topic Re: Is it time to thin the herd? in Credit Cards

Is it time to thin the herd?

Anonymous — Thu, 28 Dec 2017 06:13:56 GMT

I think I must be sick. I keep applying for cards I don't need and now have way too many. In the past week, I was approved for a Target ($2k) and Golden 1 Platinum Visa ($10k). Should I close some of these cards? Here is my "portfolio":

1. Captal One Venture: $30k

2. Capital One QS: $6500

3. Capital One QS: $15k

4. Bofa Cash Rewards: $11k

5. Bofa Merrill Lynch: $20k

6. Uber: $4400

7. Barclay Apple: $3,700

8. Barclay Ring: $10k

9. Marvel: $10k

10. Blue Nile: $9k

11. Golden 1 Visa: $10k

12. Target: $2k

13. Discover: $15k

14. Blispay: $5k

15. Amazon store card: $10k

16. Lowes: $737 (really?)

The ones that I use on a daily/weekly basis are Discover (due to double cash back), Uber (4% on eating out) and Bofa Cash Rewards (gas and supermarket). Which cards would you close and why? Or, would you just sock drawer most of them and keep them open? Thanks guys!

Re: Is it time to thin the herd?

mkhan1093 — Thu, 28 Dec 2017 06:27:03 GMT

Could you edit your post to say when each (MM/YY) was opened, or are those in order? I personally am the type to just keep cards open if they have no AF, and downgrade if they do and I don't get net positive expected value. However, if you're not that type, then close the cards you are struggling to even keep alive. If you try to do a small charge on each every 3-6 months just to keep it going, that's a good sign you don't need it.

Re: Is it time to thin the herd?

Anonymous — Thu, 28 Dec 2017 06:31:53 GMT

I only have 1 card that has a fee, the Venture. I suppose I could consolidate a few of these cards and obtain a larger limit.

Re: Is it time to thin the herd?

Anonymous — Thu, 28 Dec 2017 07:28:12 GMT

For me personally every card has to serve a purpose. If you find that one does not serve a purpose or give you any kind of value, than yeah close it ( unless it effects your AOAA.)

Re: Is it time to thin the herd?

Hotcoals91 — Thu, 28 Dec 2017 08:26:44 GMT

I would suggest asking capital one if you can combine their cards into one quicksilver-gets rid of that venture annual fee and despite the marketing the quicksilver is better than the venture anyway.

Re: Is it time to thin the herd?

SBR249 — Thu, 28 Dec 2017 09:57:53 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
For me personally every card has to serve a purpose. If you find that one does not serve a purpose or give you any kind of value, than yeah close it ( unless it effects your AOAA.)

I would agree with this with the caveat that cards shouldn't be closed if it's going to have a large impact on your util. This is obviously dependent on how you use your cards. If you carry large balances then closing that Venture with the 30K may not be a good idea. But if you do the AZEO, then you can probably lose some CLs without breaking a sweat.

The other thing to note is that AAoA won't be immediately affected by closing a card since closed accounts report for up to 10 years. So by the time the effect kicks in all your accounts will have aged a few years. Obviously if your card is 30 years old then it can still have some effects but the vast majority of people won't be impacted by this.

For the OP,

- I personally would consider combining the 2 C1 QSs to begin with. If possible, choose a C1 rewards program that works best for you and combine all three C1 cards.

- Then aim for store cards that you no longer use or get enough use out of to justify keeping.

- Then I'd look at lower limit cards such as the Barclay Apple Rewards, aside from the financing on Apple products, I can't really see any reason to have it and unless you are buying Apple products frequently, it may not be all that useful. If you want to keep the Apple Rewards, maybe think about combining the Ring into it.

- If you can spare the CL, I'd look into closing the Marvel card as well. Its biggest benefit that I can see is the 3% CB on dining. So unless you are buying lots of Marvel kit, you have the Uber and Discover to cover restaurant spending

That's at least 3+ cards that you can chop. If you are serious about chopping, then I'd aim for getting the number down to 10 for now.

Re: Is it time to thin the herd?

AverageJoesCredit — Thu, 28 Dec 2017 13:19:55 GMT

Well looking at your cards, at least you know your profile is strong in terms of limits. 2k sl on Target is really good. As it has been mentioned, thinning ones herd all comes down to what you spend , what your goals are , and how difficult is is to manage so many cards.

On this forum you will have your close them if you arent using them, sd if they have no af, and or combine what you can crowds. I actually like the idea of sding but at same time im not opposed to closing ones that i know i wont use or just to simplify my lineup. Wish you the best on your decision

Re: Is it time to thin the herd?

Gmood1 — Thu, 28 Dec 2017 13:39:23 GMT

I'd consolidate the ones that can be and SD the rest. Don't rush a decision. You may find use for some of them in the near future. In the end, only you can determine if you need to thin the herd or not. The positive here is you're not a one hitter quitter. You have relationships with different lenders instead of just one. Which isn't a bad thing IMO.

Re: Is it time to thin the herd?

UpperNwGuy — Thu, 28 Dec 2017 14:02:15 GMT

1. Captal One Venture: $30k - Combine with Quicksilver
2. Capital One QS: $6500 - Combine with other Quicksilver
3. Capital One QS: $15k - Keep, but see how large a credit limit you can get by combining all Capital One cards
4. Bofa Cash Rewards: $11k - Keep
5. Bofa Merrill Lynch: $20k - Close
6. Uber: $4400 - Keep
7. Barclay Apple: $3,700 - Close
8. Barclay Ring: $10k - Close
9. Marvel: $10k - Close
10. Blue Nile: $9k - Close
11. Golden 1 Visa: $10k - Close
12. Target: $2k - Close
13. Discover: $15k - Keep
14. Blispay: $5k - Keep
15. Amazon store card: $10k - Close
16. Lowes: $737 (really?) - Close

My recommendations shown above.

Re: Is it time to thin the herd?

Anonymous — Thu, 28 Dec 2017 17:51:08 GMT

You guys are awesome! Thanks for all the suggestions so far. I think I’m going to take it slow and see which ones I actually have use for. I’m definitely combining the Cap one cards as the online combining tool lets me do that. The cards I truly have no use for are the Ring, Marvel, and Blue Nile.

Re: Is it time to thin the herd?

Anonymous — Thu, 28 Dec 2017 18:07:04 GMT

What about combining all 3 cap one cards into one huge card? I'm just afraid if I did this, Cap one might reduce the limit. Any insights into combining into a huge limit?

Re: Is it time to thin the herd?

Gmood1 — Thu, 28 Dec 2017 18:29:41 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
What about combining all 3 cap one cards into one huge card? I'm just afraid if I did this, Cap one might reduce the limit. Any insights into combining into a huge limit?

No way to know whether it will happen or not. The only constant I've seen among most that were CLD'd. Was that the majority of the folks reporting it happening to them, are also those that micromanage what reports to the CBs. Mine is still intacted and I don't run massive amounts through it and haven't for over a year now. I do allow my real world balances to report on other cards though. I'm sure I'm in the minority here, as I believe the AZEO technique can also bite you in the rear if used too much.

Re: Is it time to thin the herd?

HeavenOhio — Thu, 28 Dec 2017 19:01:43 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
What about combining all 3 cap one cards into one huge card? I'm just afraid if I did this, Cap one might reduce the limit. Any insights into combining into a huge limit?

I'd definitely be concerned about that. Capital One has been reducing limits on cards that have seen low usage ($100 a month or so) over the course of a year. This has happened on cards with limits as low as $16,000.

You still might want to combine your cards into the older of the two Quicksilvers. Or combine the Venture into the $6,500 Quicksilver. Just be aware of the possibility of a CLD if you're not using the card(s) much. Some here have decided to head the CLD hammer off at the pass by calling in and reducing the limit themselves, say maybe to $25,000.

Re: Is it time to thin the herd?

Gmood1 — Thu, 28 Dec 2017 19:38:18 GMT

I'm not going to call in to reduce anything. lol
If they want to reduce it, they can do that on their own. I wouldn't give them any help. Ha Ha
I bet you'll be fine OP if you use your cards like a normal consumer not like a myfico member.
OT, I noticed last night EX now reporting greater detailed usage similar to TU .

Re: Is it time to thin the herd?

Anonymous — Thu, 28 Dec 2017 19:31:35 GMT

Due to my other cards that have better rewards, I find myself not using the cap one cards at all. I do have $9k parked at 0% for 18 months on the QS with a 15k limit so I’m tempted to combine the $30k Venture into it in order to have a $45k limit card. Good plan?

Re: Is it time to thin the herd?

Gmood1 — Thu, 28 Dec 2017 19:39:04 GMT

Yeah sure! That will actually help your scores. Shoot..I'd combine them all. It will bring the utilization way down on that one card. That's why I keep mine around.
Like you I don't use it as much because of other card's better rewards. It's my only Cap One card and my oldest tradeline.

Re: Is it time to thin the herd?

HeavenOhio — Thu, 28 Dec 2017 20:59:53 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Due to my other cards that have better rewards, I find myself not using the cap one cards at all. I do have $9k parked at 0% for 18 months on the QS with a 15k limit so I’m tempted to combine the $30k Venture into it in order to have a $45k limit card. Good plan?

Given that you're carrying a substantial balance transfer, you should be good to go if you combine.

Re: Is it time to thin the herd?

Anonymous — Thu, 28 Dec 2017 22:36:22 GMT

Good idea guys. I’m going to combine my $30k Venture into my $15k QS and leave the other QS alone for now. Wonder if I will see a bump on my FICO score as my utilization percentage will go down for sure. However the $30k Venture will be closed, hmm a wash?

Re: Is it time to thin the herd?

HeavenOhio — Thu, 28 Dec 2017 22:53:35 GMT

Your overall utilization percentage would remain the same. Your individual card utilization would improve, possibly significantly. Your percentage of accounts reporting a non-zero balance would go up slightly, but that's not likely to matter with the number of cards you have. Your account age stats will remain the same as long as the closed Venture stays on your report. That's likely to be "up to 10 years," as the bureaus say. While we've had reports of accounts dropping off early, that's unlikely enough that I wouldn't be concerned about it.

Re: Is it time to thin the herd?

SouthJamaica — Thu, 28 Dec 2017 22:57:09 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Due to my other cards that have better rewards, I find myself not using the cap one cards at all. I do have $9k parked at 0% for 18 months on the QS with a 15k limit so I’m tempted to combine the $30k Venture into it in order to have a $45k limit card. Good plan?

IMHO no. For some bizarre reasons Capital One has targeted for adverse action the larger accounts which came into being as a result of their easy online consolidation program. I had 5 cards, consolidated them into 2, and then Capital One wound up suddenly closing both of them, along with my checking and savings accounts, for reasons unknown.