Closing Cards????

[core]

This idea of "too much credit" is precisely why I call in and request CLDs... another action many here find unfathomable.  For me, there is no reason my limit needs to be above $5k or whatever the minimum is for that card class, since I push the bill payment the same day I make the charge.  To be honest those Visa siggys and their minimums taking up my "allowed" available credit are the biggest thorn in my side but that's another matter.  They have to be the first to get closed, when it comes to that.  My Discover it can stay at $1200 for life and I'll still love the card.  If they were all like that, I'd never even have to worry about reaching internal limits.

[Anonymous]

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@core wrote:

This idea of "too much credit" is precisely why I call in and request CLDs... another action many here find unfathomable.  For me, there is no reason my limit needs to be above $5k or whatever the minimum is for that card class, since I push the bill payment the same day I make the charge.  To be honest those Visa siggys and their minimums taking up my "allowed" available credit are the biggest thorn in my side but that's another matter.  They have to be the first to get closed, when it comes to that.  My Discover it can stay at $1200 for life and I'll still love the card.  If they were all like that, I'd never even have to worry about reaching internal limits.

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I'm with you.  I'm haunted by the visa I closed 20 years ago.  I wish I had just left it open and not used it.  Then again, it might have got me into trouble in my 20's.

On the 2nd point I'm happy to keep my CL's low in order to avoid reaching my internal limit.  I don't make a ton of money, at least yet, and I prefer having the option to have more cards with lower limits than a couple monsters maxing me out.  And it's all the credit I need for the time being.  In the future my position and perspective will probably change and I'll want to close cards and get some monster limits.

[Anonymous]

Oh goodness, it's the trite "Should I close/should I not close my CC account that I no longer use?" debate again. It seems like this thread pops up in one form or another every week and it always sparks spirited debate. Personally, I think the pros of keeping unused no AF credit lines open outweigh the cons, but I find the debate tiresome so I'll just present the list and let you make your own decision.

Here is a summary of some of the main pros and cons of both sides:

Pros to keeping unused no AF cards open:
-Helps with long term AAOA
-Provides you a possibility to PC an unused card into a useful card later without a hard pull (like many people have been doing with their long neglected Citi TYP cards when they've been converting them to Double Cash)
-Provides possibility, depending on the creditor (most notably Chase, and to a lesser extent Barclays and a few other creditors), to consolidate or transfer lines from unused cards to new cards (for example, moving some of your Slate credit line to a Freedom).

Cons to keeping unused no AF cards:
-Potential for fraud (especially if the unused card is unmonitored)
-Might make creditors that you apply for nervous that you have too much available credit (and as a result, they might double or triple pull, give you unfavorable terms, or simply deny you outright.)

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Oh goodness, it's the trite "Should I close/should I not close my CC account that I no longer use?" debate again. It seems like this thread pops up in one form or another every week and it always sparks spirited debate. Personally, I think the pros of keeping unused no AF credit lines open outweigh the cons, but I find the debate tiresome so I'll just present the list and let you make your own decision.

Here is a summary of some of the main pros and cons of both sides:

Pros to keeping unused no AF cards open:
-Helps with long term AAOA
-Provides you a possibility to PC an unused card into a useful card later without a hard pull (like many people have been doing with their long neglected Citi TYP cards when they've been converting them to Double Cash)
-Provides possibility, depending on the creditor (most notablly Chase, and to a lesser extent Barclays and a few other creditors), to consolidate or transfer lines from unused cards to new cards (for example, moving some of your Slate credit line to a Freedom).

Cons to keeping unused no AF cards:
-Potential for fraud (especially if the unused card is unmonitored)
-Might make creditors that you apply for nervous that you have too much available credit (and as a result, they might double or triple pull, give you unfavorable terms, or simply deny you outright.)

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The other major "con" (and my belief is that all pros and cons are very small on both sides) is the need to prevent the issuer closing, by making periodic charges to the unused cards.  This can be a very slight effort but takes some overhead, and wastes spend you could put on a better card.

[Anonymous]

Sorry If I made a question that would create unneccessary debate. I guess I was looking to see if there was a reason I was unaware of why a person may want to close an old card if it has no AF. I am not saying I want 70 unnecessary cards, I just want enough tradelines that show I'm a responsible person and pay all of my bills. for almost 8 years I thought I was building a credit by paying all of my bills on time until of course I understood if it's not credit it doesn't count. So I'm a little late to the party.

[kdm31091]

Don't be sorry. It is a common question on here, but I think a lot of questions on here are common. Calling it trite is kind of silly, most of the questions here are repeats in some shape or form.

It's the whole point of a discussion forum to discuss things. If you don't feel like discussing the topic because it has been addressed before, then don't respond. Simple as that. Don't feel bad about asking a question OP.

[Anonymous]

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@kdm31091 wrote:

Don't be sorry. It is a common question on here, but I think a lot of questions on here are common. Calling it trite is kind of silly, most of the questions here are repeats in some shape or form.

It's the whole point of a discussion forum to discuss things. If you don't feel like discussing the topic because it has been addressed before, then don't respond. Simple as that. Don't feel bad about asking a question OP.

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Agreed No need for sorry

[Anonymous]

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@kdm31091 wrote:

Yeah, but you have to be able to afford to spend enough to get the bonuses. If your income isn't that high, it's going to be tough to spend $4000 for something like CSP to get the bonus. I don't bring home $4000 a month. I would end up carrying a balance to get the bonus and paying off the balance would pretty much end up negating the bonus or minimizing it quite a bit.

Bonuses are great but worthless if you are going into debt to get them.

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That's why you have 3 months to spend it.

[Anonymous]

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@kdm31091 wrote:

Don't be sorry. It is a common question on here, but I think a lot of questions on here are common. Calling it trite is kind of silly, most of the questions here are repeats in some shape or form.

It's the whole point of a discussion forum to discuss things. If you don't feel like discussing the topic because it has been addressed before, then don't respond. Simple as that. Don't feel bad about asking a question OP.

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No no no OP, don't misunderstand me. The question is not trite; you did nothing wrong by asking the question.. The debate is trite; I said so in my original post. And kdm, calling the debate trite is absolutely not silly. This question gets asked every week and the same people (not going to name names) say the same things over and over again. The debate never becomes heated, it just becomes pointless since no one's mind is really going to be changed about this. That's the definition of silly. 

[kdm31091]

I will agree in that it tends to be standard responses, but, again, I think many questions on here are recycled over and over...just ignore it if you are bored with it IMO.