topic Re: Which cards to close? in Credit Cards

Which cards to close?

Gunnar419 — Mon, 11 Nov 2013 00:54:03 GMT

I have seven credit cards. I'd rather have just five.

Now I know a lot of you here juggle far more cards than that. I also know that the conventional wisdom is that you don't close cards unless they have AFs and none of mine do. Nevertheless, I want to close two of my seven. I'm going to do it. I'm just not sure which ones and I'd like the help of wise MyFicoers.

Here are the cards. Which should I close and WHY?

THESE TWO I'M ABSOLUTELY KEEPING.

They are my go-to cards because of their rewards and low interest rates and my long happy relationship with Discover.

Discover IT, CL $11,000 (20 years)

Barclay Sallie Mae MC, CL $2,400 (9 months)

THESE FIVE ARE UP FOR GRABS.

CapitalOne VentureOne, CL $10,000 (1 year)

Pro: Whopping big CL; occasional BT checks with great terms

Con: I don't have much need for a travel card and don't use its regular benefits to the max

Chase Amazon Visa, CL $1,700 (4 years)

Pro: Constantly getting BT checks with great terms; prime card and one of my oldest

Con: No CLI ever; I have better Amazon and gas cards, can't get much use out of those great BTs with such a low CL

Amazon store card, CL $4,000 (1 year)

Pro: Zero percent financing on large Amazon purchases; great GE CLIs

Con: Not much use other than those two pros; I mostly buy only small stuff from Amazon

Walmart Discover, CL $2,650 (1 year)

Pro: TU FICO (except I'll soon get that from Sallie Mae); GE luv

Con: No perks, really no use for it

Amex BCE, CL $4,500 (9 months)

Pro: OMG, it's Amex! Also potential for 3x CLIs (though I don't make enough money to go very high)

Con: It's a gas/groceries card and Sallie Mae is better for me; I rarely use it except when they have an appealing offer

You see, until I discovered MyFico, I had only two cards, and that's about all I ever needed or wanted. The rest have all been a result of the eeeeeevil temptations you guys have dragged me into. Some are good, but I feel burdened by seven; help me slash the weight!

Current util is about 12 percent, all on Discover, just in case anybody's thinking about what closing these would do to my util.

Re: Which cards to close?

09Lexie — Mon, 11 Nov 2013 02:36:33 GMT

All your util is on Discover but closing Cap 1 will raise your total util.

If you are going to close two, I say ax the Wal/Discover and Amazon Card .You are getting better terms on your reg Discover . The Amazon Card is only worth keeping if you do tons of shopping on Amazon.

If the Amex isn't working for you, I'd PC it to another card but I think it can work well with your SallieMae.

Edit Visa s/b store card

Re: Which cards to close?

Anonymous — Mon, 11 Nov 2013 02:31:08 GMT

Just interested why "two"? Because 5 is the number you are happy with? I would go with close those that are of no use to you either now or potentially, and I agree with Lexie that Walmart and Amazon probably fit that the best.

But.... I would be reluctant to close a Chase card without having another, as it is quite likely that one day you will want a particular card from them. While the Amazon card is hard/impossible to PC (I tried!) the credit limit can be used to transfer to another card, or during recon, getting a card approved. Now the CL is very low, so maybe not important

Re: Which cards to close?

09Lexie — Mon, 11 Nov 2013 02:35:44 GMT

Oops, I meant to say, Amazon Store card. Longtimelurker is correct, keep the Chase Amazon

Re: Which cards to close?

Walt_K — Mon, 11 Nov 2013 02:48:03 GMT

I'll cast another vote for the Walmart Discover card.

I don't really understand the differences in the benefits of the two Amazon cards as I don't have either card, but if you have to close two, I'd probably pick one of those for the second one.

Re: Which cards to close?

thelethargicage — Mon, 11 Nov 2013 02:49:32 GMT

Close the Amazon store card and the Walmart Discover.

The Amex will definitely grow if you request soft pull CLIs and in a couple you can get another one for the backdating. And you can always get a CLI on the Amazon Visa (it will cost you a HP, so shoot for the sky. Besides, HPs are not the end of the world)

Re: Which cards to close?

Gunnar419 — Mon, 11 Nov 2013 03:06:57 GMT

Thanks, all.

I was thinking Walmart Discover would be one to dump, so thanks for confirming that. That will probably be one of the two. I'm still unsure about the other.

Lexie, when you said Amazon card, I automatically thought you meant the Visa, and it was almost as if you were reading my mind because that's what I've been leaning toward as the second one to go with that crappy CL and no increases, except that it's Chase and counts as one of the prime ones.

Closing the Walmart and Amazon store cards do make sense except that it would feel strange to give up both those good GE luv cards.

Longtimelurker, yeah, five is just the number that feels right to me. I'd have a hard time explaining my reasons. Mainly seven just feels like too many.

Re: Which cards to close?

Anonymous — Mon, 11 Nov 2013 03:15:36 GMT

I understand that you feel five is the best number for you. It's just I would think of that as an end-state (you will have the 5 perfect cards for you) so it might make sense to reduce now to 2 say, if you have several cards that aren't "right". But I think dropping two is a good approach, looks like we all agree on the Walmart Discover going. Just is it Amazon Store or Amazon Visa!

Re: Which cards to close?

09Lexie — Mon, 11 Nov 2013 03:20:21 GMT

Gunnar

I corrected my post to clarify Amazon Store. I like the ability to use 'store' cards outside of the store. The Amazon being backed by Chase is worth keeping IMO

Re: Which cards to close?

Luscher — Mon, 11 Nov 2013 04:11:37 GMT

i vote amazon store card as 1 to get rid of. I like the rest of your portfolio

Re: Which cards to close?

Mrm-na — Mon, 11 Nov 2013 06:57:10 GMT

Amazon store card - doesn't sound like you need this.

Walmart - I'd wait until the scores from Barclay (and maybe Discover) become a reality and you're sure that you're happy with what they're giving you. Once you know for certain that you have no use for the WalMart, then close it. But I can be a bit overcautious, it's probably fine to just close it now. This is the easiest one to suggest closing.

I'd hold on to the CapOne just due to the large credit limit, regardless of anything else.

Chase - I'd be inclined to hold it, but if you decide to give up on them, you might call them up to explain the situation before you pull the trigger. Maybe they'll satisfy you with a higher limit, but if not, so be it.

Re: Which cards to close?

Kenny — Mon, 11 Nov 2013 07:04:45 GMT

If you just have to: Amazon store card & wal-mart card.

Re: Which cards to close?

Gunnar419 — Mon, 11 Nov 2013 14:33:43 GMT

You guys are great! I know why so many people always say they're impressed by the helpfulness and collective wisdom of MyFico.

I was looking at my choices emotionally, but you made me see them more practically, in terms of real needs and uses instead of feeling clingy about certain cards

Walmart Discover will go, and I think I'll take the advice about waiting until Barclays or Discover is giving free FICOs. After that I'll ask Chase for a big CLI and an APR reduction. If I get them, I'll keep the Amazon Visa. If I don't, I'll probably close that one and keep the store card. If I do, I'll keep the Chase and dump the store card.

I'll probably wait a couple months before I call Chase. I want to have a solid year in the garden and let my inquiries all go past the one year mark before asking for anything.

Re: Which cards to close?

Gunnar419 — Fri, 22 Nov 2013 14:18:50 GMT

Just an update and another thanks for all your help.

Your advice -- plus the fantastic new signup bonus on Chase Freedom -- decided my course of action and changed my planned timing.

I've cancelled the Walmart Discover. You guys helped me see that as a clear choice.

I apped for the Chase Freedom. Got it with a $6k CL, then closed the Chase Amazon and moved it's CL to the Freedom.

I'll probably be closing the Amazon storecard soon, too.

With Chase, I figured if I was going to have to accept an HP just to have a hope of getting an unknown amount CLI on their Amazon card, I'd get more bang for my HP and get a card I'd use more by apping for the Freedom. With luck I'll even have a better APR, since my score is higher than when I got the Chase Amazon card.

Thank you all again!

Re: Which cards to close?

FutureBillionaire — Fri, 22 Nov 2013 20:30:24 GMT

@09Lexie wrote:
All your util is on Discover but closing Cap 1 will raise your total util.

If you are going to close two, I say ax the Wal/Discover and Amazon Card .You are getting better terms on your reg Discover . The Amazon Card is only worth keeping if you do tons of shopping on Amazon.

If the Amex isn't working for you, I'd PC it to another card but I think it can work well with your SallieMae.

Edit Visa s/b store card

I agree with Lexie. These cards make sense based on AAoA and credit limits.

Re: Which cards to close?

Anonymous — Fri, 22 Nov 2013 21:13:59 GMT

@Gunnar419 wrote:
Just an update and another thanks for all your help.

Your advice -- plus the fantastic new signup bonus on Chase Freedom -- decided my course of action and changed my planned timing.

I've cancelled the Walmart Discover. You guys helped me see that as a clear choice.

I apped for the Chase Freedom. Got it with a $6k CL, then closed the Chase Amazon and moved it's CL to the Freedom.

I'll probably be closing the Amazon storecard soon, too.

With Chase, I figured if I was going to have to accept an HP just to have a hope of getting an unknown amount CLI on their Amazon card, I'd get more bang for my HP and get a card I'd use more by apping for the Freedom. With luck I'll even have a better APR, since my score is higher than when I got the Chase Amazon card.

Thank you all again!

Nice! Isn't DiscoverIt already offering their FICO now too?

Re: Which cards to close?

Gunnar419 — Sat, 23 Nov 2013 01:32:04 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:

Nice! Isn't DiscoverIt already offering their FICO now too?

Yes, isn't that great? I'll be getting my first Discover FICO on my statement later this month.

I just wish (as a lot of others have said) that Walmart, Barclay, and Discover weren't all offering the very same TU FICO.

I hope Amex or Chase soon start offering EX FICOs and somebody offers EQ.

Heck, with CapOne doing all those triple pulls, I think they should offer free triple FICOS, LOL!

Re: Which cards to close?

myjourney — Sat, 23 Nov 2013 02:08:24 GMT

@Gunnar419 wrote:
Just an update and another thanks for all your help.

Your advice -- plus the fantastic new signup bonus on Chase Freedom -- decided my course of action and changed my planned timing.

I've cancelled the Walmart Discover. You guys helped me see that as a clear choice.

I apped for the Chase Freedom. Got it with a $6k CL, then closed the Chase Amazon and moved it's CL to the Freedom.

I'll probably be closing the Amazon storecard soon, too.

With Chase, I figured if I was going to have to accept an HP just to have a hope of getting an unknown amount CLI on their Amazon card, I'd get more bang for my HP and get a card I'd use more by apping for the Freedom. With luck I'll even have a better APR, since my score is higher than when I got the Chase Amazon card.

Thank you all again!

Congrats good moves IMHO

Re: Which cards to close?

compassion101 — Sat, 23 Nov 2013 08:18:24 GMT

If you have to chop two I'd axe the walmart and the amazon.

@Gunnar419 wrote:
I have seven credit cards. I'd rather have just five.

Now I know a lot of you here juggle far more cards than that. I also know that the conventional wisdom is that you don't close cards unless they have AFs and none of mine do. Nevertheless, I want to close two of my seven. I'm going to do it. I'm just not sure which ones and I'd like the help of wise MyFicoers.

Here are the cards. Which should I close and WHY?

THESE TWO I'M ABSOLUTELY KEEPING.
They are my go-to cards because of their rewards and low interest rates and my long happy relationship with Discover.

Discover IT, CL $11,000 (20 years)
Barclay Sallie Mae MC, CL $2,400 (9 months)

THESE FIVE ARE UP FOR GRABS.

CapitalOne VentureOne, CL $10,000 (1 year)
Pro: Whopping big CL; occasional BT checks with great terms
Con: I don't have much need for a travel card and don't use its regular benefits to the max

Chase Amazon Visa, CL $1,700 (4 years)
Pro: Constantly getting BT checks with great terms; prime card and one of my oldest
Con: No CLI ever; I have better Amazon and gas cards, can't get much use out of those great BTs with such a low CL

Amazon store card, CL $4,000 (1 year)
Pro: Zero percent financing on large Amazon purchases; great GE CLIs
Con: Not much use other than those two pros; I mostly buy only small stuff from Amazon

Walmart Discover, CL $2,650 (1 year)
Pro: TU FICO (except I'll soon get that from Sallie Mae); GE luv
Con: No perks, really no use for it

Amex BCE, CL $4,500 (9 months)
Pro: OMG, it's Amex! Also potential for 3x CLIs (though I don't make enough money to go very high)
Con: It's a gas/groceries card and Sallie Mae is better for me; I rarely use it except when they have an appealing offer

You see, until I discovered MyFico, I had only two cards, and that's about all I ever needed or wanted. The rest have all been a result of the eeeeeevil temptations you guys have dragged me into. Some are good, but I feel burdened by seven; help me slash the weight!

Current util is about 12 percent, all on Discover, just in case anybody's thinking about what closing these would do to my util.