topic Re: How beneficial is it to leave oldest account open? in Credit Cards

How beneficial is it to leave oldest account open?

Shock — Sun, 09 Nov 2014 01:15:53 GMT

So my Cap1 Venture One is my oldest card (3.5 years old). I know keeping the oldest card open is beneficial for some, and that AAoA wont really be affected until a few years down the line. I know it will continue to report as positive for ten years, but if it doesnt suit my needs, I should close it right?

They have increased me thru EO semi accordingly, but it has become my lowest limit and I have only used the card for a Play Store purchase once since May.

I have just outgrown them and am really itching to get rid of it.

Thoughts or advice?

Re: How beneficial is it to leave oldest account open?

Creditaddict — Sun, 09 Nov 2014 01:26:12 GMT

it will continue to report so being oldest isn't the reason to keep it.

Re: How beneficial is it to leave oldest account open?

TheGardner — Sun, 09 Nov 2014 01:27:38 GMT

It will continue to help for age of account + 10 years from the date you close it. So you will start that clock.

Also accounts that are old have greater weight during manual review showing you are capable of managing the account for X number of years.

Re: How beneficial is it to leave oldest account open?

Anonymous — Sun, 09 Nov 2014 01:31:31 GMT

If you don't mind spending a little bit of time you have a few options for keeping it open. The only real positive of keeping the card open, since you don't use it, would be keeping the available credit figuring in to your credit utilization. You could contact Capital One and see if they would waive the annual fee or you could ask them to PC the card to a CapOne Venture which would also remove the AF. Obviously if you are keeping your utilitization below 10% as you list in your signature, just lower your balances enough to keep util% down before you actually close the card if you go that route.

Re: How beneficial is it to leave oldest account open?

Shock — Sun, 09 Nov 2014 01:41:10 GMT

@TheGardner wrote:
It will continue to help for age of account + 10 years from the date you close it. So you will start that clock.

Also accounts that are old have greater weight during manual review showing you are capable of managing the account for X number of years.

So during manual review, it looks good for open accounts right?

Re: How beneficial is it to leave oldest account open?

Billybob_TX — Sun, 09 Nov 2014 01:43:16 GMT

No AF, keep it open. Why close it?

Re: How beneficial is it to leave oldest account open?

Shock — Sun, 09 Nov 2014 01:44:55 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
If you don't mind spending a little bit of time you have a few options for keeping it open. The only real positive of keeping the card open, since you don't use it, would be keeping the available credit figuring in to your credit utilization. You could contact Capital One and see if they would waive the annual fee or you could ask them to PC the card to a CapOne Venture which would also remove the AF. Obviously if you are keeping your utilitization below 10% as you list in your signature, just lower your balances enough to keep util% down before you actually close the card if you go that route.

I think you have it backwards with the Venture cards. The VentureOne has no annual fee. The Venture has a 59 dollar annual fee. I know its backward because Quicksilver One has annual fee and regular Quicksilver does not lol. My balances are not high at all. My total revolving debt (not counting 0 balances that havent reported) is about 300 dollars, so utilization is not a big factor in my profile.

Re: How beneficial is it to leave oldest account open?

Shock — Sun, 09 Nov 2014 01:47:30 GMT

Doesn't serve a purpose. It's like that old box TV you have in your garage, just sitting there ever since you got a flat screen. Of what use is it? LOL.

In all seriousness though, I guess part of it has to do with Cap1 being a subprime lender. I mean yes "prime" is subjective, but lets be honest here. Their bread and butter is the subprime community.

Re: How beneficial is it to leave oldest account open?

TheGardner — Sun, 09 Nov 2014 01:51:41 GMT

Correct but as long as you have other accounts it shouldn't be a big deal honestly. If mentioned you could point to the older closed account.

It's really just a personal choice and if it wasn't a AF card I would keep it open.

Re: How beneficial is it to leave oldest account open?

Anonymous — Sun, 09 Nov 2014 01:52:17 GMT

Shock, sorry for getting that mixed up. I have a Quicksilver (that I never use) and I knew the QS One had the annual fee so I assumed it was the same for the Venture line up. If you don't care about keeping the available credit since your balances are so low, there would be no downside to closing it. You can just leave it there and they may close it eventually for you, but if keeping it open gives you any worry just close it.

Re: How beneficial is it to leave oldest account open?

Billybob_TX — Sun, 09 Nov 2014 01:55:27 GMT

I have a Macy's from 1991. Used to be Titche's, then Joske's, then Foley's, then something else, and it has always been around. Kind of like it in my wallet. Old stuff is good.

Re: How beneficial is it to leave oldest account open?

NRB525 — Sun, 09 Nov 2014 03:23:53 GMT

@Shock wrote:
So my Cap1 Venture One is my oldest card (3.5 years old). I know keeping the oldest card open is beneficial for some, and that AAoA wont really be affected until a few years down the line. I know it will continue to report as positive for ten years, but if it doesnt suit my needs, I should close it right?

They have increased me thru EO semi accordingly, but it has become my lowest limit and I have only used the card for a Play Store purchase once since May.

I have just outgrown them and am really itching to get rid of it.

Thoughts or advice?

If your oldest is only 3.5 years, and there is no AF, I would recommend keeping it open. Charge something every few months to keep it printing Payment History. You only have 7 cards, no rush to close anything, and until your average gets closer to 8 years, you are still effectively building AAoA.

Re: How beneficial is it to leave oldest account open?

Anonymous — Sun, 09 Nov 2014 03:42:28 GMT

I've been thinking about doing the same thing with my QS, I rarely use the thing and my CLI on it is by far my lowest.

Re: How beneficial is it to leave oldest account open?

Shock — Sun, 09 Nov 2014 14:13:40 GMT

a 25 year old card is more important for aaoa than a 3.5 year old card. just saying lol

@Billybob_TX wrote:
I have a Macy's from 1991. Used to be Titche's, then Joske's, then Foley's, then something else, and it has always been around. Kind of like it in my wallet. Old stuff is good.

Re: How beneficial is it to leave oldest account open?

Shock — Sun, 09 Nov 2014 14:18:09 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Shock, sorry for getting that mixed up. I have a Quicksilver (that I never use) and I knew the QS One had the annual fee so I assumed it was the same for the Venture line up. If you don't care about keeping the available credit since your balances are so low, there would be no downside to closing it. You can just leave it there and they may close it eventually for you, but if keeping it open gives you any worry just close it.

It's fine. You wouldn't be the first or last lol. The only concern for me is the subprime thing (trivial i know) and the fact that if all my lines grow to 10k+ it will be the only one stuck at 4k. Not that I plan on applying for much more int he further, though i likely will, but I think it may hinder my chances at getting higher starting limits. i know it doesnt make logical sense, but i figure if all my lines are 10k+ they will start me at 10k+. if they see a 4k card they may start me at 7500. Still trivial I know lol depending on a lenders algorhythm, but it's a computer who does it, which may mess up when it sees that 4k.

Re: How beneficial is it to leave oldest account open?

NRB525 — Sun, 09 Nov 2014 16:25:05 GMT

@Shock wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
Shock, sorry for getting that mixed up. I have a Quicksilver (that I never use) and I knew the QS One had the annual fee so I assumed it was the same for the Venture line up. If you don't care about keeping the available credit since your balances are so low, there would be no downside to closing it. You can just leave it there and they may close it eventually for you, but if keeping it open gives you any worry just close it.
It's fine. You wouldn't be the first or last lol. The only concern for me is the subprime thing (trivial i know) and the fact that if all my lines grow to 10k+ it will be the only one stuck at 4k. Not that I plan on applying for much more int he further, though i likely will, but I think it may hinder my chances at getting higher starting limits. i know it doesnt make logical sense, but i figure if all my lines are 10k+ they will start me at 10k+. if they see a 4k card they may start me at 7500. Still trivial I know lol depending on a lenders algorhythm, but it's a computer who does it, which may mess up when it sees that 4k.

Interesting theory. I have cards with low limits, the $1.5k is from 2005, so by that logic... wait, it isn't logical, it's only interesting

Keep it open. $4k is not a bad limit, and the ageing benefit far outweighs any other algorithm issues you might imagine. Your card count is very low too, and the more lenders you have, the more you will attract.

Re: How beneficial is it to leave oldest account open?

Anonymous — Sun, 09 Nov 2014 16:34:06 GMT

The card continues to report for 10 years after closed so it will help your AAoA and oldest account age for 10 years. However, after 10 years it drops off. Two factors effect your credit score in the age of accounts category. One is the AAoA and the other is the oldest account's age. I am not sure how much of an impact the total length of your credit history (determined by your oldest account's age), but it does have some impact.

Generally, it is best to keep your oldest no AF cards open. They will continue to age and in 10+ years they will continue to help your AAoA. It's not the biggest deal to let them close though because 6-8+ year AAoA will give you very high scores for this category, so in another 10 years chances are you will have relatively high AAoA as long as you don't go crazy over apps then.

Re: How beneficial is it to leave oldest account open?

Anonymous — Sun, 09 Nov 2014 17:30:14 GMT

Shock, I totally understand. I wish I would have waited to see what Diners Club was going to give me before I applied for some of my other cards. Now I have a few cards with ~5K CLs that I never would have opened had I known I would get a $40K starting CL with Diners. Now I am looking at these smaller cards and their rewards programs and thinking "what am I supposed to do with these now?!". I plan on just leaving them open and never using them. Maybe once a year to keep them open I'll charge a couple hundred bucks and then PIF to keep them around. A few of them like my Citi Thank You Premier and Citi Double Cash I use for the rewards and plan to grow the CLs to 15K+ CLs with time. Also my AMEX cards that started with smaller CLs I will continue to use even after the minimum spend bonuses are obtained. The revolving credit game sure is an interesting one!

Re: How beneficial is it to leave oldest account open?

taxi818 — Mon, 10 Nov 2014 00:44:27 GMT

@NRB525 wrote:
@Shock wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
Shock, sorry for getting that mixed up. I have a Quicksilver (that I never use) and I knew the QS One had the annual fee so I assumed it was the same for the Venture line up. If you don't care about keeping the available credit since your balances are so low, there would be no downside to closing it. You can just leave it there and they may close it eventually for you, but if keeping it open gives you any worry just close it.
It's fine. You wouldn't be the first or last lol. The only concern for me is the subprime thing (trivial i know) and the fact that if all my lines grow to 10k+ it will be the only one stuck at 4k. Not that I plan on applying for much more int he further, though i likely will, but I think it may hinder my chances at getting higher starting limits. i know it doesnt make logical sense, but i figure if all my lines are 10k+ they will start me at 10k+. if they see a 4k card they may start me at 7500. Still trivial I know lol depending on a lenders algorhythm, but it's a computer who does it, which may mess up when it sees that 4k.
Interesting theory. I have cards with low limits, the $1.5k is from 2005, so by that logic... wait, it isn't logical, it's only interesting

Keep it open. $4k is not a bad limit, and the ageing benefit far outweighs any other algorithm issues you might imagine. Your card count is very low too, and the more lenders you have, the more you will attract.

His card count is low with 8???fico member crack me up.. oooh i forget the other guy with 39.CA has over 64.so he is truly infant on the card count. me too. lol

Re: How beneficial is it to leave oldest account open?

Shock — Mon, 10 Nov 2014 00:59:10 GMT

@NRB525 wrote:
Interesting theory. I have cards with low limits, the $1.5k is from 2005, so by that logic... wait, it isn't logical, it's only interesting
Keep it open. $4k is not a bad limit, and the ageing benefit far outweighs any other algorithm issues you might imagine. Your card count is very low too, and the more lenders you have, the more you will attract.

burnnnnnnnnnnnnnn lol. i only want 5 cards. im pretty low maintenance...is this too low?