topic Re: Does anyone miss ... in Credit Cards

Does anyone miss ...

darkfrosty — Thu, 03 Apr 2014 18:03:50 GMT

When your credit card line up was simple. Until Jan of last year I always had like 1 CC with a high limit that I used. Once I found this site I started to apply for more and more ccs cuz it helped my score go up even

though it was high already. Since then i have added like 4-5 more ccs that I currently have now and some others that I had closed. I miss the days when all I had was

my CSP and Amex Plat. Right now my current cards are in my sig and after some balances are paid off Im thinking of closing some. While I love my CSP .. closing freedom would be dumb because of the category bonuses and same goes for ink.

I guess I just hate juggling rewards. What I mean is always switching cards like using the freedom instead of the SP and the ink instead of the freedom to maximize UR points. The discover card was purely for a balance transfer that I will most likely close and the citi AA will be closed in Jan to avoid the 450 fee. The amex I have was to save my MR points until I get a charge card again. But now I am already thinking of not closing the Amex and just pcing when I can to an Everyday so I can maximize MR points through grocery stores. Ugh .. It never ends.

Re: Does anyone miss ...

thelethargicage — Thu, 03 Apr 2014 18:02:03 GMT

Nice lineup of cards, by the way.

Is that the garnet It?

Re: Does anyone miss ...

darkfrosty — Thu, 03 Apr 2014 18:05:55 GMT

Yeap I believe that is the color. It was one of the first new colors they added.

Re: Does anyone miss ...

Anonymous — Thu, 03 Apr 2014 18:06:12 GMT

The only possible problem would be you would decrease your available credit which could hurt you overall UTIL. This can have a negative impact on your credit score but more information would be needed such as the CL on your cards and current UTIL.

Re: Does anyone miss ...

darkfrosty — Thu, 03 Apr 2014 18:20:54 GMT

Well I wouldnt close accounts until my utilization was 0%.

Total CL - 64,300

My current utilization is 8% - should be 0% by the end of the year if not sooner.

My Chase SP originally was 28700 but when I added the freedom I shifted some credit to make them even. If I canceled freedom my CSP would be 29200.

Discover is prolly being closed once the balance is done. I want to add an amex charge card again and I might pc the blue to everyday. Citi will be closed come January.

I really like earing UR points and MR points but it can become a pain with remembering to use what card for what instead of just putting all spend on either a single amex or chase card. Anyone else feel like that or am i just crazy?

Current CS .. Eq FICO - 805 Trans FICO - 797 EXP FICO - 768 (has 5 hps over 6 months old and some a year)

Re: Does anyone miss ...

Anonymous — Thu, 03 Apr 2014 19:10:36 GMT

I certainly don't think you are the only one. Basically there are a spectrum of stratagies, from

1) Maximize each transaction. Use the "best" card for each purchase, where best might also include things like bonus spending levels (so Card A will give me 2%, Card B 5%, but I will use card A on this transaction because that puts me over the earning threshold and I got an additional 15K points)

2) Find a program (e.g. MR/UR/SPG) and put everything on that program.

If your spending isn't huge, and you can use travel rewards by transferring points to partner programs, 2 can make a lot of sense, making sure you get enough points in the chosen program, rather than too few points in each of several programs. And is an easier mental load as well.

While I am in mode 1) I often have to do a sanity check. On many transactions, using the best card rather than a "usual" card may make a difference of 50c to $1. Is that worth spending any time thinking about!

Re: Does anyone miss ...

darkfrosty — Thu, 03 Apr 2014 19:58:33 GMT

Yea I was thinking of just going into UR and MR points. Gives me the most flexibility in transfers and I dont have to worry about them expiring. I havent traveled in a very long time but hopeing to start eventually so I am earning miles and just holding on to them.

current balances

UR - 154k

MR - 63k

AA - 165k

Re: Does anyone miss ...

yudeology101 — Thu, 03 Apr 2014 20:10:08 GMT

@darkfrosty wrote:
When your credit card line up was simple. Until Jan of last year I always had like 1 CC with a high limit that I used. Once I found this site I started to apply for more and more ccs cuz it helped my score go up even
though it was high already. Since then i have added like 4-5 more ccs that I currently have now and some others that I had closed. I miss the days when all I had was
my CSP and Amex Plat. Right now my current cards are in my sig and after some balances are paid off Im thinking of closing some. While I love my CSP .. closing freedom would be dumb because of the category bonuses and same goes for ink.

I guess I just hate juggling rewards. What I mean is always switching cards like using the freedom instead of the SP and the ink instead of the freedom to maximize UR points. The discover card was purely for a balance transfer that I will most likely close and the citi AA will be closed in Jan to avoid the 450 fee. The amex I have was to save my MR points until I get a charge card again. But now I am already thinking of not closing the Amex and just pcing when I can to an Everyday so I can maximize MR points through grocery stores. Ugh .. It never ends.

Very true indeed, I feel like i'm constantly confusing myself each time when i need to pay with what and automatically calculating in my head which card suits best to maximize rewards. If my lineup was much simpler, i would probably maximize the reward system to its fullest (such as UR or MR), but since now i have so many it's a constant battle juggling different card at any point, feels when it's gonna take forever to get my reward level up to where i would want to be. But those different rewards that i'm building slowly, may come handy when least expected, at least that's the way i see it... i'll see how this year goes and see if i need to consolidate next year.

Re: Does anyone miss ...

Blackbeauty212 — Thu, 03 Apr 2014 20:27:38 GMT

I used to play the CC Rewards Roulette when I was building as well. Over the last few years as I have become more established I "zest" for the game has diminished. Shuffling Cards constantly to maximize reward payouts, while maintaining low UTL is ehxausting for those who no longer have a thrill for the game. Which is why I moved all of my Auto Bill Payments to my Cap QS and SD the others. I only have 4 Cards (down from a high of 9) I manage a month now.

1 - AMEX PRG - My Everyday Card

2 - CAP ONE QS - My Bill Catcher Card (Route all my Auto Bill Pays to it)

3 - AMEX BCE - Gas, Groceries - AU For DD and DM to use as their Everyday Card

4 - OCCU DUCK CARD - BT ONLY - 3K left to Pay down and it too will join the others in SD.