Do you spend enough in restaurants and travel to make the CSP make sense? How about groceries to make the EDP make sense? Can you spare 30 swipes for the EDP bonus while spreading spending across your cards?
Once your credit is decent, you should look into keeping cards that give you more value than their AFs. No AF cards can be kept open permanently or SD'd and closed slowly. But AF cards need much quicker action. If they give you good value for money, more so than other no-AF options, keeping them can make sense. Otherwise, close them before the next AF hits.
Thank you so much for your response. I think you're right. I do spend enough in restaurants and travel for the CSP, and I can definitely hit the 30 swipes for the EDP (I already pretty much hit it by buying coffee every morning). I originally had the Platinum so that I could trasnfer to frequent flyer programs. But now that I have the CSP & EDP, I may not need to have a charge card anymore. I guess I should consider closing my charge card once the year is over since I just paid my AF.
@Anonymous wrote:Don't worry about the cards falling off in 10 years since the open cards will be 10 years older.
+1 I would close any AF card that you do not have a use for. It is folly at this stage of your credit to pay an AF on a card you do not use.I agree with closing the BCE after moving your credit over to your other amex. No real point in having two cards that cover the same categories and you may want to pick up another amex card in the future so one less amex account might help smooth the way. If you have a real use for particular cards then keep them open and don't worry about having too many accounts. They will age with time and you just need to stay in garden.