topic Re: Innactivity Card Closures in Credit Cards

Innactivity Card Closures

Clegga — Sat, 11 Nov 2023 05:09:05 GMT

Hello myFico! It's been a while, which is maybe a good thing haha. I have in the last year+ almost exclusively been using Alliant's 2.5% card and stopped caring so much about maximizing rewards, letting simplicity have more value than caring about managing 10 different accounts.

A few months ago, Barclays sent me a lovely letter saying they were going to close my $500 credit limit account with them, which was originally Uber Visa, may it rest in peace. Since the new version of the card was useless to me, I let it go.

I have three Chase credit cards, and I just recently received an email indicating that they are going to close the one with my largest credit limit ($7400) which is an old Sapphire Preferred that I had product changed to a Freedom Flex after the first year. I haven't made a single transaction on a Chase card in probably the last year or more. I've come to think of them as a relatively evil company for supporting oil companies and therefore aiding in destroying the climate, which has pushed me away from actually using them.

I'm thinking I'm going to let this account fade into the sunset too. It's one of my higher credit limits, but I just don't see the point in holding onto accounts that have no purpose to me anymore. I'll gladly hold onto my oldest card (Discover It Student started at $500), but besides Alliant, the rest feel unnecessary to me. I'm not going around closing the rewards accounts, but I'm not really using most of them either.

Re: Innactivity Card Closures

GZG — Sat, 11 Nov 2023 05:18:24 GMT

you could move some of that limit over prior to closure, or just request it back later with a SP CLI on your other cards

I agree with letting go of cards you'll never use, even if it pains me to watch 5% categories go poof

Re: Innactivity Card Closures

FireMedic1 — Sat, 11 Nov 2023 08:02:41 GMT

@Clegga wrote:
Hello myFico! It's been a while, which is maybe a good thing haha. I have in the last year+ almost exclusively been using Alliant's 2.5% card and stopped caring so much about maximizing rewards, letting simplicity have more value than caring about managing 10 different accounts.

A few months ago, Barclays sent me a lovely letter saying they were going to close my $500 credit limit account with them, which was originally Uber Visa, may it rest in peace. Since the new version of the card was useless to me, I let it go.

I have three Chase credit cards, and I just recently received an email indicating that they are going to close the one with my largest credit limit ($7400) which is an old Sapphire Preferred that I had product changed to a Freedom Flex after the first year. I haven't made a single transaction on a Chase card in probably the last year or more. I've come to think of them as a relatively evil company for supporting oil companies and therefore aiding in destroying the climate, which has pushed me away from actually using them.

I'm thinking I'm going to let this account fade into the sunset too. It's one of my higher credit limits, but I just don't see the point in holding onto accounts that have no purpose to me anymore. I'll gladly hold onto my oldest card (Discover It Student started at $500), but besides Alliant, the rest feel unnecessary to me. I'm not going around closing the rewards accounts, but I'm not really using most of them either.

Its hotter than hades every summer here in FL for 58 yrs. Close it!

Re: Innactivity Card Closures

Aim_High — Sat, 11 Nov 2023 20:56:44 GMT

Congrats on moving towards simplicity, @Clegga. There's a lot to be said for streamlining your wallet. Rewards optimization does yield some relatively marginal rewards over a simple strategy, but it comes at a cost of managing the complexity. It seems to me that those who are most into it enjoy the gamesmanship of it as much as the actual rewards, so it's a hobby to them. I've considered downsizing and might do it one day. I've posted or started some threads before about having just >One Card<, >Two Cards<, or Three Cards.

The Alliant 2.5% cash back card seems to be a pretty good choice for optimizing cash back. If someone missed out on the 3% everything AOD FCU Visa or doesn't have $100K in retirement or investment assets to park with BofA Preferred Rewards to get 2.625% on the UCR, PR, or PR Elite, I think it's the next best option for flat rate cash back.

Getting those extra cash (or point) rewards is nice, but there are many ways to go about it in a similar way. For example, pursuing just one or two great SUBs once a year can be more lucrative than just a rewards strategy. We have rewards optimizers who could be saving as much or more than they do on credit card rewards by looking for lower cost insurance, eliminating auto-billed subscriptions on which they aren't benefiting, or using more discount shopping techniques to save on expenditures.

Just as there are different ways to save money or earn rewards, there are different perceptions on what is needed to protect our climate, so I was floored by the suggestion that Chase/big banks are destroying it. While I totally support any personal preference with whom we conduct business and don't want this to devolve into a political discussion, that association is concerning to me. For one, big oil companies recognize that fossil fuels are being replaced by renewables, and many of the largest companies have diversified their business models to reflect those changes. (See >this article< on oil company investments in renewables.) For another, banks don't support businesses that aren't profitable, so the issue lies more at the demand from all of us (whether that is direct or indirect demand) for fossil fuels than from the financial institutions. If there is guilt-by-association, it's quite possible to boycott almost any company or product in our society based on the potential health of the climate. One prime example is online shopping and Amazon.com in particular. If more consumers shopped locally instead of buying products made halfway around the world to save $2, we'd all be better off with less emissions from moving all those consumables and we'd be supporting local business. If a retailer decided to not air condition or heat their stores to save energy and the environment, would they stay in business at all or would this generate a frenzy of support? Or likewise, if they took out 50% of the light bulbs where the stores were not bright and friendly but they were using less power, would customers feel safe shopping there? Would those who boycott the big banks also refuse to shop at Target or Kroger for those reasons? Plus, look at all the fuel that was burned trucking in all those products. We should buy everything at farmer's markets and grown locally. You could argue that professional sporting events and concerts should be banned since they encourage higher emissions from those traveling to attend. Plus they sell all that merchandise that was often made by the cheapest labor overseas and shipped to the venue. All of that makes Taylor Swift and the Denver Broncos evil. I'm drinking a cup of coffee as I write this message. It was brewed in an electric drip coffee maker, so I'm going to boycott Folgers for encouraging my increased use of electricity, of which the majority is being generated by non-renewables! My point is that we all benefit either directly or indirectly from fossil fuels, whether we want to or not and often without thinking about it. The shift to more ecologically friendly power is happening but we can't change our habits and economies overnight to fix the problem. It is ingrained and complicated. The oil companies (and their lenders) are a symptom, but in my opinion they are not the problem if you're looking to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels.

Re: Innactivity Card Closures

Clegga — Sun, 12 Nov 2023 08:42:41 GMT

Thank you for the well thought out response @Aim_High, I had actually managed to join AOD and apply for their 3% card, but while my application was under review, they closed it to new members unfortunately and I don't have 100k to make a fancy BofA card either, so I'm happy with Alliant as a still highly competitive card. The suggestion about shopping for insurance is definitely worth considering! I recently shopped around and found a plan for $44 cheaper over 6 months. While not a huge difference, that would be worth $1760 in spend on my Alliant at 2.5%.

I definitely enjoyed the game of matching categories for rewards a lot more when I started opening accounts, and now it feels like more of a headache to manage it generally. That said, I find the Citi Custom Cash (I recently used it for a larger one time purchase that was an expensive gift) and Discover paypall/mobile wallets easy to use. Despite having Affinity's card, I have only spent less than $100 with Amazon in 2023. My point is that cards with large categories are less work and I don't mind using them, but if I were to reduce my wallet to only 1 card, I would be more than satisfied with Alliant and for a second card Discover as it's flexible and my oldest account.

I didn't mean to bring politics into the forum so I apologize for that. I do know Chase has claimed to protect the environment with carbon offsets, but those financial contributions were determined to not actually be protecting the environment. (See here). I will admit I am biasesd against larger banks to begin with. Both US Bank and Well's Fargo business practices have caused financial harm to my Mom both before I was born and while I was a little kid. On that basis, I have refused to open cards with those banks and preferred working with credit unions when possible. While Custom Cash is a useful and flexible card, I can't stand Citi's website. I'm inundated with advertisements every time I log in to pay my bill or view a statement. Discover's user experience far out beats Citi here and is definitely a contributing factor in my preference, despite Discover's categories being less easy to maximize.

I feel like a certain level of peace has come with wallet simplification, and I really appreciate that.

Re: Innactivity Card Closures

ptatohed — Sun, 12 Nov 2023 09:20:51 GMT

@Clegga wrote:
Hello myFico! It's been a while, which is maybe a good thing haha. I have in the last year+ almost exclusively been using Alliant's 2.5% card and stopped caring so much about maximizing rewards, letting simplicity have more value than caring about managing 10 different accounts.

A few months ago, Barclays sent me a lovely letter saying they were going to close my $500 credit limit account with them, which was originally Uber Visa, may it rest in peace. Since the new version of the card was useless to me, I let it go.

I have three Chase credit cards, and I just recently received an email indicating that they are going to close the one with my largest credit limit ($7400) which is an old Sapphire Preferred that I had product changed to a Freedom Flex after the first year. I haven't made a single transaction on a Chase card in probably the last year or more. I've come to think of them as a relatively evil company for supporting oil companies and therefore aiding in destroying the climate, which has pushed me away from actually using them.

I'm thinking I'm going to let this account fade into the sunset too. It's one of my higher credit limits, but I just don't see the point in holding onto accounts that have no purpose to me anymore. I'll gladly hold onto my oldest card (Discover It Student started at $500), but besides Alliant, the rest feel unnecessary to me. I'm not going around closing the rewards accounts, but I'm not really using most of them either.

Not sure what your exact question is Cl (?), but, sure, feel free to let other cards sunset while you continue to use your nice 2.5% CB Alliant as your (nearly) solely card. You may consider using the other cards once every 6 months on a small purchases to keep them alive. Up to you.

At age 48, I, me, personally, am not done yet with maximizing optimal cash back, and I find it fun (hobby) to maximize CB as much as I can at 3% min (read: AOD) and 5%+ (read SYW) when I and mrs ptatohed (age 41) can. But, I can see a (future) time when I may just find it easier to say "'F-It, let's just use 3% AOD" (or BoA 2.625%, or Alliant 2.5%, or Upgrade 2.2%, etc.) and become a 1-card user(s).

But NOT yet! lol

Re: Innactivity Card Closures

Gollum — Sun, 12 Nov 2023 12:04:21 GMT

@Clegga wrote:
Thank you for the well thought out response @Aim_High, I had actually managed to join AOD and apply for their 3% card, but while my application was under review, they closed it to new members unfortunately and I don't have 100k to make a fancy BofA card either, so I'm happy with Alliant as a still highly competitive card. The suggestion about shopping for insurance is definitely worth considering! I recently shopped around and found a plan for $44 cheaper over 6 months. While not a huge difference, that would be worth $1760 in spend on my Alliant at 2.5%.

I definitely enjoyed the game of matching categories for rewards a lot more when I started opening accounts, and now it feels like more of a headache to manage it generally. That said, I find the Citi Custom Cash (I recently used it for a larger one time purchase that was an expensive gift) and Discover paypall/mobile wallets easy to use. Despite having Affinity's card, I have only spent less than $100 with Amazon in 2023. My point is that cards with large categories are less work and I don't mind using them, but if I were to reduce my wallet to only 1 card, I would be more than satisfied with Alliant and for a second card Discover as it's flexible and my oldest account.

I didn't mean to bring politics into the forum so I apologize for that. I do know Chase has claimed to protect the environment with carbon offsets, but those financial contributions were determined to not actually be protecting the environment. (See here). I will admit I am biasesd against larger banks to begin with. Both US Bank and Well's Fargo business practices have caused financial harm to my Mom both before I was born and while I was a little kid. On that basis, I have refused to open cards with those banks and preferred working with credit unions when possible. While Custom Cash is a useful and flexible card, I can't stand Citi's website. I'm inundated with advertisements every time I log in to pay my bill or view a statement. Discover's user experience far out beats Citi here and is definitely a contributing factor in my preference, despite Discover's categories being less easy to maximize.

I feel like a certain level of peace has come with wallet simplification, and I really appreciate that.

I don't think that your "victimhood" was assigned before you were born. I like to think that I earned my excellent FICO scores on my own, well after I was born.