CLOSING CREDIT CARD ACCOUNTS NOT IN USE

[MrBenchMark]

Hello All,

For years I carried credit card debt that seemed overwhelming but finally with the help of a new job with better pay, i was able to pay all my credit card debt off. As a result my credit score increased and consistently floats between 770 and 790. After my credit score increased and I became debt free, I applied and was approved for a credit card that paid great rewards; I use it for all my expenses and pay the statement balance off monthly. 

Now the situation I've run into now is how I solely use the credit card above due to rewards while all the others are drawing dust. As a result of not using some of these cards, there are some that've began charging me annual fees. I've called them asking if they'd upgrade my card to one that pays rewards, I'd begin using their card again. All of them told me they couldn't do that and if I wanted a card with rewards I'd have to apply and it would be like haiving an addtional credit card account aside from the one I already had with them. I thought this was ridiculous so I never did follow through with applying for one but I still have these unused credit cards. Now, I'd close them but I heard by doing so my credit score could be harmed due to not only closing my account but also reducing the amount of credit I have; so it seems like a catch 22. 

So, what do I do in this case?

[mongstradamus]

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@MrBenchMark wrote:

Hello All,

For years I carried credit card debt that seemed overwhelming but finally with the help of a new job with better pay, i was able to pay all my credit card debt off. As a result my credit score increased and consistently floats between 770 and 790. After my credit score increased and I became debt free, I applied and was approved for a credit card that paid great rewards; I use it for all my expenses and pay the statement balance off monthly. 

Now the situation I've run into now is how I solely use the credit card above due to rewards while all the others are drawing dust. As a result of not using some of these cards, there are some that've began charging me annual fees. I've called them asking if they'd upgrade my card to one that pays rewards, I'd begin using their card again. All of them told me they couldn't do that and if I wanted a card with rewards I'd have to apply and it would be like haiving an addtional credit card account aside from the one I already had with them. I thought this was ridiculous so I never did follow through with applying for one but I still have these unused credit cards. Now, I'd close them but I heard by doing so my credit score could be harmed due to not only closing my account but also reducing the amount of credit I have; so it seems like a catch 22. 

So, what do I do in this case?

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If they have AF i would close them , since you are PIF on the one rewards card high util shouldn't ben a problem. The one thing is if you show no util at all you may get dinged on your fico scoring because 0% utilization is no bueno when it comes to fico scores. The only thing that would be affected is your util if you closed all your af cards, your aaoa will remain relatively the same since closed accounts stay on your cr for up to 10 years. 

[MrBenchMark]

First of all, thank you for your reply. 

What does PIF stand for, lol. 

So all in all, what's the bottom line? Would closing those accounts hurt me?

[mongstradamus]

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@MrBenchMark wrote:

First of all, thank you for your reply. 

What does PIF stand for, lol. 

So all in all, what's the bottom line? Would closing those accounts hurt me?

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PIF=Pay in Full, so basically you pay off what you used with credit card. If you really don't want to keep any of those other credit card i would close them out if you aren't using them at all.

Are you planning on getting any other cards in near term. If answer is no just use your rewards card and pay it off whenever its due. Your score may fluctuate an bit , but doesn't really matter if you aren't planning on applying for anything. 

Now if you are planning on apping that is where it can get more complicated because you want an small percentage to report so you show some utilization. 

[MrBenchMark]

Thank you again for your reply.

I suppose my concern was if I closed these accounts it would hurt the credit score I worked hard to get. These other cards are just drawing dust by not being used and no, I don't plan on applying for any other card because there would be no point to it. I am pleased with the one I have now and pay the balance off in full every month. 

[CreditDunce]

Mongtradumus has given you some good advice.  I would just add if you could just get one of your old cards to be PC'd to something without an AF, it would be helpful.  You old accounts will stay on your report for 10 years.  After that they will drop off.  Having an older credit file is better for your credit score.  However, it is not worth it if you have to pay an AF.

In addition, I would recommend having at least 2 CC's (3 is better).  Having multiple CC's is better for your credit score and can be useful if your one card has to be reissued, etc.  If you can't get your existing CCC's to convert one or two of you AF cards to non-AF cards,  I would apply for one or two AF rewards cards from Barclay, BoA, Chase, Discover, etc.  No need to go overboard, but a little redundancy is good.