Which one would you keep?

[longtimelurker]

After the sign up bonus, I don't think the no-AF Arrival has much going for it, particularly if you have the CSP, so that would be my choice.

As for Amex, it depends if you ever think you can use MR, can you put 20 swipes a month on the Everday, and whether you use the non-grocery bonus categories on those cards.

[DigitalArk]

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@thelethargicage wrote:

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@Creditaddict wrote:

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@thelethargicage wrote:

Why not get rid of the USAA cards instead?

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Close Credit Union Cards?!

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Assuming he always PIFs, why not? The rewards are usually pathetic.

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That's right. Not only that, but it has other drawbacks too.

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Cards/Just-closed-a-high-CL-card/td-p/3047124

[DigitalArk]

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@longtimelurker wrote:

After the sign up bonus, I don't think the no-AF Arrival has much going for it, particularly if you have the CSP, so that would be my choice.

As for Amex, it depends if you ever think you can use MR, can you put 20 swipes a month on the Everday, and whether you use the non-grocery bonus categories on those cards.

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I might be able to use MR once a year for HI airlines. I am a light traveler. I don't think I can put 20 swipes a mo on the ED, though. It makes me think.

[Kenny]

If you didn't think you'd be able to do 20 swipes in a month, I'm curious as to why you applied for the Everyday card? Backdating? If that's the case, close it. BCE is a crap card, too, though. And I can say that because I have the BCE! lol

[Themanwhocan]

Keep Discover. Apply for Sallie Mae Rewards Mastercard. Then claim the limit on your Sallie Mae is too low, and ask to move the limit from the Arrival. And THEN close the Arrival.

For the Amex cards, just pick one.  If you aren't going to use them, then it doesn't really matter which one you have, no?

[B335is]

I would close both Discover and Barclays Arrival. Im on the fence over your Amices.

ETA:  Discover is worth keeping for the Fico score, missed that part in original post.

[watch44]

Keep the Discover because they're a better customer's company. Dump both the BCE and ED since you have a TE or what Themanwhocan said. Put them both in a hat and pull one out.

[celluloid17]

I would close both BCE and ED because you already have the TE.  

I would probably close the Discover card and keep the Barclay Arrival.  Both have no FTF, but a MasterCard is more versatile than a Discover card (unless travel is primarily done in Asia).

I agree that a Sallie Mae card would be a good addition to your portfolio.

[Cdnewmanpac]

With low spenders (which OP claims to be in this and other thread), putting spend in multiple competing 'systems" reduces the marginal value of points. 20000 UR points are worth more than 7000UR, 7000MR, 6000 barclays points. For high spenders, this is less true and you worry about things like maxing out category spend, etc. Shouldn't be an issue here.

So: I'd ditch arrival because every dollar you spend on it reduces the UR points you could earn with CSP and puts you farther away from key redemption values. Also, I'd take Chase customer service over barclay's any day. I'd ditch discover because every year their categories overlap more with freedom, they aren't accepted as many places and the best value you can get for rewards is 1 cent per point. Use the freedom and those points become UR, which you can still easily use for 2cpp or better.

Unless you spend a lot on groceries, I'd ditch both amex cards (after a year) and keep the TE. Every dollar you spend on MR is lost UR points and as a low spender, I'm guessing your grocery rewards with amex amount to $15-20/year.

But I've had good experiences with Chase, no longer worry about credit limits and have an AAoA well north of 9 years at this point. I also want to concentrate my reward spending as much as possible so that I can more easily hit key redemption targets (in my case, 45k points I redeem for direct flights DIA to HLL on United) that increase the value of my points. YMMV

[longtimelurker]

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@Cdnewmanpac wrote:

With low spenders (which OP claims to be in this and other thread), putting spend in multiple competing 'systems" reduces the marginal value of points. 20000 UR points are worth more than 7000UR, 7000MR, 6000 barclays points. For high spenders, this is less true and you worry about things like maxing out category spend, etc. 

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Strongly agree.   I would add that very low spenders (for some definition) should focus on cash back only, because even with large bonuses like those with CSP and Arrival, the spend just won't add enough points for useful rewards  (which doesn't rule out getting CSP for the bonus and simply cashing out and close/downgrade before AF becomes due).

For high spenders, you may want some diversity to deal with devaluations etc, but even then, some focus is desirable.   

Part of the issue is that people read about, e.g. the SPG card and get it, even though their spending doesn't justify the card at all.