Do I kill my oldest card that isn’t giving a CLI?

[NGeorge]

Hey all;

Over the last year I’ve been making some major progress — from the mid 500’s to a 694 after paying off some student loan issues.

It got me re-evaluating what I have in my wallet... I killed the Continental Finance that I’d had for 12 years (which was costing $18 a month), got rid of Credit One because of fees. I now have a 5k Discover It after they unsecured it 6 months ago and raised the limit, my Walmart and Amazon cards are at 6k each, PayPal at 2500, Target at 2700 and my local credit union gave me a decent Visa card at 5k — after they refinanced my car from 12% to 4.7... The best feeling though was AmEx gave me a BCE 2 months back with a $500 limit — and it just went to $1500... so I finally feel like I’m making progress here — and none of these cards has an annual fee.

My average age of accounts is between 3 and 4 years after I closed the Continental Finance and CreditOne.

So that leaves me with my CapitalOne QuickSilver One card with a $49 annual fee. It’s sitting at $1950 — and it’s open for nearly 13 years. Originally it was an HSBC card with a $300 limit. At some point around when CapitalOne bought HSBC’s accounts (2012ish?), they bumped it to $800... then 6 months later, they added a whole $150 to it — but that was it. They also offered to upgrade my to a QuickSilver One for the “same low $49 annual fee” I had been paying HSBC.... Between 2012 and 2015 I had opened a couple CapOne Platinum cards with 300 limits that bumped to 500 after 6 months, then merged the balances into it to get it to the $1950 it is at today — it was my roundabout way to actually getting a useable credit line since they weren’t adding anything to the limit, and no one else was offering — even though it made my average age of accounts suffer.

So here I sit, finally making progress with everyone else... my CapitalOne sits unused, and it’s the only card left with an annual fee. Just tried for a credit line increase and was denied (length of time since delinquency, loan balances too high... same thing as it always is even though I just went up another 12 points to 694 and it’s been since 2015 since anything was late)... the credit score similator says closing it will do absolutely nothing... yet it is my oldest card By far.... they have “no offers” available for me to upgrade to a no fee QS or VentureOne. Maybe try to downgrade to a platinum?

I guess I’m just wondering if it’s worth hanging on to, or if I should just close it and be done with it... it feels like I’m getting a lot more love from everyone else as my rebuild has been getting better anyway — even though I’ve had CapOne for nearly 13 years and have never been late with them period. Even Target who was the subject of the late payments in 2015 has added 2k since then!

Thanks
N

[Anonymous]

Have you checked Capital One's prequalification site to see if there are any offers for you? I wouldn't close that QS 1 quite yet, because it appears to be your oldest card by far and shutting it down would put a big dent in your AAoA.

[Anonymous]

A closed card will report for 10 years after closing so it won't hurt you AAOA by closing it.  I wouldn't pay 49 dollars a year for a card that is giving me no benefit.  

[Anonymous]

Have you contacted Capital One to see if they can PC you to a non-AF product? 

If it's your oldest card, I would not suggest closing it.  15 years from now your AoOA will be 28 years on that account.  If you close it today, who knows what your AoOA will be in 15 years.

[NGeorge]

I’ve contacted them numerous times in the past as well as before I posted this, and the response has always been “nothing” — except for the time they offered a QS1 for the price of the platinum.

That said, since the platinum cards have no annual fee now, I haven’t asked them if I can downgrade back to a platinum for free...

So I think that’s the tact I’ll take... it sounds like I am stuck with a “starter card” and from what I’ve read, they don’t do a lot of upgrades to those, even when your credit is getting better.

N

[pipeguy]

If you are considering continuing to be held hostage for $49 a year for a product you don't use and considering the terms don't "like"  - after you have already paid $637 in annual fees expecting that if you just hang on a few more years things will change - you'd be better off investing in a timeshare (PLEASE don't).

Capital One does over 60 percent of their gross business in credit cards, they do a lot of that with subprime products and they have grown by acquiring other credit card operations - some they merge into Cap-1 branded products, and some they just manage such as Kohls, Calellas/Bps and soon Walmart.  My point is that Cap-1 "policies" are just that, designed by their number crunchers and market analysts to minimize risk while maximizing potential return (profit) and at this point, you are "zero risk" because you don't use the card, and maximum profit because you pay for the privilege at a $49 a year "membership fee". 

I played this game with Cap-1 for years (not as many as you have) and I'm happy to say I have zero Capitol One branded cards today (I do have the GM Card and Cabellas, no AF both with strong credit limits). My wife played the Cap-1 wack a mole game for a couple of years too with moderate limits, but little growth, she has zero Cap-1 cards today.

If you don't use it, you are paying for that privilege, it frustrates you,  you have proven your history over 13 years, and you have better cards - CLOSE the card and feel good about telling Cap-1 One you are tired of being used as a doormat. (IMO and experience of course)        

[Anonymous]

If the OP can PC to a no-AF Platinum, that's the best option here without question.  Then just throw the card in your SD and take it out every 4-5 months or so for a tiny swipe to ensure it stays alive.  This way your AoOA will continue to grow and the 10 year clock on it's death won't start prematurely.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

If the OP can PC to a no-AF Platinum, that's the best option here without question.  Then just throw the card in your SD and take it out every 4-5 months or so for a tiny swipe to ensure it stays alive.  This way your AoOA will continue to grow and the 10 year clock on it's death won't start prematurely.

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^I think this is the best option

If can't PC then I'd close

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

If the OP can PC to a no-AF Platinum, that's the best option here without question.  Then just throw the card in your SD and take it out every 4-5 months or so for a tiny swipe to ensure it stays alive.  This way your AoOA will continue to grow and the 10 year clock on it's death won't start prematurely.

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QS1 is a dead end card for the most part, it is extremely hard to PC to a no AF card. If OP can downgrade to Platinum great, if not I would just close it. My AoOA is 15 years and AAoA is only 3 years 10 months and my scores are all in 800's, you don't need AoOA of 28 years to get to the promise land.

[AverageJoesCredit]

The conventional wisdom is to not pay an af for a card you dont use. Good opinions above. Alas , I would personally make an exception and keep a 13 year old card open. Meh, i waste money on buying things i dont really need, $49 toward my credit isnt too bad of a sacrifice. Of course try and get it pc'd if cant but if not up to you