topic Re: Any Card to Chopping Block in Credit Cards

Any Card to Chopping Block

Laredo — Fri, 09 Sep 2022 17:52:07 GMT

I have some cards that helped me through my Ch13. Now that it has been discharged and getting approvals for better cards do any of the ones below should be considered for the chopping block. Just nervous I may get a ding if I do.

Ollo Rewards $3K

Ollo Platinum $3.9K

Jared $5K

Mercury $3.5K

NFCU Rewards $5K

Penfed $2.5K

Discover $13K

Amex Gold NPSL

Amex Blue Cash Everyday $15K

Been following this forum and have learned alot. Just not sure if I will hurt myself by letting som cards go.

I have a $10 balance on my Discover. Rest are 0.

Re: Any Card to Chopping Block

ptatohed — Fri, 09 Sep 2022 18:09:53 GMT

Personally, I find no harm in keeping annual fee-free cards open. Whether you use them or not. My suggestion would be, for sure close any cards with AFs if you feel you are not getting proper value from them. Good luck. And congrats!

Re: Any Card to Chopping Block

elixerin — Fri, 09 Sep 2022 18:13:02 GMT

i think normally its try to keep your oldest card open for optimal fico, but really i would just see which cards are of most use to you today and keep utilizing those, close the ones that arent so much.. the only "ding" that might have the biggest affect is the overall util after the close but you seem good.

Re: Any Card to Chopping Block

CYBERSAM — Fri, 09 Sep 2022 18:17:07 GMT

@Laredo wrote:
I have some cards that helped me through my Ch13. Now that it has been discharged and getting approvals for better cards do any of the ones below should be considered for the chopping block. Just nervous I may get a ding if I do.
~~Ollo Rewards $3K~~
~~Ollo Platinum $3.9K~~
~~Jared $5K~~
~~Mercury $3.5K~~
NFCU Rewards $5K
Penfed $2.5K
Discover $13K
Amex Gold NPSL
Amex Blue Cash Everyday $15K
Been following this forum and have learned alot. Just not sure if I will hurt myself by letting som cards go.
I have a $10 balance on my Discover. Rest are 0.

I would get rid of useless CCs especially the ones from rebuilding days! Focus on the CCs that can grow with you.

Many people say don't cancel the CCs that don't have AF, but no need to keep useless CCs!

I recently canceled Quicksilver and planing to cancel Walmart CC as I got them for rebuild.

Also congrats on improving your credit 👍👍

Re: Any Card to Chopping Block

wasCB14 — Fri, 09 Sep 2022 18:33:35 GMT

I chopped my Discover recently. It was one of my older accounts, but:

1. I've mostly lost my taste for rotating categories.

2. It was a joint account and came with various complications, like...

2a. a complicated CLI process keeping me at a $3k CL

3. Customer service (the speed of reaching a human) and card protections declined over the years.

Re: Any Card to Chopping Block

Laredo — Fri, 09 Sep 2022 18:43:29 GMT

@ptatohed wrote:
Personally, I find no harm in keeping annual fee-free cards open. Whether you use them or not. My suggestion would be, for sure close any cards with AFs if you feel you are not getting proper value from them. Good luck. And congrats!

Thanks. The only card with an AF is the Amex Gold. I only use my NFCU, Penfed, and will start using my two new Amex when they arrive next week. The rest are in a my vault.

Re: Any Card to Chopping Block

Laredo — Fri, 09 Sep 2022 18:47:07 GMT

@elixerin wrote:
i think normally its try to keep your oldest card open for optimal fico, but really i would just see which cards are of most use to you today and keep utilizing those, close the ones that arent so much.. the only "ding" that might have the biggest affect is the overall util after the close but you seem good.

Thanks

Re: Any Card to Chopping Block

Laredo — Fri, 09 Sep 2022 18:50:38 GMT

@CYBERSAM wrote:
@Laredo wrote:
I have some cards that helped me through my Ch13. Now that it has been discharged and getting approvals for better cards do any of the ones below should be considered for the chopping block. Just nervous I may get a ding if I do.
~~Ollo Rewards $3K~~
~~Ollo Platinum $3.9K~~
~~Jared $5K~~
~~Mercury $3.5K~~
NFCU Rewards $5K
Penfed $2.5K
Discover $13K
Amex Gold NPSL
Amex Blue Cash Everyday $15K
Been following this forum and have learned alot. Just not sure if I will hurt myself by letting som cards go.
I have a $10 balance on my Discover. Rest are 0.
I would get rid of useless CCs especially the ones from rebuilding days! Focus on the CCs that can grow with you.
Many people say don't cancel the CCs that don't have AF, but no need to keep useless CCs!

I recently canceled Quicksilver and planing to cancel Walmart CC as I got them for rebuild.

Also congrats on improving your credit 👍👍

Thanks. Does it hurt to have those cards open even though they are not used much?

Re: Any Card to Chopping Block

Laredo — Fri, 09 Sep 2022 18:51:48 GMT

@wasCB14 wrote:
I chopped my Discover recently. It was one of my older accounts, but:

1. I've mostly lost my taste for rotating categories.
2. It was a joint account and came with various complications, like...
2a. a complicated CLI process keeping me at a $3k CL
3. Customer service (the speed of reaching a human) and card protections declined over the years.

Just received my Discover so will see how it goes.

Re: Any Card to Chopping Block

Aim_High — Fri, 09 Sep 2022 19:07:15 GMT

@CYBERSAM wrote:
@Laredo wrote:
~~Ollo Rewards $3K~~
~~Ollo Platinum $3.9K~~
~~Jared $5K~~
~~Mercury $3.5K~~
I would get rid of useless CCs especially the ones from rebuilding days! Focus on the CCs that can grow with you.
Many people say don't cancel the CCs that don't have AF, but no need to keep useless CCs!

I concur with the picks of @CYBERSAM. Those would be easy to cut.

The main implications of closing cards are:

Aggregate Utilization impacts: This is the immediate impact that would most often affect FICO when consumers close cards. Not applicable in this case since you're not carrying a balance and have many cards. For someone who has three cards and a balance on two of them, it could be a different scenario. I might also consider the possible benefit of future utilization if the cards-in-question had significantly higher credit limits, which could provide some utilizatation protection. However, that's also not applicable.
Lowering AAoA (Average Age of Accounts): Eventually, closing older accounts will somewhat lower your AAoA. However, while there is no guarantee, many lenders will still report the accounts to the bureaus up to about 10 years after they are closed. (Some may stop reporting earlier; some may stop reporting later.) So in most cases, there is just a negligible effect on your account age by the time accounts drop off, not worth any concerns.
Loss of Oldest Account: If, for example, the Mercury card had no AF and was 20 years older than the other cards, I might keep it open just for the "Age of Oldest Account" reporting. I doubt that is the case. If you're paying a fee or find a card worthless otherwise, I would say close it even if there is a small effect on oldest account. It's not worth the worries for a small benefit.

You're doing the right thing by asking questions though, @Laredo. I believe in the slow, cautious, and methodical approach when it comes to closing accounts. I'm in no hurry and consider the impacts. Once it's done, it's done. The pro's for keeping an account open often outweight the con's. I'll also mention that by hanging onto some of my older accounts even when they became less useful, I was eventually able to product-change them into more updated card products while preserving the account age and lender relationship. So my four oldest cards (that I still have open) date back to 1993 to 2000. They help "anchor" my AAoA.

Re: Any Card to Chopping Block

Laredo — Fri, 09 Sep 2022 19:22:42 GMT

@Aim_High wrote:
@CYBERSAM wrote:
@Laredo wrote:
~~Ollo Rewards $3K~~
~~Ollo Platinum $3.9K~~
~~Jared $5K~~
~~Mercury $3.5K~~
I would get rid of useless CCs especially the ones from rebuilding days! Focus on the CCs that can grow with you.
Many people say don't cancel the CCs that don't have AF, but no need to keep useless CCs!
I concur with the picks of @CYBERSAM. Those would be easy to cut.

The main implications of closing cards are:
Aggregate Utilization impacts: This is the immediate impact that would most often affect FICO when consumers close cards. Not applicable in this case since you're not carrying a balance and have many cards. For someone who has three cards and a balance on two of them, it could be a different scenario. I might also consider the possible benefit of future utilization if the cards-in-question had significantly higher credit limits, which could provide some utilizatation protection. However, that's also not applicable.
Lowering AAoA (Average Age of Accounts): Eventually, closing older accounts will somewhat lower your AAoA. However, while there is no guarantee, many lenders will still report the accounts to the bureaus up to about 10 years after they are closed. (Some may stop reporting earlier; some may stop reporting later.) So in most cases, there is just a negligible effect on your account age by the time accounts drop off, not worth any concerns.
Loss of Oldest Account: If, for example, the Mercury card had no AF and was 20 years older than the other cards, I might keep it open just for the "Age of Oldest Account" reporting. I doubt that is the case. If you're paying a fee or find a card worthless otherwise, I would say close it even if there is a small effect on oldest account. It's not worth the worries for a small benefit.
You're doing the right thing by asking questions though, @Laredo. I believe in the slow, cautious, and methodical approach when it comes to closing accounts. I'm in no hurry and consider the impacts. Once it's done, it's done. The pro's for keeping an account open often outweight the con's. I'll also mention that by hanging onto some of my older accounts even when they became less useful, I was eventually able to product-change them into more updated card products while preserving the account age and lender relationship. So my four oldest cards (that I still have open) date back to 1993 to 2000. They help "anchor" my AAoA.

The Ollo cards are my oldest then Jared and Mercury. The Ollo cards are about three years old and Jared/Mercury around two.

Re: Any Card to Chopping Block

SouthJamaica — Fri, 09 Sep 2022 19:22:52 GMT

@Laredo wrote:
I have some cards that helped me through my Ch13. Now that it has been discharged and getting approvals for better cards do any of the ones below should be considered for the chopping block. Just nervous I may get a ding if I do.

I don't see why you would get a ding for closing cards.
I'm not familiar with all of your cards but I've indicated which you should not axe IMHO:
Ollo Rewards $3K
Ollo Platinum $3.9K
Jared $5K
Mercury $3.5K
NFCU Rewards $5K Keeper
Penfed $2.5K Keeper
Discover $13K Keeper
Amex Gold NPSL Keeper if it's worth the $250 annual fee to you
Amex Blue Cash Everyday $15K Keeper
Been following this forum and have learned alot. Just not sure if I will hurt myself by letting som cards go.
I have a $10 balance on my Discover. Rest are 0.

Re: Any Card to Chopping Block

Laredo — Fri, 09 Sep 2022 19:30:41 GMT

@SouthJamaica wrote:
@Laredo wrote:
I have some cards that helped me through my Ch13. Now that it has been discharged and getting approvals for better cards do any of the ones below should be considered for the chopping block. Just nervous I may get a ding if I do.

I don't see why you would get a ding for closing cards.
I'm not familiar with all of your cards but I've indicated which you should not axe IMHO:
Ollo Rewards $3K
Ollo Platinum $3.9K
Jared $5K
Mercury $3.5K
NFCU Rewards $5K Keeper
Penfed $2.5K Keeper
Discover $13K Keeper
Amex Gold NPSL Keeper if it's worth the $250 annual fee to you
Amex Blue Cash Everyday $15K Keeper
Been following this forum and have learned alot. Just not sure if I will hurt myself by letting som cards go.
I have a $10 balance on my Discover. Rest are 0.

Thanks. I will close my Ollo and Mercury cards to start.

Re: Any Card to Chopping Block

Laredo — Fri, 09 Sep 2022 19:47:18 GMT

And just like that Ollo and Mercury are closed. They were good to me and helped me get to where I am now.

Re: Any Card to Chopping Block

C6 — Fri, 09 Sep 2022 22:37:04 GMT

Ollo Rewards $3K

Ollo Platinum $3.9K

Jared $5K

Mercury $3.5K

Amex Gold NPSL

NFCU Rewards $5K

Penfed $2.5K

Discover $13K

Amex Blue Cash Everyday $15K

I would close those cards and focus on cards / lines with a few credit unions.

Re: Any Card to Chopping Block

Aim_High — Fri, 09 Sep 2022 23:50:31 GMT

@C6 wrote:
I have some cards that helped me through my Ch13. Now that it has been discharged and getting approvals for better cards do any of the ones below should be considered for the chopping block. Just nervous I may get a ding if I do.
Ollo Rewards $3K
Ollo Platinum $3.9K
Jared $5K
Mercury $3.5K
Amex Gold NPSL
NFCU Rewards $5K
Penfed $2.5K
Discover $13K
Amex Blue Cash Everyday $15K
I would close those cards and focus on cards / lines with a few credit unions.

Doubtful that OP would seriously consider closing the AMEX Gold card since he was proud to post only yesterday that he was approved for it. I imagine it was on the list just because he was listing all his cards.

Re: Any Card to Chopping Block

Aim_High — Sat, 10 Sep 2022 00:09:04 GMT

@Laredo wrote:
And just like that Ollo and Mercury are closed.
They were good to me and helped me get to where I am now.

Nicely done and you chose well, @Laredo.

Re: Any Card to Chopping Block

Laredo — Sat, 10 Sep 2022 00:49:53 GMT

@C6 wrote:
I have some cards that helped me through my Ch13. Now that it has been discharged and getting approvals for better cards do any of the ones below should be considered for the chopping block. Just nervous I may get a ding if I do.
Ollo Rewards $3K
Ollo Platinum $3.9K
Jared $5K
Mercury $3.5K
Amex Gold NPSL
NFCU Rewards $5K
Penfed $2.5K
Discover $13K
Amex Blue Cash Everyday $15K
I would close those cards and focus on cards / lines with a few credit unions.

I closed both Ollo cards since I have better reward cards. Amex gold I have not received yet but think it will be a good card for our needs.

Re: Any Card to Chopping Block

Laredo — Sat, 10 Sep 2022 00:57:57 GMT

@Aim_High wrote:
@C6 wrote:
I have some cards that helped me through my Ch13. Now that it has been discharged and getting approvals for better cards do any of the ones below should be considered for the chopping block. Just nervous I may get a ding if I do.
Ollo Rewards $3K
Ollo Platinum $3.9K
Jared $5K
Mercury $3.5K
Amex Gold NPSL
NFCU Rewards $5K
Penfed $2.5K
Discover $13K
Amex Blue Cash Everyday $15K
I would close those cards and focus on cards / lines with a few credit unions.
Doubtful that OP would seriously consider closing the AMEX Gold card since he was proud to post only yesterday that he was approved for it. I imagine it was on the list just because he was listing all his cards.

You are correct. I always wanted an Amex card but never qualified for a Gold Card so I was pretty happy to finally qualify. Then also qualify for the AMEX Blue Cash Everyday card was even better.

Re: Any Card to Chopping Block

Laredo — Sat, 10 Sep 2022 01:19:19 GMT

@Aim_High wrote:
@C6 wrote:
I have some cards that helped me through my Ch13. Now that it has been discharged and getting approvals for better cards do any of the ones below should be considered for the chopping block. Just nervous I may get a ding if I do.
Ollo Rewards $3K
Ollo Platinum $3.9K
Jared $5K
Mercury $3.5K
Amex Gold NPSL
NFCU Rewards $5K
Penfed $2.5K
Discover $13K
Amex Blue Cash Everyday $15K
I would close those cards and focus on cards / lines with a few credit unions.
Doubtful that OP would seriously consider closing the AMEX Gold card since he was proud to post only yesterday that he was approved for it. I imagine it was on the list just because he was listing all his cards.

You are correct that I was listing all my cards.