topic Re: When does one cancel no-AF cards? in Credit Cards

When does one cancel no-AF cards?

Anonymous — Sun, 21 Feb 2016 02:52:29 GMT

I've always heard that the general guideline is that you don't--assuming you don't have any balances on them, anyway. I could be mistaken though.

Reason I'm asking is that I'm considering canceling my Andrews FCU card. I originally got it because the card had a PIN on it for international use. However, I've realized over the two years I've had the card that their rewards program is the worst of my cards, made worse by there being no statement credit/check redemption option. I did get one $10 statement credit for $100 in spend offer after about a year of not using it though. Using the card once a year doesn't seem all that worthwhile to me, plus I have other cards with the PIN feature too.

Anyway, when do you feel that a no-AF card is no longer worth keeping?

Re: When does one cancel no-AF cards?

FinStar — Sun, 21 Feb 2016 03:01:26 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I've always heard that the general guideline is that you don't--assuming you don't have any balances on them, anyway. I could be mistaken though.

Reason I'm asking is that I'm considering canceling my Andrews FCU card. I originally got it because the card had a PIN on it for international use. However, I've realized over the two years I've had the card that their rewards program is the worst of my cards, made worse by there being no statement credit/check redemption option. I did get one $10 statement credit for $100 in spend offer after about a year of not using it though. Using the card once a year doesn't seem all that worthwhile to me, plus I have other cards with the PIN feature too.

Anyway, when do you feel that a no-AF card is no longer worth keeping?

I'm not sure that there's really a hard and fast rule but there are different perspectives on keeping some cards open vs closing. It's really up to the individual. Now, given that you've had the AFCU CC for two years, and it sounds like it has not yielded a fruitful outcome, then I'm sure you can cancel it at any time. I've done this in the past with products that no longer fit my portfolio or for which a major or unfavorable change has occurred (nerfing, change of lender, etc.). Once closed, it will still remain as a positive tradeline on your CRs for up to ~10 years.

Re: When does one cancel no-AF cards?

Chris679 — Sun, 21 Feb 2016 03:02:27 GMT

When I don't want worry about keeping it open anymore I just throw it the sock drawer and let nature take it's course. Some people like the piece of mind of actually closing it so they don't have to worry about monitoring it for fraudulant activity. If you use a site like Mint.com to track all of your cards this is a non-issue. The account will stay as a positive trade line on your file for 10 years.

Re: When does one cancel no-AF cards?

Anonymous — Sun, 21 Feb 2016 03:04:11 GMT

You dont

Re: When does one cancel no-AF cards?

FinStar — Sun, 21 Feb 2016 03:09:20 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
You dont

Sorry but that's not an absolute. While some individuals are fine with SD'ing a CC, other folks can close any non-AF accounts at any point in time if they wish. The OP would need to decide what is best for them. There is no downside to closing an account that no longer fits an individual's goals, lifestyle or purpose.

Re: When does one cancel no-AF cards?

red259 — Sun, 21 Feb 2016 03:18:44 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
You dont

Maybe you don't, but there are many people who do and for good reason. I would close a no-AF card in a couple of situations. First, I would close a no-AF card if it was a rebuilding card and I later went on to get a number of prime cards. I would close a non-Af card if I got it early on and it has a small credit line that will never grow and I have no other use for the card. I would close a non-AF card if I had no use for it and I was having problems getting additional approvals due to having too much available credit. I'd close a non-Af card if I had no use for it and I kept having problems with the lender, such as fradulent charges coming through that required me to spend extra time monitoring the card. In general I leave non-Af cards in the SD, but if it becomes a burdern to monitor or the available credit on the card is having an adverse impact on me I would close it. These are considerations I make, however it comes down to what you are comfortable with.

Re: When does one cancel no-AF cards?

Sharingan — Sun, 21 Feb 2016 03:12:55 GMT

I've never been a fan of that "guideline." What works for one individual may not work for others. I tend to close cards that I simply don't want to manage any longer. I have more than enough credit available that even closing a 30k line virtually has no effect on my report, so I'm not at all apprehensive about disposing a credit card that I no longer want. Regardless, there's more to keeping a card open than just "throwing it in the SD." You still have to monitor the account, check for fraud, charge a purchase every so often, pay that purchase off when due, and ensure accurate reporting to the bureaus. That's a lot of work for a card that you are no longer interested in using.

Finally, I actually have at least two cards with almost every bank that I do business with. BMO Harris and Macy's AmEx/DSNB are the only exceptions. As a result, most of those banks make it very easy for me to transfer the credit line to my other products with them. That makes the decision to close a card even easier.

Re: When does one cancel no-AF cards?

Anonymous — Sun, 21 Feb 2016 03:17:13 GMT

Yeah whatever you are comfortable with. I manage my credit cards with mint so the 3 no af cards I don't use anymore I just sd and wait for the bank to close due to inactivity to get the extra 12-24 months on my cr in the long run. But I also don't have to remember log in every once in a while to check for fraud since mint does it for me.

Re: When does one cancel no-AF cards?

baller4life — Sun, 21 Feb 2016 03:17:52 GMT

@Sharingan wrote:
I've never been a fan of that "guideline." What works for one individual may not work for others. I tend to close cards that I simply don't want to manage any longer. I have more than enough credit available that even closing a 30k line virtually has no effect on my report, so I'm not at all apprehensive about disposing a credit card that I no longer want. Regardless, there's more to keeping a card open than just "throwing it in the SD." You still have to monitor the account, check for fraud, charge a purchase every so often, pay that purchase off when due, and ensure accurate reporting to the bureaus. That's a lot of work for a card that you are no longer interested in using.

Finally, I actually have at least two cards with almost every bank that I do business with. BMO Harris and Macy's AmEx/DSNB are the only exceptions. As a result, most of those banks make it very easy for me to transfer the credit line to my other products with them. That makes the decision to close a card even easier.

That's about it in a nutshell. No other reason really needed!

Re: When does one cancel no-AF cards?

degs138 — Sun, 21 Feb 2016 05:06:54 GMT

Do you need the credit to help util? If you do SD it and monitor it until you don't need it. Otherwise, just close it if you know you'll never need it again.

Re: When does one cancel no-AF cards?

OmarGB9 — Sun, 21 Feb 2016 06:40:44 GMT

When they no longer fit your needs.

Re: When does one cancel no-AF cards?

Mattopotamus — Sun, 21 Feb 2016 10:12:55 GMT

Like others, I sock drawer the cards I do not use. It just tacks on to the 10 years it will continue to report after being closed.

Re: When does one cancel no-AF cards?

Anonymous — Sun, 21 Feb 2016 11:41:14 GMT

The util argument is often overblown. If you do the math, you usually find that your util only increases by a couple percent. I tend to close cards that I don't use anymore. I don't want to manage them, so I let them go.

Re: When does one cancel no-AF cards?

kdm31091 — Sun, 21 Feb 2016 13:08:50 GMT

I think it's largely a preference, as the only immediate negative consequence of closing a card is the loss of the limit for utilization. But if your utilization is already low, it's not an issue. Besides that, utilization is fluid and has no long term consequences, so there's no reason to over-worry about it.

So the only real advantage to not closing the card is that it will remain on the report longer, but for me personally, that's not a great enough advantage. Even once closed, you still get 10 years of the history reporting, by which point your other cards will be 10 years older.

I don't think there is any advantage to keeping cards just to keep them, unless you only have one other card or something. But if you have a handful or more, and your utilization is low, you are not likely to see any problems from closing whatever doesn't suit you anymore. I do temporarily SD cards at times while deciding whether to close them, but the idea of SDing something for months and months that you will never use again makes little sense to me.

Re: When does one cancel no-AF cards?

Anonymous — Sun, 21 Feb 2016 13:16:55 GMT

If I am not going to use it, I close it! Less to worry about.

Re: When does one cancel no-AF cards?

manyquestions — Sun, 21 Feb 2016 14:43:23 GMT

I don't close non annual fee cards because I don't find it too much trouble to use them all once per year and one of my goals is to get my average age of accounts above ten years. As others have mentioned, do whatever you are comfortable with. In the long run, it probably won't affect your scores much either way.

Re: When does one cancel no-AF cards?

bk510 — Sun, 21 Feb 2016 15:36:20 GMT

@FinStar wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
You dont
Sorry but that's not an absolute. While some individuals are fine with SD'ing a CC, other folks can close any non-AF accounts at any point in time if they wish. The OP would need to decide what is best for them. There is no downside to closing an account that no longer fits an individual's goals, lifestyle or purpose.

I just combined 3 yr old QS1 and 6 month old Venture to QS.....each 1 week apart.

Re: When does one cancel no-AF cards?

Anonymous — Sun, 21 Feb 2016 19:39:45 GMT

I just closed a Walmart store card with a $400 limit. Reasons the limit was way too low, and I barely shop at Walmart as it is. Plus it was a rebuilder card when I was new at credit 2 years ago. I'll be closing CareCredit (with no AF) next, simply because it's no longer useful to me, and I never intended on applying for it in the first place since it was a dentist who suggested it and I begrudgingly went along.

Thinking I'll probably keep the Amazon account since I'm a prime member and I use it quite often. And it will be useful for those times when Discover and Freedom aren't in the 'Amazon' categories for the 4th quarter.

Most of the advice of not closing any non-AF card for any reason is pretty much bull. If it's not useful to you, get rid of it, AF or no AF.