Closed First Credit Card!

[IFtkkdx428]

I’m employed in the banking industry and in most cases I recommended customers keep their oldest credit card open.

Emphasis on ‘most’ as most don’t have 8 open credit cards (or accounts) on their credit report or below 9% utilization or a ‘top tier credit score’ (740+).

I had called Huntington Bank to plaice an international travel notice and it took 90 minutes to speak to a representative. This is actually common and has happened to me 3 times in the past year. Due to this, I closed the credit card when I spoke to someone.

After some thought, I decided to also close my first credit card with Capital One.  I have been been wanting to do this for few years now.

I closed my first credit card, after 9 years and 2 months of being open. It felt good! 

Age: 30

Annual Income: $115,422 (Household)

Monthly Rent/Mortgage Payment: $0

TransUnion VantageScore 3.0 (Provided by Credit Karma on (4/16:2022): 817

TransUnion VantageScore 3.0 (Provided by Capital One on 4/15/2022): 817

Experian VantageScore 3.0 (Provided by Chase on 4/22/2022): 816

Equifax VantageScore 3.0 (Provided by Credit Karma on 4/16/2022): 820

TransUnion Model 8: (Provided by Discover on 4/4/2022): 839

TransUnion Model 8 (Provided by Huntington on 4/11/2022): 832

TransUnion VantageScore 3.0 (Provided by AMEX on 4/16/2022): 817

Equifax Score 8 Model (Provided by Citi on 3/22/2022): 848

Credit Card Utilization: 0%
Percent of On Time Payments: 100%

AAoA: 5 YR 1 MOS

Oldest Open Trade Line: 9 YRS 2 MOS

Newest Open Trade Line: 1 YRS 7 MOS

Total Accounts: 14

Total Open: 8

Total Closed: 6

Total Credit Limit: $194,500

TU Inquiries: 1

EQ Inquiries: 0

EX Inquiries: 1

Derogatory Marks: 0

Current Credit Cards

Chase Freedom Visa

Credit Limit: $4,500

Card Issued: Jan/2014

Credit Card Utilization Rate: 0%

American Express Blue Cash Everyday

Credit Limit: $30,000

Card Issued: Nov/2014

Credit Card Utilization Rate: 0%

Discover It

Credit Limit: $41,500

Card Issued: May/2015

Credit Card Utilization Rate: 0%

Chase Sapphire Reserve

Credit Limit: $29,900

Card Issued: September/2018

Credit Card Utilization Rate: 1%

Citi Double Cash

Credit Limit: $28,200

Card Issued: September/2018

Credit Card Utilization Rate: 0%

BMO Harris Bank

Credit Limit: $15,000

Card Issued: September/2020

Credit Card Utilization Rate: 0%

Synchrony Bank, Lowe’s

Credit Limit: $35,000

Card Issues: April/2020

Credit Card Utilization Rate: 0%

Citi Costco Anywhere

Credit Limit: $10,400

Card Issued: September/2020

Credit Card Utilization Rate: 1%

[CYBERSAM]

Good for you! 👍👍

Unfortunately most starter CCs won't grow! I closed my starter cards too. Feels good to have decent open cards on CR 😁

It still going to report for another 10 years so your not going to see much effect on your score.

[SUPERSQUID]

Hi, 

If you browse the forum you will see plenty of folks with top tier scores, and some with dozens of credit cards. i'm a lowly rebuilder.

[redpat]

Good for you.

Remember utilization  only matters if you are seeking credit, it has no memory.  There is no need to micromanage your monthly credit scores.  So use them if you can pay them.

[folks19]

You need to do what makes you happy, but I wouldn't close my oldest account unless there's an AF. Instead, I would just freeze the card and destroy it while keeping the account open.

[NRB525]

Yes, MyFICO posters tend to skew Multiple in the category of "number of cards". It makes it easier to close the oldest card. 

Congrats on closing the cards. It can be part of maintaining a healthy view toward credit.

[BijouMan]

Didn't know Discover could give you that high of a credit limit.

[K-in-Boston]

Nice job trimming the fat.  Your next oldest cards are close enough that even when those fall off your reports in about a decade, it's not going to make a substantial difference whatsoever.

[unsungivy]

Closing your oldest CC, for whatever reason, can feel very freeing! For most of us it was what we could get, and even if it's not a bad card, we've moved on and it's emotional clutter (in my case it was closing my oldest card from 2002 and keeping my next oldest from 2003, which I could justify).

Marie Kondo that @#$&!

[Citylights18]

I'm definitely considering closing a couple of my cards. I have 6 business credit cards now so my spend is not reaching as much of the personal cards.

AMEX Gold is on my chop list with the $250 AF. I've only had the account for 2 years (May 2020) so my average account length will go up.

Eventually may bump up my CSP to a CSR. First I should unload AMEX points and some of my other awards before I start buying hotels on it and I'm really not flying much where I can take advantage of priority pass.

Generally I'm a fan of trimming and pruning the lineup as a goal. My average account length is right around 5 years and my entire Chase card lineup was taken out from 2-3 years ago.