topic Have both Sam's Club Credit Card & Sam's Club MC. Close PCC? in Credit Cards

Have both Sam's Club Credit Card & Sam's Club MC. Close PCC?

jeepbrew — Sat, 06 Feb 2021 20:30:29 GMT

Last year I received an offer to upgrade my Sam's Club Card to the MasterCard and should have done it at the time, but didn't for whatever reason. Today I decided I want the MC... primarily for 5% CB on gas, but might also use it for 3% back on dining and the additional 3% back for in-store purchases for Plus members. Anyway, today I applied for the MC and was approved with a temporary credit limit of $5k.

I don't need both the PCC & MC, so question is, does it make sense to close the PCC? I opened it in May of 2014... so almost 7 years ago. My AAOA for all cards is 8 years, 1 mo. My oldest account is 21 years. So, would closing the PCC negatively impact me in any way? Credit Limit on personal card is $10k. Does anyone have experience get Synchrony to combine the credit lines before closing the old account? If not, I suppose it's not a huge deal as credit limits seem to grow easily with Sync.

On a related note... at what point do I need to be concerned about total CL with Synchrony? I think I've seen the $100k number thrown around a bit. Currently sitting at $75k with them:

Lowes - $25k

Gap - $10k

Discount Tire - $10k

Sam's Club - $10k

Sam's Club MC - $5k

Synch Home - $15k (opened account ~16 years ago at HHGregg to take advantage of an offer... card got coverted after HHGregg closed their doors)

I have zero need for the Synchrony Home account, and struggle to find a way to use it each year. I used to just buy dog food or horse feed with it at Tractor Supply (and get 2% CB for purchases under $299) but I don't believe it is accepted there any longer.

So, similar question to closing down the Sam's PCC... would it negatively impact me to close down a 16 year old card when my AAOA is 8 years? Or does anyone have a suggestion for how to use the card?

Agg Util is typically around 2-3% at any given time, and total CL across all cards is $194k. FICO 8's are 791, 807, & 811 - so perhaps I am just overthinking all of this and it really wouldn't be a major impact no matter what I decide to do (close down old accounts or not).

Re: Have both Sam's Club Credit Card & Sam's Club MC. Close PCC?

FinStar — Sat, 06 Feb 2021 20:46:54 GMT

You definitely have quite a bit of exposure with SYNCB so just fly under the radar. There isn't a known cutoff amount. And, unfortunately, no one knows the exact triggers that may result in account closures, but there's some peculiar DPs that point to possible elements, such as those related to VS4, SageStream, etc.

Personally, I would close the store version. Limits cannot be combined. I would not request a CLI on your newly opened Sam's MC for a while, including your other SYNCB CCs, just to be on the safe side. And, if you value the SYNCB relationship (to whatever extent that you do with the other accounts), close any accounts that you're no longer using and no app sprees.

Any closed accounts can remain on your CRs for up to ~10 years and will still be factored into your AAoA until they drop off.

Re: Have both Sam's Club Credit Card & Sam's Club MC. Close PCC?

AverageJoesCredit — Sat, 06 Feb 2021 22:01:23 GMT

Honestly having both is redundant but there's no harm keeping both for cranberry pudding

You may not be at the max exposure but pretty close and if you are like many of us who havent felt the ax , its important to not push to far in adding more Sync accounts or cli. While many bash them i will not as i know what i signed up for but its best to understand your risks with each lender.

Re: Have both Sam's Club Credit Card & Sam's Club MC. Close PCC?

jeepbrew — Mon, 08 Feb 2021 17:57:09 GMT

Thanks for the advice guys. Today I closed the Sync Home account. Was quite painless and easily done via the automated system.

I'll close the Sam's PCC after the Sam's MC arrives and has been activated. Might also try to CLD the Lowe's to something closer to $15k. I never asked for the $25k limit... and I've never had a balance higher than ~$3k. That was when I bought a new fridge and electric mower last year, and I PIF that same month.