Bit the bullet... Closed Merrick

[Anonymous]

What kind of impact can I expect from closing this card???

Opened since May 2006... never increased, CL sitting at $1400 for over a decade.  And then there is that $4 monthly payment.  When it was opened all I could manage was sub prime cards (long story of credit woes that started with 9/11 and a job loss, near foreclosure, and then rebuilding). Now I have far too many cards and too much available credit and refuse to keep paying them $4 for a card I haven't used in forever and don't need. 

Ironically, they didn't even try to keep me as a customer 

[KJinNC]

It's not ironic that they didn't try to keep you ... subprimes don't really try, or even have a way to try, other than perhaps asking if you have a complaint that they can resolve for you. There is no reason to have a Merrick card if you have a decent selection of options. And no, closing the card probably won't hurt (would need more details to be positive, but I'm going out on a limb and guessing this won't tank your utilization or drop you below three revolvers). It won't hurt account age for ten years.

I recently closed five accounts, though the closures haven't all hit my credit reports yet. My score went up with the first closure and was unchanged with the second closure.

[BallBounces]

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@Anonymous wrote:

What kind of impact can I expect from closing this card???

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The impact is you can expect to be happier and $4 richer per month.

(Unless somehow this will effect your overall utilization or ratio of cards with a balance, which it does not sound like is the case).

Congratulations.

[AverageJoesCredit]

Grats i understand Merrick is one of the better subprime cards . Letting him go is ok for you and him. Now he can spend more time training the next Slayer

[Anonymous]

Ouch... $4 per month for 12+ years??? Whoa... Did you ask to get the fee waived to keep it for nostalgia?

@Brian_Earl_Spilner Should have given them the "Gucci Game" call and had some fun with it... 

[Anonymous]

I never see any affect on my credit when I cancel cards, I like to cancel the ones I don’t need and focus on the ones I’ll use! Congratulations on getting rid of merrick, 4 bucks a month for subprime is crazy!!

[Anonymous]

Congrats !

No need to pay that AF anymore. They didn't blink an eye when I closed mine a few years ago. Not a bad card for a rebuilder, just not one to hold on to.

[Dervrak]

Yeah Merrick is pretty useless, I should close mine as well. I got it back around 2011 when I had no credit history, they never raised my limit above $1,400 either (is that the max they offer?). Kind of pointless now that I have a USAA with $20k limit and a Chase Sapphire with $13k. However, unlike you, they have never charged me a monthly fee, so I just have been letting it ride, tossing a charge on it once or twice a year to keep it active.

[pinkandgrey]

Congrats. It was a good decision. 

[DaveInAZ]

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@Dervrak wrote:

Yeah Merrick is pretty useless, I should close mine as well. I got it back around 2011 when I had no credit history, they never raised my limit above $1,400 either (is that the max they offer?). Kind of pointless now that I have a USAA with $20k limit and a Chase Sapphire with $13k. However, unlike you, they have never charged me a monthly fee, so I just have been letting it ride, tossing a charge on it once or twice a year to keep it active.

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I got mine back in 2011 as well, my first credit card after a 2010 BK7, and I got mine up to a $3110 CL. I finally let it go last month, they did ask me why I was closing it, I told the rep that with no rewards I won't be using it any more. One of the better rebuilder cards, but mine never had any fees or it would have been long gone. I cycle my Netflix monthly sub between 2-3 cards I never use, so now I'll just cycle it between my Amex Everyday & low APR but no rewards local CU Visa without Merrick.