@Anonymous wrote:
@Loquat wrote:
I not a huge fan of keeping a card because it's the oldest card. The card, even if closed isn't going to disappear off your credit report tomorrow and by the time it does you will have already aged a lot more cards.Do you mind elaborating on this?
I have one card (Discover It) that's a year old and have been consternating on my 2nd and 3rd cards because I want to make certain they're keeper cards for me in order to not destroy my age of accounts down the road. Sounds like maybe it's not a big an issue as I'm making it.
Closed accounts will normally stay on your credit report for up to ten years after they are closed. So closing accounts doesn't affect age-of-account calculations as drastically as some people may think. The most serious concern with closing accounts is what it will do to your utilization calculations if you are carrying balances. (Utilization is calculated both on individual accounts as well as the aggregrate.)
In my case, I have four accounts that I have had longer than 20 years and I choose to keep them all open due to the anchoring effect they have on my overall account age. But don't allow concerns over account age to make you feel you cannot close accounts that are no longer useful to you.
Caveat: If that Discover card is your only card, though, I would suggest keeping it until you build futher on your credit. Down the road, you can close it.
There is no need to hurry to close accounts. You can always "sock drawer" the card and let the history help your credit for as long as possible. If you choose not to use it, eventually the lender may close it but it's helping you until then.
By the way, ALL of my oldest cards have been product-changed into cards that were not available at that time. Credit evolves and changes. Keeping a card with a lender may give you options to product-change it or combine limits later, so they can be of continued value even if you don't see the value today.
@Anonymous wrote:Thanks. That makes sense. I guess I've been thinking that age of revolving accounts only factored in open accounts.
You're welcome! It can be a little confusing because if you look on websites like Credit Karma that have Vantage Scores, they calculate AAoA based only on your OPEN lines of credit but with traditional FICO scoring, it's based on ALL accounts (both open and closed), not just the open ones.
Yes, that card has grown nicely so keeping it around for awhile, at least until you build your profile up futher, is a great strategy. The only time to be in more of a hurry to close one is if you're paying an annual fee and getting no benefit from the card.
@Anonymous wrote:To be quite honest, the cap 1 QS1 I have I don't use. I used it quite a bit for the first year got 1 CLI from the credit steps program. Denied for a CLI at the year mark. It actually gets my Myfico monthly subscription put on it every month just to keep it open, with auto pay set up for 3 days after it posts. Its also my oldest card so I'm not really wanting to close it just yet either. I just paid the AF on it recently, so I'll keep it for the 10ish months it has left before the next AF.
Just curious @Anonymous but doesn't that QS1 earn your highest rewards rate? Why do you choose not to use it more to maximize rewards on everyday spend?
I just closed my QS1 3 days ago. Better cards without the AF. No need for it anymore. It was my largest, best earning card at one point. But now no mo
