topic Re: I've got an AmEx card I don't use anymore...What's the best plan of action? in Credit Cards

I've got an AmEx card I don't use anymore...What's the best plan of action?

Anonymous — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 15:24:11 GMT

So I got an AmEx True Earnings earlier this year and have since run close to $1,000/month on it with a $30k salary (I use it for anything and everything including tuition, books for school and a trip to Europe I took over the summer).

I recently got an AmEx Delta SkyMiles Gold card, partly to check it out because the rewards looked good and having the card lets you pay for part of your flight with miles and put the rest on your card. I've come to find that I don't really use it for all that much because I have such great rewards on my AmEx TE that I don't really need the AmEx Delta.

I was considering cancelling to avoid the annual fee, but with AmEx as my main card that I use pretty much everywhere, I don't want to upset them. As a result I am considering switching over to the Blue card and keeping it active by charging something small to it every 6 months. I've got a good AAoA for my age and have a credit history dating back to when I was 13 and on top of it my utilization is 3% of $40,000 and my AmEx Delta has a CL of only $1,000. So, I really have no reason not to close it unless it would upset AmEx.

What to do? Close the account? Or product change over to Blue? Or something else I haven't thought of?

Re: I've got an AmEx card I don't use anymore...What's the best plan of action?

Creditaddict — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 15:38:14 GMT

I would convert to Blue and keep like you stated.

Re: I've got an AmEx card I don't use anymore...What's the best plan of action?

Anonymous — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 15:53:47 GMT

@Creditaddict wrote:
I would convert to Blue and keep like you stated.

I concur. However, I don't see Amex caring in the slightest that you close an infrequently used account. Amex loves closing accounts on a whim, so they should be used to it.

Re: I've got an AmEx card I don't use anymore...What's the best plan of action?

score_building — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 22:41:29 GMT

sounds like you have high achiever type scores, so it may not matter in your case, but wouldn't a purchase only once every six months give amex pause? like, 'i don't think so' type pause? I'd try to put something on there once a month or so, amex is a bit testy of late- and quick to close, though probably not customers like you-

Message Edited by score_building on 09-24-2008 03:41 PM

Re: I've got an AmEx card I don't use anymore...What's the best plan of action?

Anonymous — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 17:07:58 GMT

Thanks for the input everyone. I think I'm gonna go ahead and cancel it. I run enough through my AmEx TE that I doubt they'd care. Any hard feelings they have about my taking the 20,000 SkyMiles introductory offer should fade over time as I continue to run the vast majority of my spending through my TE.

I'm also still waiting to see if getting added on to a family member's account will cause my "Member since" date to change from my current one to theirs. Get myself some extra history.