Combining two credit cards

[Anonymous]

I have three very low limit capital one cards (2 $500 limits, 1 $400). I just got a letter from them offering to combine any two cards I choose. The limits will combine, the payments will combine, etc. My question is, though, will that eliminate the history of one of them? Is this a good idea as far as my credit score goes? I'm not worried about the payments, as none of the cards have a balance. Thanks for any input!

[annah618]

I wouldn't do it... 3 positive TL's are better than 2, even if they are small.

[Anonymous]

If you only have 3 tradelines from ccs I wouldn't do it. The offer to combine should always be there. If you want to do it to save $$ from the annual fee it makes sense. Other wise you are loosing future history. Yes if you cancel it to combine, the canceled tradeline remains on your CR for 10 years. But if you are trying to build credit, dropping to 2 cards won't help and it might slow the gains down. If you have a few other cards, it's not that big of a deal.

[Anonymous]

It would be nice to have the $1000 line, but right now my score is more important than the credit line. So I suppose I'll be turning that offer down. Strange thing is, they won't increase any of my limits.

[Anonymous]

Does the limit really matter since Cap1 isn't reporting it anyway? I just combined my 2 cap1 cards about a month ago, then asked for a CLI last week - didn't like what I got - canceled this week.

I'd combine the newest card into the oldest card, just make sure that they know that's the TL you want to keep open.

[Anonymous]

I would only be concerned about the limit as far as using it for emergencies. I rarely, if ever, actually use any cards. Though I did use my stupid Best Buy card, today..... Either way, I've paid off about $1000 in credit debt the last 2 months and have yet to see a change on my score watch. What's up with that?