topic Re: Downsizing is FUN! in Credit Cards

Downsizing is FUN!

odd_dog — Thu, 28 Jan 2016 17:28:51 GMT

Since I have achieved all that I ever wanted CC wise, and have pruned the heard down to just the cards I want (still waiting till a year to close Hawaiian air) I have now started to look at lowering CL on some cards. First today was IHG, I really do not need a $10K + CL on a hotel card so knocked that down to $7K. It gets kinda crazy when I look at my total CL available across all cards...NUTS and I am truly the king of PIF so seems silly to have all "that" out there. If I really needed a money for something big I would just apply for a loan. I know I am against the tide here with NOT wanting more CL for Util padding, but as we always say everyone's journey is different. It is becoming addicting, checking on cards I used to use but as spending patterns or Hotels, or Airlines change, so do the cards I utilize.....It is almost like apping...same high to get rid of unwanted things.....Now after cutting down a few CL maybe I will look into what cards overlap in rewards...THAT might be a tougher decision....LOL

Re: Downsizing is FUN!

Anonymous — Thu, 28 Jan 2016 17:31:49 GMT

@odd_dog wrote:
Since I have achieved all that I ever wanted CC wise, and have pruned the heard down to just the cards I want (still waiting till a year to close Hawaiian air) I have now started to look at lowering CL on some cards. First today was IHG, I really do not need a $10K + CL on a hotel card so knocked that down to $7K. It gets kinda crazy when I look at my total CL available across all cards...NUTS and I am truly the king of PIF so seems silly to have all "that" out there. If I really needed a money for something big I would just apply for a loan. I know I am against the tide here with NOT wanting more CL for Util padding, but as we always say everyone's journey is different. It is becoming addicting, checking on cards I used to use but as spending patterns or Hotels, or Airlines change, so do the cards I utilize.....It is almost like apping...same high to get rid of unwanted things.....Now after cutting down a few CL maybe I will look into what cards overlap in rewards...THAT might be a tougher decision....LOL

Congrats! I seriously want to pare mine down to 3 revolvers + 1 charge.

Re: Downsizing is FUN!

OmarGB9 — Thu, 28 Jan 2016 17:40:13 GMT

Grats

Re: Downsizing is FUN!

EdMan63 — Thu, 28 Jan 2016 18:32:16 GMT

Good for you. I can certainly understand how easy it is to get caught up in the credit card game but for me it about staying within reason or what you truly use. As you stated, everyone's journey is different but the key is understanding what YOUR journey is and not get caught up in whats going on here or around you. My goal has never been to get a bunch of cards. I don't need them. I currently have 4 prime cards and one store card and I want to add either a Citi DC or Cap One QS as an everyday card and that's it for me. Five strong cards with good limits and rewards sounds about perfect in my book.

Re: Downsizing is FUN!

creditguy — Thu, 28 Jan 2016 18:47:58 GMT

I subscribe to quality of credit theory instead of quantity of credit theory. If your not rebuilding then there is no need to collect or hold on to what you no longer need. There is something to be said about simplicity. I get the whole padding util theory, but at a certain point how much becomes too much? Everyone is different, but I choose to keep myself limited to a few quality cards with rewards I can accumulate and use. Congrats on cleaning out the junk.

Re: Downsizing is FUN!

Anonymous — Thu, 28 Jan 2016 19:05:52 GMT

Love the philosophy, one thing to be careful of is that your other lenders may see your CLs being reduced without knowing that it's voluntary. This could spook them and spark AA against you. I don't think it's a bad thing to have more CL than you need. Get rid of cards you don't use and no more CLI requests on cards that you do, and you're golden.

Im in much the same spot as you right now, with a lot of quality cards with high limits, I'm ready to pare back a couple of them.

Re: Downsizing is FUN!

odd_dog — Thu, 28 Jan 2016 19:48:19 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Love the philosophy, one thing to be careful of is that your other lenders may see your CLs being reduced without knowing that it's voluntary. This could spook them and spark AA against you. I don't think it's a bad thing to have more CL than you need. Get rid of cards you don't use and no more CLI requests on cards that you do, and you're golden.

Im in much the same spot as you right now, with a lot of quality cards with high limits, I'm ready to pare back a couple of them.

EXCELLENT point...I am doing the CLD sloooooooowly for that reason....one a month....same way I deleted accounts, one a month....not sure if that spooks CCC but have been closing accounts since last May and nothing so far...will be cautious though THANKS!

Re: Downsizing is FUN!

Anonymous — Thu, 28 Jan 2016 20:00:28 GMT

I don't disagree with that strategy but I guess if it were me, I'd only pursue a CLD as means to a certain end, example you want to apply for another card with a lender and you're maxed with them. Unless you truly get into the stratosphere, a high CL won't really hurt you, nor will CLDs ever really help you in and of themselves. It's your credit and your decision but I'd be cautious in requesting CLDs, instead focus on removing or PCing cards you don't need. My two cents. Best of luck.

Re: Downsizing is FUN!

odd_dog — Thu, 28 Jan 2016 20:08:15 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I don't disagree with that strategy but I guess if it were me, I'd only pursue a CLD as means to a certain end, example you want to apply for another card with a lender and you're maxed with them. Unless you truly get into the stratosphere, a high CL won't really hurt you, nor will CLDs ever really help you in and of themselves. It's your credit and your decision but I'd be cautious in requesting CLDs, instead focus on removing or PCing cards you don't need. My two cents. Best of luck.

LOL your first sentence is exactly why I am doing it....I am maxed with Chase, Citi and Barclays......Plus it does just get nuts having almost every card in the stable no lower than 10K again not using that much, and as long as I have a few that are hefty CL for those large purchases that may happen every so often I am fine with lowering. Your point is well taken and I thank you for it!!

Re: Downsizing is FUN!

Anonymous — Thu, 28 Jan 2016 20:24:07 GMT

I'm considering 4 major network revolvers (not necessarily ALL major networks), 1 charge and 2 or 3 useful store cards. That should be more than enough.

Re: Downsizing is FUN!

odd_dog — Thu, 28 Jan 2016 20:40:19 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I'm considering 4 major network revolvers (not necessarily ALL major networks), 1 charge and 2 or 3 useful store cards. That should be more than enough.

I hear that Jon....Because of travel, and having to use different airlines and hotels for business I tend to rack up more cards than I should for status and perks that you get with them...it is nice to go on business trips have the company pay bill and get points for it, this way I can take the family on vaca cheaper!

Re: Downsizing is FUN!

red259 — Thu, 28 Jan 2016 21:00:31 GMT

@odd_dog wrote:
Since I have achieved all that I ever wanted CC wise, and have pruned the heard down to just the cards I want (still waiting till a year to close Hawaiian air) I have now started to look at lowering CL on some cards. First today was IHG, I really do not need a $10K + CL on a hotel card so knocked that down to $7K. It gets kinda crazy when I look at my total CL available across all cards...NUTS and I am truly the king of PIF so seems silly to have all "that" out there. If I really needed a money for something big I would just apply for a loan. I know I am against the tide here with NOT wanting more CL for Util padding, but as we always say everyone's journey is different. It is becoming addicting, checking on cards I used to use but as spending patterns or Hotels, or Airlines change, so do the cards I utilize.....It is almost like apping...same high to get rid of unwanted things.....Now after cutting down a few CL maybe I will look into what cards overlap in rewards...THAT might be a tougher decision....LOL

Gratz. Each person is different so whatever works for you. I like having high available credit because even though I PIF (except on 0% APR cards), I don't like to have to worry about paying before the statement cut date. With the extra util it allows me to let multiple balances post, but still keep my util at reasonable levels. It can be liberarting when you close cards though.

Re: Downsizing is FUN!

odd_dog — Thu, 28 Jan 2016 21:05:41 GMT

@red259 wrote:
@odd_dog wrote:
Since I have achieved all that I ever wanted CC wise, and have pruned the heard down to just the cards I want (still waiting till a year to close Hawaiian air) I have now started to look at lowering CL on some cards. First today was IHG, I really do not need a $10K + CL on a hotel card so knocked that down to $7K. It gets kinda crazy when I look at my total CL available across all cards...NUTS and I am truly the king of PIF so seems silly to have all "that" out there. If I really needed a money for something big I would just apply for a loan. I know I am against the tide here with NOT wanting more CL for Util padding, but as we always say everyone's journey is different. It is becoming addicting, checking on cards I used to use but as spending patterns or Hotels, or Airlines change, so do the cards I utilize.....It is almost like apping...same high to get rid of unwanted things.....Now after cutting down a few CL maybe I will look into what cards overlap in rewards...THAT might be a tougher decision....LOL
Gratz. Each person is different so whatever works for you. I like having high available credit because even though I PIF (except on 0% APR cards), I don't like to have to worry about paying before the statement cut date. With the extra util it allows me to let multiple balances post, but still keep my util at reasonable levels. It can be liberarting when you close cards though.

Cool, what am I missing with worrying about posting balances? Is it just for score, for apping, or something else? For me my util is always no more than 3%-ish so I never really worry but would like to hear your reasoning, I may be missing something good!

Re: Downsizing is FUN!

red259 — Thu, 28 Jan 2016 21:18:29 GMT

@odd_dog wrote:
@red259 wrote:
@odd_dog wrote:
Since I have achieved all that I ever wanted CC wise, and have pruned the heard down to just the cards I want (still waiting till a year to close Hawaiian air) I have now started to look at lowering CL on some cards. First today was IHG, I really do not need a $10K + CL on a hotel card so knocked that down to $7K. It gets kinda crazy when I look at my total CL available across all cards...NUTS and I am truly the king of PIF so seems silly to have all "that" out there. If I really needed a money for something big I would just apply for a loan. I know I am against the tide here with NOT wanting more CL for Util padding, but as we always say everyone's journey is different. It is becoming addicting, checking on cards I used to use but as spending patterns or Hotels, or Airlines change, so do the cards I utilize.....It is almost like apping...same high to get rid of unwanted things.....Now after cutting down a few CL maybe I will look into what cards overlap in rewards...THAT might be a tougher decision....LOL
Gratz. Each person is different so whatever works for you. I like having high available credit because even though I PIF (except on 0% APR cards), I don't like to have to worry about paying before the statement cut date. With the extra util it allows me to let multiple balances post, but still keep my util at reasonable levels. It can be liberarting when you close cards though.
Cool, what am I missing with worrying about posting balances? Is it just for score, for apping, or something else? For me my util is always no more than 3%-ish so I never really worry but would like to hear your reasoning, I may be missing something good!

If your spend is only using up 3% of your util then its not really an issue. Some months I have heavy credit card spend, which can drive up my util. This in turn temporarly lowers my score. My score will recover once the balances are paid down, but since I have heavy spend each month I don't want to worry about that. Having a lower score due to util can make it more difficult for me to get auto-CLI or SP CLIs on cards that I would like higher balances on due to my frequent use of them. Also, by keeping my util down it keeps my credit score in better shape, so that if a limited time credit card offer pops up I can pull the trigger on it and get approved with a decent credit line. If I had to go around paying all my balances and optimizing my report and waiting for it to update then I could miss the app window. Finally I like getting more available credit, because I pick up a lot of travel cards with AFs and every year I have to go through and see which cards are worth keeping. By making sure I have plenty of credit I can easily close 20k+ credit lines without worrying about it causing a significant rise in my util rate. Eventually I will get to the point where I will only have one or two AF cards and the rest will be non-AF. On the flipside sometimes I will reduce my credit lines on certain cards (e.g., citi) if I am near the overall credit limit with the lender so that i may be approved for a new product. Over the course of 2016 I anticipate closing several accounts and opening only 2 or 3, so my total number of accounts will start dropping.

Re: Downsizing is FUN!

odd_dog — Thu, 28 Jan 2016 21:31:50 GMT

@red259 wrote:
@odd_dog wrote:
@red259 wrote:
@odd_dog wrote:
Since I have achieved all that I ever wanted CC wise, and have pruned the heard down to just the cards I want (still waiting till a year to close Hawaiian air) I have now started to look at lowering CL on some cards. First today was IHG, I really do not need a $10K + CL on a hotel card so knocked that down to $7K. It gets kinda crazy when I look at my total CL available across all cards...NUTS and I am truly the king of PIF so seems silly to have all "that" out there. If I really needed a money for something big I would just apply for a loan. I know I am against the tide here with NOT wanting more CL for Util padding, but as we always say everyone's journey is different. It is becoming addicting, checking on cards I used to use but as spending patterns or Hotels, or Airlines change, so do the cards I utilize.....It is almost like apping...same high to get rid of unwanted things.....Now after cutting down a few CL maybe I will look into what cards overlap in rewards...THAT might be a tougher decision....LOL
Gratz. Each person is different so whatever works for you. I like having high available credit because even though I PIF (except on 0% APR cards), I don't like to have to worry about paying before the statement cut date. With the extra util it allows me to let multiple balances post, but still keep my util at reasonable levels. It can be liberarting when you close cards though.
Cool, what am I missing with worrying about posting balances? Is it just for score, for apping, or something else? For me my util is always no more than 3%-ish so I never really worry but would like to hear your reasoning, I may be missing something good!
If your spend is only using up 3% of your util then its not really an issue. Some months I have heavy credit card spend, which can drive up my util. This in turn temporarly lowers my score. My score will recover once the balances are paid down, but since I have heavy spend each month I don't want to worry about that. Having a lower score due to util can make it more difficult for me to get auto-CLI or SP CLIs on cards that I would like higher balances on due to my frequent use of them. Also, by keeping my util down it keeps my credit score in better shape, so that if a limited time credit card offer pops up I can pull the trigger on it and get approved with a decent credit line. If I had to go around paying all my balances and optimizing my report and waiting for it to update then I could miss the app window. Finally I like getting more available credit, because I pick up a lot of travel cards with AFs and every year I have to go through and see which cards are worth keeping. By making sure I have plenty of credit I can easily close 20k+ credit lines without worrying about it causing a significant rise in my util rate. Eventually I will get to the point where I will only have one or two AF cards and the rest will be non-AF. On the flipside sometimes I will reduce my credit lines on certain cards (e.g., citi) if I am near the overall credit limit with the lender so that i may be approved for a new product. Over the course of 2016 I anticipate closing several accounts and opening only 2 or 3, so my total number of accounts will start dropping.

Thanks!!

Re: Downsizing is FUN!

Anonymous — Thu, 28 Jan 2016 21:40:49 GMT

Good job OP!

Re: Downsizing is FUN!

Anonymous — Thu, 28 Jan 2016 21:41:24 GMT

@creditguy wrote:
I subscribe to quality of credit theory instead of quantity of credit theory. If your not rebuilding then there is no need to collect or hold on to what you no longer need. There is something to be said about simplicity. I get the whole padding util theory, but at a certain point how much becomes too much? Everyone is different, but I choose to keep myself limited to a few quality cards with rewards I can accumulate and use. Congrats on cleaning out the junk.