topic Re: Considering Closing/Consolidating cards in Credit Cards

Considering Closing/Consolidating cards

Anonymous — Sat, 31 Oct 2015 08:02:26 GMT

I've been thinking about thinning out the CC's of mine. After only having 2 major CC's for years that were maxed out and never applied for cards, after they were paid off I went crazy with opening new ones in 2015. I actually already did close a few of them that I know I didn't need, but still have too many. I have $119k total credit and 1% usage across all cards. Many of my cards have 0% APR intro offers. Those cards I am not touching, in fact looking ahead I think each year I will get a 0% APR intro offer card if available.

Right now I have a PayPal Extras card that is by far my highest APR card at 19.9% and a $5k CL. It was opened in April 2015. This is a card that is first on the chopping block. Will I do any damage to my credit score short- or long-term by closing this and reducing my total credit limit down to $114k and also less than a year from opening it? I have the PayPal Credit which is a $2k limit, and a hidden TL, so I have a great backup for any rare occasion I purchase something on eBay or need to PayPal some money for important things like $10 on my DraftKings

My other card I'm considering getting rid of, believe it or not, is my SM WMC. The perks for this card include gas purchases and grocery store purchases. I use my BJ's Perks MC for gas locally and get 10 cents off per gallon. My DW does the grocery shopping so this card really doesn't get much use, plus there's a lot of great unknowns about the SM right now. The APR on this card is 13.9% which isn't bad and I have a $9k limit on it. What I think I'm going to do is contact Barclay's and see if I can move that $9k over to the Ring, which is a 8% card with no real perks besides great APR. I've only had this card since July, so again less than one year.

Eliminating those two cards will put me down to 10 cards (including Lowes/HD cards). After my INQs from my app spree's i 2015 reach a year old (most in March and April), then I will consider an introductory 0% APR card. I keep getting PNC Bank offers for a 18 month 0% card and after that will be 11.9%. It's not a rewards card, but my QS and Discover are my two main reward ones.

I have a Capital One Platinum card that is my oldest TL opened in 2001. Many times I thought about consolidating that with my QS, but had to wait until the end of October for it to be 6 months old. Well, they have put a stop to consolidating for now. I've always wrestled with the idea that in 10 years that card would stop reporting and it would be a 30 year old card, and my other cards I acquired in 2015 would just be 10 years old and my AAoA would take a big hit. Of course, I'll be 65 years old in 10 years so does it really matter?

Other cards not getting much use are my AMEX Blue Cash and Chase Freedom, however they have 0% introductory APRs which means I'd keep them for a while longer anyway. They're mostly SD but probably going to use Chase Freedom for a Christmas purchase for DW that I can drag my feet on PIF since the 0% offer runs to July 2016.

Thoughts?

Re: Considering Closing/Consolidating cards

Anonymous — Sat, 31 Oct 2015 09:03:22 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I've been thinking about thinning out the CC's of mine. After only having 2 major CC's for years that were maxed out and never applied for cards, after they were paid off I went crazy with opening new ones in 2015. I actually already did close a few of them that I know I didn't need, but still have too many. I have $119k total credit and 1% usage across all cards. Many of my cards have 0% APR intro offers. Those cards I am not touching, in fact looking ahead I think each year I will get a 0% APR intro offer card if available.

Right now I have a PayPal Extras card that is by far my highest APR card at 19.9% and a $5k CL. It was opened in April 2015. This is a card that is first on the chopping block. Will I do any damage to my credit score short- or long-term by closing this and reducing my total credit limit down to $114k and also less than a year from opening it? I have the PayPal Credit which is a $2k limit, and a hidden TL, so I have a great backup for any rare occasion I purchase something on eBay or need to PayPal some money for important things like $10 on my DraftKings

My other card I'm considering getting rid of, believe it or not, is my SM WMC. The perks for this card include gas purchases and grocery store purchases. I use my BJ's Perks MC for gas locally and get 10 cents off per gallon. My DW does the grocery shopping so this card really doesn't get much use, plus there's a lot of great unknowns about the SM right now. The APR on this card is 13.9% which isn't bad and I have a $9k limit on it. What I think I'm going to do is contact Barclay's and see if I can move that $9k over to the Ring, which is a 8% card with no real perks besides great APR. I've only had this card since July, so again less than one year.

Eliminating those two cards will put me down to 10 cards (including Lowes/HD cards). After my INQs from my app spree's i 2015 reach a year old (most in March and April), then I will consider an introductory 0% APR card. I keep getting PNC Bank offers for a 18 month 0% card and after that will be 11.9%. It's not a rewards card, but my QS and Discover are my two main reward ones.

I have a Capital One Platinum card that is my oldest TL opened in 2001. Many times I thought about consolidating that with my QS, but had to wait until the end of October for it to be 6 months old. Well, they have put a stop to consolidating for now. I've always wrestled with the idea that in 10 years that card would stop reporting and it would be a 30 year old card, and my other cards I acquired in 2015 would just be 10 years old and my AAoA would take a big hit. Of course, I'll be 65 years old in 10 years so does it really matter?

Other cards not getting much use are my AMEX Blue Cash and Chase Freedom, however they have 0% introductory APRs which means I'd keep them for a while longer anyway. They're mostly SD but probably going to use Chase Freedom for a Christmas purchase for DW that I can drag my feet on PIF since the 0% offer runs to July 2016.

Thoughts?

Just my thoughts. I know others will have helpful thoughts. I really like the idea of ten cards. I manage mine daily, but at some point in a year or two I will consider doing what you are doing. It will matter less to me to let some cards go when it is time because of my Chapter 13 in 2008. My cards at the time either were included or closed by the grantee for inactivity. Ten years is a good age for cards to have good scores. That would not be a concern for me. I want to do some combining of my BofA cards, but will wait until they are all a year old.

It sounds like you have made a sound evaluation of which cards you use and for what purpose. I also like the idea of adding a card in a year to have the zero interest. Personally, I like your plan. Good luck to you.

Re: Considering Closing/Consolidating cards

kdm31091 — Sat, 31 Oct 2015 11:29:42 GMT

It sounds like a good plan. If something isnt serving you much purpose, then close it and move on. You seem to know what will work best for you. Paring down can be a good thing. Its hard to get meaningful rewards spreading spend across many cards.

Closing younger accounts can look bad on review but it can also be explained. I wouldnt worry overly much about the implications of closing an account in that sense. None of us are credit analysts or can prove that it would even significantly matter. Your util is low so thats not an issue. I wouldnt fret too much over closing whatever you want to close.

Re: Considering Closing/Consolidating cards

Anonymous — Sat, 31 Oct 2015 12:05:51 GMT

Musiclover and KDM - thank you both for your replies and comments. I believe by the end of the weekend those two cards will be out of my CC collection.

Re: Considering Closing/Consolidating cards

Anonymous — Sat, 31 Oct 2015 12:22:57 GMT

I hope to wind up with anywhere between 3-5 cards, at least with 5 I could use one card as a daily driver and rotate the others quarterly as needed. Or maybe a few occassional use store cards (Wally and Amazon) would bump that number up a little.

Re: Considering Closing/Consolidating cards

tntexans72 — Sat, 31 Oct 2015 12:38:45 GMT

i would close them if they are not going to grow or if the card has an AF and you are not using it. Just keep in mind if the TL of those cards are positive, your scores will drop a little bit.

I had about 24 accounts, closed all but 7 over the L3 years. My scores took a hit but I kept the ones I regularly use as I have 1-2 new cards with bonuses on my radar. I am not worried because I know the scores will rebound.

Good luck!

Re: Considering Closing/Consolidating cards

SouthJamaica — Sat, 31 Oct 2015 12:44:26 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I've been thinking about thinning out the CC's of mine. After only having 2 major CC's for years that were maxed out and never applied for cards, after they were paid off I went crazy with opening new ones in 2015. I actually already did close a few of them that I know I didn't need, but still have too many. I have $119k total credit and 1% usage across all cards. Many of my cards have 0% APR intro offers. Those cards I am not touching, in fact looking ahead I think each year I will get a 0% APR intro offer card if available.

Right now I have a PayPal Extras card that is by far my highest APR card at 19.9% and a $5k CL. It was opened in April 2015. This is a card that is first on the chopping block. Will I do any damage to my credit score short- or long-term by closing this and reducing my total credit limit down to $114k and also less than a year from opening it? I have the PayPal Credit which is a $2k limit, and a hidden TL, so I have a great backup for any rare occasion I purchase something on eBay or need to PayPal some money for important things like $10 on my DraftKings

My other card I'm considering getting rid of, believe it or not, is my SM WMC. The perks for this card include gas purchases and grocery store purchases. I use my BJ's Perks MC for gas locally and get 10 cents off per gallon. My DW does the grocery shopping so this card really doesn't get much use, plus there's a lot of great unknowns about the SM right now. The APR on this card is 13.9% which isn't bad and I have a $9k limit on it. What I think I'm going to do is contact Barclay's and see if I can move that $9k over to the Ring, which is a 8% card with no real perks besides great APR. I've only had this card since July, so again less than one year.

Eliminating those two cards will put me down to 10 cards (including Lowes/HD cards). After my INQs from my app spree's i 2015 reach a year old (most in March and April), then I will consider an introductory 0% APR card. I keep getting PNC Bank offers for a 18 month 0% card and after that will be 11.9%. It's not a rewards card, but my QS and Discover are my two main reward ones.

I have a Capital One Platinum card that is my oldest TL opened in 2001. Many times I thought about consolidating that with my QS, but had to wait until the end of October for it to be 6 months old. Well, they have put a stop to consolidating for now. I've always wrestled with the idea that in 10 years that card would stop reporting and it would be a 30 year old card, and my other cards I acquired in 2015 would just be 10 years old and my AAoA would take a big hit. Of course, I'll be 65 years old in 10 years so does it really matter?

Other cards not getting much use are my AMEX Blue Cash and Chase Freedom, however they have 0% introductory APRs which means I'd keep them for a while longer anyway. They're mostly SD but probably going to use Chase Freedom for a Christmas purchase for DW that I can drag my feet on PIF since the 0% offer runs to July 2016.

Thoughts?

I say... let them be.

Re: Considering Closing/Consolidating cards

Anonymous — Sat, 31 Oct 2015 12:50:20 GMT

@SouthJamaica wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
I've been thinking about thinning out the CC's of mine. After only having 2 major CC's for years that were maxed out and never applied for cards, after they were paid off I went crazy with opening new ones in 2015. I actually already did close a few of them that I know I didn't need, but still have too many. I have $119k total credit and 1% usage across all cards. Many of my cards have 0% APR intro offers. Those cards I am not touching, in fact looking ahead I think each year I will get a 0% APR intro offer card if available.

Right now I have a PayPal Extras card that is by far my highest APR card at 19.9% and a $5k CL. It was opened in April 2015. This is a card that is first on the chopping block. Will I do any damage to my credit score short- or long-term by closing this and reducing my total credit limit down to $114k and also less than a year from opening it? I have the PayPal Credit which is a $2k limit, and a hidden TL, so I have a great backup for any rare occasion I purchase something on eBay or need to PayPal some money for important things like $10 on my DraftKings

My other card I'm considering getting rid of, believe it or not, is my SM WMC. The perks for this card include gas purchases and grocery store purchases. I use my BJ's Perks MC for gas locally and get 10 cents off per gallon. My DW does the grocery shopping so this card really doesn't get much use, plus there's a lot of great unknowns about the SM right now. The APR on this card is 13.9% which isn't bad and I have a $9k limit on it. What I think I'm going to do is contact Barclay's and see if I can move that $9k over to the Ring, which is a 8% card with no real perks besides great APR. I've only had this card since July, so again less than one year.

Eliminating those two cards will put me down to 10 cards (including Lowes/HD cards). After my INQs from my app spree's i 2015 reach a year old (most in March and April), then I will consider an introductory 0% APR card. I keep getting PNC Bank offers for a 18 month 0% card and after that will be 11.9%. It's not a rewards card, but my QS and Discover are my two main reward ones.

I have a Capital One Platinum card that is my oldest TL opened in 2001. Many times I thought about consolidating that with my QS, but had to wait until the end of October for it to be 6 months old. Well, they have put a stop to consolidating for now. I've always wrestled with the idea that in 10 years that card would stop reporting and it would be a 30 year old card, and my other cards I acquired in 2015 would just be 10 years old and my AAoA would take a big hit. Of course, I'll be 65 years old in 10 years so does it really matter?

Other cards not getting much use are my AMEX Blue Cash and Chase Freedom, however they have 0% introductory APRs which means I'd keep them for a while longer anyway. They're mostly SD but probably going to use Chase Freedom for a Christmas purchase for DW that I can drag my feet on PIF since the 0% offer runs to July 2016.

Thoughts?
I say... let them be.

Bull. If you aren't using them, get rid of them.

Re: Considering Closing/Consolidating cards

kdm31091 — Sat, 31 Oct 2015 14:07:07 GMT

I don't get why people push keeping cards just to keep them in most cases. If your util is high and closing the cards would make that significantly worse, then fine, that's a reason to keep them. But if a card really, truly has no use for you, it's unlikely that it suddenly will. There's little point in keeping it.

Obviously OP should weigh the decision carefully especially with the Sallie since it is not available to reapply for, but it sounds like the grocery and gas spend is covered elsewhere, which is the same issue I had when I had a Sallie -- it just didn't do much for me. I think closing the cards OP mentioned is a totally reasonable idea.

Re: Considering Closing/Consolidating cards

CreditCuriosity — Sat, 31 Oct 2015 15:36:52 GMT

@OP.. Simplification is good and I plan on doing the same as I hate having alot of card, rather have less cards with big limits that cover mainly everything.. My plan is.

6 Cards is my ideal goal @ 30k each. This will take approximately 2 more years(tops) to complete; could do this within a year possibly as well. It will consist of

Freedom 30k / CSP 30k / SM30k(this is going to be the tougher one, granted it is capped rewards, just want it to be high limit) / Amex ED 30k / CITI DC OR FID AMEX 30k / Cap1 QS card 30k (reliable) / Amex Platinum(not counting this as this is used for benefits). Then 86 the other cards. Then obtain 2 or 3 cards a year for signup bonuses then get rid of them after a year. 6 cards @ that limit makes utilization not an issue and still cover all bases of spending currently. That is what appears to work for me, each is different. This gives me diversification across 5 different lenders as well

Re: Considering Closing/Consolidating cards

gdale6 — Sat, 31 Oct 2015 15:50:07 GMT

@kdm31091 wrote:
I don't get why people push keeping cards just to keep them in most cases. If your util is high and closing the cards would make that significantly worse, then fine, that's a reason to keep them. But if a card really, truly has no use for you, it's unlikely that it suddenly will. There's little point in keeping it.

Obviously OP should weigh the decision carefully especially with the Sallie since it is not available to reapply for, but it sounds like the grocery and gas spend is covered elsewhere, which is the same issue I had when I had a Sallie -- it just didn't do much for me. I think closing the cards OP mentioned is a totally reasonable idea.

Not eveyone is like you, I am not, I have 3% util on 2 cards with a total of 26 cards and I would never consider closing any of my major cards and I still want more major cards. Im not a store card hog either only 4 of the 26 are. I have cards that see the light of day for 2 charges a year just to keep them active and then go back into the filing cabinet. Dont try to equate everyone else to the way you think it should be and it will be a lot easier to get along with everyone else on this board and you wont be driving yourself nuts either.

Re: Considering Closing/Consolidating cards

laurenjessica — Sat, 31 Oct 2015 16:10:54 GMT

I would still hang on to that Cap1 Platinum card. They will be bringing back the consolodation link by the end of the year or beginning of next year. That way, the closure of that card will at least go for something good (combining limits), rather than just closing it and losing out on the limit.

Re: Considering Closing/Consolidating cards

kdm31091 — Sat, 31 Oct 2015 16:27:57 GMT

@gdale6 wrote:
@kdm31091 wrote:
I don't get why people push keeping cards just to keep them in most cases. If your util is high and closing the cards would make that significantly worse, then fine, that's a reason to keep them. But if a card really, truly has no use for you, it's unlikely that it suddenly will. There's little point in keeping it.

Obviously OP should weigh the decision carefully especially with the Sallie since it is not available to reapply for, but it sounds like the grocery and gas spend is covered elsewhere, which is the same issue I had when I had a Sallie -- it just didn't do much for me. I think closing the cards OP mentioned is a totally reasonable idea.
Not eveyone is like you, I am not, I have 3% util on 2 cards with a total of 26 cards and I would never consider closing any of my major cards and I still want more major cards. Im not a store card hog either only 4 of the 26 are. I have cards that see the light of day for 2 charges a year just to keep them active and then go back into the filing cabinet. Dont try to equate everyone else to the way you think it should be and it will be a lot easier to get along with everyone else on this board and you wont be driving yourself nuts either.

I am not trying to make everyone agree with me -- just saying I don't personally understand why people keep cards for no reason. That's just my opinion. Nothing more, nothing less. However, your comments are noted.

Re: Considering Closing/Consolidating cards

taxi818 — Sat, 31 Oct 2015 16:31:58 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I've been thinking about thinning out the CC's of mine. After only having 2 major CC's for years that were maxed out and never applied for cards, after they were paid off I went crazy with opening new ones in 2015. I actually already did close a few of them that I know I didn't need, but still have too many. I have $119k total credit and 1% usage across all cards. Many of my cards have 0% APR intro offers. Those cards I am not touching, in fact looking ahead I think each year I will get a 0% APR intro offer card if available.

Right now I have a PayPal Extras card that is by far my highest APR card at 19.9% and a $5k CL. It was opened in April 2015. This is a card that is first on the chopping block. Will I do any damage to my credit score short- or long-term by closing this and reducing my total credit limit down to $114k and also less than a year from opening it? I have the PayPal Credit which is a $2k limit, and a hidden TL, so I have a great backup for any rare occasion I purchase something on eBay or need to PayPal some money for important things like $10 on my DraftKings

My other card I'm considering getting rid of, believe it or not, is my SM WMC. The perks for this card include gas purchases and grocery store purchases. I use my BJ's Perks MC for gas locally and get 10 cents off per gallon. My DW does the grocery shopping so this card really doesn't get much use, plus there's a lot of great unknowns about the SM right now. The APR on this card is 13.9% which isn't bad and I have a $9k limit on it. What I think I'm going to do is contact Barclay's and see if I can move that $9k over to the Ring, which is a 8% card with no real perks besides great APR. I've only had this card since July, so again less than one year.

Eliminating those two cards will put me down to 10 cards (including Lowes/HD cards). After my INQs from my app spree's i 2015 reach a year old (most in March and April), then I will consider an introductory 0% APR card. I keep getting PNC Bank offers for a 18 month 0% card and after that will be 11.9%. It's not a rewards card, but my QS and Discover are my two main reward ones.

I have a Capital One Platinum card that is my oldest TL opened in 2001. Many times I thought about consolidating that with my QS, but had to wait until the end of October for it to be 6 months old. Well, they have put a stop to consolidating for now. I've always wrestled with the idea that in 10 years that card would stop reporting and it would be a 30 year old card, and my other cards I acquired in 2015 would just be 10 years old and my AAoA would take a big hit. Of course, I'll be 65 years old in 10 years so does it really matter?

Other cards not getting much use are my AMEX Blue Cash and Chase Freedom, however they have 0% introductory APRs which means I'd keep them for a while longer anyway. They're mostly SD but probably going to use Chase Freedom for a Christmas purchase for DW that I can drag my feet on PIF since the 0% offer runs to July 2016.

Thoughts?

I feel you. but with the ring card you are doing ok. but I also think if no AF it is ok to keep them as long as possible. Don't let age play a factor into it. people buy houses everyday at age 65. no problem. since you already paid for these cards. i say keep em. but thats up to you of course. and ymmv

Re: Considering Closing/Consolidating cards

taxi818 — Sat, 31 Oct 2015 16:33:40 GMT

@gdale6 wrote:
@kdm31091 wrote:
I don't get why people push keeping cards just to keep them in most cases. If your util is high and closing the cards would make that significantly worse, then fine, that's a reason to keep them. But if a card really, truly has no use for you, it's unlikely that it suddenly will. There's little point in keeping it.

Obviously OP should weigh the decision carefully especially with the Sallie since it is not available to reapply for, but it sounds like the grocery and gas spend is covered elsewhere, which is the same issue I had when I had a Sallie -- it just didn't do much for me. I think closing the cards OP mentioned is a totally reasonable idea.
Not eveyone is like you, I am not, I have 3% util on 2 cards with a total of 26 cards and I would never consider closing any of my major cards and I still want more major cards. Im not a store card hog either only 4 of the 26 are. I have cards that see the light of day for 2 charges a year just to keep them active and then go back into the filing cabinet. Dont try to equate everyone else to the way you think it should be and it will be a lot easier to get along with everyone else on this board and you wont be driving yourself nuts either.

Totally i agree. why i see why op wants to close. Im am in no way like that. I paid for the cards with Hp's so they will have to pry them out of my hand. usage or not.

Re: Considering Closing/Consolidating cards

Anonymous — Sat, 31 Oct 2015 23:16:29 GMT

Well I called Barclay and they allowed me to move the $9k from SM over to my Ring, so I did that and closed the SM. I will probably call and cancel the PayPal Extras tomorrow.

Re: Considering Closing/Consolidating cards

Anonymous — Sun, 01 Nov 2015 00:12:50 GMT

@kdm31091 wrote:
@gdale6 wrote:
@kdm31091 wrote:
I don't get why people push keeping cards just to keep them in most cases. If your util is high and closing the cards would make that significantly worse, then fine, that's a reason to keep them. But if a card really, truly has no use for you, it's unlikely that it suddenly will. There's little point in keeping it.

Obviously OP should weigh the decision carefully especially with the Sallie since it is not available to reapply for, but it sounds like the grocery and gas spend is covered elsewhere, which is the same issue I had when I had a Sallie -- it just didn't do much for me. I think closing the cards OP mentioned is a totally reasonable idea.
Not eveyone is like you, I am not, I have 3% util on 2 cards with a total of 26 cards and I would never consider closing any of my major cards and I still want more major cards. Im not a store card hog either only 4 of the 26 are. I have cards that see the light of day for 2 charges a year just to keep them active and then go back into the filing cabinet. Dont try to equate everyone else to the way you think it should be and it will be a lot easier to get along with everyone else on this board and you wont be driving yourself nuts either.
I am not trying to make everyone agree with me -- just saying I don't personally understand why people keep cards for no reason. That's just my opinion. Nothing more, nothing less. However, your comments are noted.

It's stupid to close cards that have no af. Let the creditor close it for you.

I can open 15 new cards this year and my aaoa will barely change. Your thin file will never withstand that kind of abuse.

Re: Considering Closing/Consolidating cards

kdm31091 — Sun, 01 Nov 2015 00:14:50 GMT

Right but I have no interest in rapidly opening 15 accounts so its not an issue for me. To each their own.

Re: Considering Closing/Consolidating cards

Anonymous — Sun, 01 Nov 2015 04:22:10 GMT

I think, generally, people should keep no AF, bank cards.

One reason for me having this opinion is a reason that I don't hear mentioned often -- the ability to PC your unwanted card to another card that may come out later without the normal consequences that come with applying for new credit. There were plenty of people who closed their Dividend cards when its rotating categories started losing utility, but some regretted it later when they had to withstand a new HP (or two, knowing Citi) plus an AAOA ding to apply for a new Double Cash because they had robbed themselves a chance of a PC from their Dividend.

Re: Considering Closing/Consolidating cards

kdm31091 — Sun, 01 Nov 2015 04:28:13 GMT

Right, but sitting on an unused, useless card in the hopes the company will release a better product and let you PC is a gamble and far from guaranteed. Yes the dividend double cash scenario is an example but more an exception than a rule.

At the end of the day, like everything, it just comes down to preference, needs and wants. No right or wrong answer.