Personally I think you shouldn't close cards that have no AF and just SD them and let them grow for AAoA among other reasons
@kdm31091 wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
@kdm31091 wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
@Ron1 wrote:Keep them all. Applied for the card. You might need to rellocate CL if you get denied. That's what happened when I applied for United Explorer a few years ago.
Ron.
Thanks Ron! So you say apply for the card if the limit sucks, get the CL from the cards I dont use and rellocate them to the IHG? Would you keep the cards even though there's no purpose for them? Or eventually close them?
Ron is a card collector with I think 90 cards. He is recommending more of a "quick fix" of just going ahead and apping for the IHG and movling limits around. There's nothing wrong with that and I'm not insulting anyone's opinion but of course he would recommend keeping the cards -- he has so many.
I come from a simplier perspective with cards and to me there is no point in keeping cards you find useless and will never benefit from. The better approach, to me, would be to pare down at least one or two of the unwanted Chase cards. Then (this is a few months later) apply for the IHG. You can then move the limit and close the remaining useless card, leaving you with 1-2 Chase cards and a more manageable portfolio overall (you don't strike me as someone who wants 20 or more cards!)
Again, there's nothing wrong with either approach and nothing negative about keeping the accounts open but there's also little advantage. I recommend my slow and steady approach over going for the quicker fix but that's your choice.
First off thanks for your well thought out response
It's really appreciated and you're right on so many levels. I'm looking for more of a less is more approach now I got applying out of my system i'm trying to build a solid CC offering that covers all my purchases. From your response I'm thinking of Keeping Freedom & AARP and closing Sapphire and Amazon.
So maybe first close Amazon and ask for the CL to be transferred to my sad CL for Freedom and then 4 months later close Sapphire and do the same, add the CL to Freedom?
Do you agree with the cards I am considering closing? Your insight is appreciated
I think your plan sounds good as Sapphire and Amazon are probably the least useful of the 4 you have with very little potential to become more useful. At least AARP is solid for dining and Freedom has the rotating categories.
The closing and moving limits to Freedom sounds like it makes sense. Then someday down the road go for the IHG if you still want it. After time passes you will find there's a good chance you decide you don't need it.
You're awesome @kdm31091 ! I hope my questions and your responses (including other's responses) helps people who are in similar situation I'm in.
I think after Chase I am going to figure out what to do with my Citi TYP (hoping to PC this to the new Costco card in the future) and my BOA Travel Rewards. I decided a while ago to keep my BOA Travel card as a backup/2nd card for when I am traveling (to avoid FTF) but not sure if it's worth it as I never use it too.
It won't hurt. You'll hurt yourself more if you close them if you put a good amount on your credit cards and let it report. You'll lose the credit which means you'll have less avaliable.
I decided to move some CL around for the time being. My Freedom went from 500 to 5,000 and my Sapphire went from 5,000 to 1,250. My AARP went from 4,500 to 5,000 and my Amazon went from 2,500 to 1,250.
For the time being I will continue to SD both Sapphire and Amazon and try to use Freedom / AARP more as they fit my spending patterns.
Thanks for all the tips guys
