topic Re: Time to close down my oldest card? in Credit Cards

Time to close down my oldest card?

MTSN — Mon, 16 Dec 2013 18:26:07 GMT

Hello all - in the last two years I have undergone a major financial makeover. I had a crappy Cap 1 card with a $750 limit and a Nordstrom card with a limit of $2400 and scores in the low 600s due to a couple mistakes I had made in the past. I now have scores in the mid 700s, just bought a house in September and then went on a successful app spree that landed me the Chase Southwest card with $12.5k limit, Chase Slate with $8k limit, Costco Amex card with $8.5k limit, local CU card with $5k limit, Citibank Best Buy card with $5k limit and was able to get my Nordstrom card bumped to $6k limit. Obviously my credit profile has changed quite a bit in the last several months, but I still have that lowly Cap 1 card - though they bumped my limit to $1,250 lol. My question - is it time to close down my Cap 1 card? The ONLY reason I've hesitated is that it's my oldest charge card in my file from around 2006, though my Nordstrom card is from 2006 as well. I know that average age of account is part of the score equation, but I will literally never use that card again for anything. It's had a zero balance for a year and they took away my annual fee, but I just don't want it any longer. I tried to get a higher limit about 6 months ago, but $1,250 was as high as they'd go. I went from about $3k in total credit lines to $45k in the last year, so I just don't see a point in keeping this card UNLESS it will have a significant impact on my score. I am thinking I'll just close down the card and waiting for the new lines to age before doing anything else with my credit. I don't have a need for any large purchases for quite some time, so I'm not too concerned with a temporary dip in my score (6-12 months). Any advice is appreciated!

Re: Time to close down my oldest card?

Anonymous — Mon, 16 Dec 2013 18:31:17 GMT

Even closed it will still be factored into your AAoA for up to 10 years from date closed. You would lose the CL being factored into your utilization.

Re: Time to close down my oldest card?

gdale6 — Mon, 16 Dec 2013 18:37:13 GMT

If you didnt try the EO on the CLI you can try that avenue prior to closing. If they wont accomodate then I would get rid of it.

Re: Time to close down my oldest card?

myjourney — Mon, 16 Dec 2013 19:21:27 GMT

@gdale6 wrote:
If you didnt try the EO on the CLI you can try that avenue prior to closing. If they wont accomodate then I would get rid of it.

This would be my first option as well because it works and I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at the results

Re: Time to close down my oldest card?

MMB85 — Mon, 16 Dec 2013 20:26:59 GMT

Have you thought about upgrading the Cap1 card to a more desirable one?

Re: Time to close down my oldest card?

MTSN — Mon, 16 Dec 2013 21:20:10 GMT

I definitely have thought about going the EO route and probably will before I close it. I was just thinking with all the other good cards I have it wouldn't help that much to add another one if I don't intend to use it. It can't hurt to try however!

Re: Time to close down my oldest card?

p- — Mon, 16 Dec 2013 21:51:39 GMT

MTSN wrote: Any advice is appreciated!

I would ask for a CLI every six months, and push until you get it upgraded to a World MC or Signature Visa. Why not? CLI requests don't cost a hard pull, and give you a free score. Plus, once you max out the 5% categories on other cards, it's nice to have a flat 1.5%.

And you may never need to use it overseas, but it's smart to have a no-FTF fee card in your lineup. I was glad to have mine on a recent trip to Europe...

For me it made sense to keep pushing until this card became something I wanted to have. You can too.

Re: Time to close down my oldest card?

alvon123 — Mon, 16 Dec 2013 23:49:34 GMT

@MMB85 wrote:
Have you thought about upgrading the Cap1 card to a more desirable one?

+1 see if you can upgrade to Quicksilver.

Re: Time to close down my oldest card?

TiggerDat — Tue, 17 Dec 2013 02:38:12 GMT

I think I would got the EO route and simply tell them the card is 6 years old and you have much better cards. I would say to them that you want it upgraded to the Signature Quicksilver and a minimum limit of something like $10,000.

I pushed them to recon my app for the Signature card, at the time it was a No Hassles card, and asked for a CLI on my Quicksilver without an AF. I clearly told them that if they were only going to grant me one or the other than I wanted the new card! That's what they gave me. I think they realized that I was tired of playing games with them and they read all the notes on my account which clearly stated things pertinent to their poor business model. I did call all the time in the past and point out my usage of the card and the fact that I did not really want to make multiple payments each month. Now on one card of theirs I have a limit that is 10 x what my limit was stuck at for over two years with thier non-prime card. When I call up I get pretty good customer service on my Signature card, but I do still get poor customer service on my other card.

Re: Time to close down my oldest card?

MTSN — Wed, 18 Dec 2013 18:14:17 GMT

I was about to reach out to the EO reluctantly because I have just hated dealing with the whole company in the past and simply didn't care to continue my relationship with them even with a better card. The good thing is I have good rewards cards for airlines with Chase SW (no FTF) and shopping with Costco Amex. Yesterday I got a preapproval on the Chase Freedom with 5% bonuses for different categories and $200 credit after I spend $500 in 90 days (and 0% interest for 15 months), so I went and app'd for that and was instantly approved for $7.5k. I feel covered and well rounded now, so I went ahead and just shut down my Cap 1 account all together. I've had a truly great experience with Chase for checking, savings, credit cards and in branch service so I'm much happier throwing them more biz instead of trying to keep my Cap 1 relationship going where I just shudder to think of dealing with them. Thanks for the advice though guys I've learned a ton here!

Re: Time to close down my oldest card?

TiggerDat — Thu, 19 Dec 2013 14:01:12 GMT

I understand!