Closing Credit Cards that are Basically Useless

[CA4Closure]

Many of you who recognize me will note I have been complaining about Capital One for the last year. I tried closing my Capital One Platnium MC ($6500) account in December 2019 because I had just gotten a NFCU AMEX card that gives me 3x rewards to Capital One's ZERO! Much to my chagrin, Capital One did NOT close this account. So I still have this and their Quick Silver VISA ($10,000).

Here are the cards I want to close and the reason:

1) Capital One Platnium MC ($6500 CLI) - This is my oldest account at 20 years. Originally it was a rewards card but I had a foreclosure in 2011 and Capital One changed this from a no AF to a $5/month no rewards card. This card was a God-send during and after my foreclosure but the CL at the time was $2,500. I maxed this card out through 2013. Paid it all off in 2015. Capital One will not give me a CLI nor remove the AF. It has a great APR of 9.9%.

2) Capital One Quicksilver VISA ($10,000) - I applied for this card in 2017 and was given that $10,000 CL but it has not grown even with $4,000/month spend. High APR of 15.65%.

3) Chase Freedom Unlimited ($2,500) - I got this card in 2017 and this CL has not budged even with major spending on this account. I use it for balance transfers. I used this card to basically raise my FICO score. APR's is rather high at 19% too!

The card I want to get is the Hawaiian Airlines (Barclays Bank) and maybe a United or Delta AMEX Card for the traveling perks. But I do not like the AF! I figured if I paid $60/year ot Capital One, I should have one travel card where at least I get a rewards for spending on the card. Right now I am using my NFCU AMEX card heavily an have over 75,000 points due to that 60,000 point giveaway I earned for spending $2,000 before my 3rd month. 

I travel a lot and as of last summer fly only First Class because I love the leg room and the perks of being a Top Tier flier. I no longer travel in the cramped seating of Economy Class. Retired US Navy Captain now working as a government employee flying to various Naval Stations around the US, Hawaii and Japan. Before you complain about using government tax dollars for my flights, I upgrade from Economy to First Class and pay the difference. I am tall and get cramps when sitting on 5+ hour flights. I also fly on military flights if they are going to where I need to be. 

My FICO scores is currently at 831, 841 and 803. My credit rebuild since the foreclosure was complete as of 2018. So now that I am in the Excellent score range, I want to pare my credit cards to the absolute minimum. I have gasoline cards like Shell, Chevron VISA, Mobil and Unocal 76. My other credit cards is a Citi (Costco). Interestingly enough this Costco card has a CL of $37,000 and my NFCU AMEX has a $35,000 CL. So now you understand why I want to get rid of my low CL cards! 

My goal is to have 3-4 VISA/Mastercards with $30,000+ CLs and bypass cards below $20,000 CL. Doesn't make sense to carry and use these "builder" cards!

If Capital One and Chase Banks don't want me to grow then I think I should purge their accounts, right?

[AllZero]

Platinum for a $5/monthly ($60 yearly) fee with a 20 year old account appears to be a small price to pay. I don't know what your other account ages are and what stage you are with you credit journey. I think I would keep it. 9.9% APR as you said is great compared to +25% APR these days.

If you do close the account, it'll be on your reports for another ~10 years. If you don't see yourself aggressively credit seeking past those 10 years, then feel free to close away. Your scores appear to be in excellent shape to absorb any impact of reduced AoOA, AAoA.

[CA4Closure]

Thanks AllZero! I value the input. 

What do you think of adding a Hawaiian Airlines card? Ir has a $95/Annual Fee. I travel to Hawaii four times a month and usually fly Hawaiian Airlines. But have flown Delta and United too depending upon the flight schedules. I like Hawaiian because they do feed you on that 5.5 hour flight. 

[AllZero]

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@CA4Closure wrote:

Thanks AllZero! I value the input. 

What do you think of adding a Hawaiian Airlines card? Ir has a $95/Annual Fee. I travel to Hawaii four times a month and usually fly Hawaiian Airlines. But have flown Delta and United too depending upon the flight schedules. I like Hawaiian because they do feed you on that 5.5 hour flight. 

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You're welcome.

I have no experience with the Hawaiian Airlines card. Hopefully, more experienced members can chime in and give you their review.

[GApeachy]

@CA4Closure Maybe if you pc the Plat you could generate some forward movement, have you tried pc'ing/upgrading?  Try with the QS too, if you haven't already....that's what I did and viola, got a cli one week later.  May have been luck but then they also offered me two Sa-weet BT offers to boot.  Doesn't hurt to phone in and ask for offers/upgrades with a cli x 2.  Don't get anywhere; file 13.

Yeah, long legs and tight spaces is not doable....I hear ya on that.  Maybe if you post a thread in applications "Hawaiian Airlines DP's" you'll get some answers or additional answers.  GL

[AverageJoesCredit]

I agree with @AllZero , small price to pay for a 20 yo card with a low spr. Even your other C1 card apr is not that high compared to most. But at end of the day, if you arent comfotable with a card , just close it.  Work with what works for you and let the rest   go to the wayside. Just remember, once you close that 20 yo card, it wont comeback

[gdale6]

if you don't want the cards close them, forget all the noise about a card being your oldest, its got an AF its not worth the few points its going to give you, anyway it remains on file for up to 10 years post close. You can have an 800+ credit score with cards less than 10 years old, I know I have done it. Peace of mind and less aggravation is worth its weight in gold.

[seattletravels]

If you're flying first class, any airline is going to feed you on the Hawaii flight. 

I personally wouldn't do Hawaiian as you're stuck with them whereas you can fly Delta anywhere in US. Another option would be Alaska, especially now that they're entering oneworld so you can earn on American.

[Anonymous]

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@CA4Closure wrote:

... If Capital One and Chase Banks don't want me to grow then I think I should purge their accounts, right?

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This reads like you take personally the lower credit limits these lenders have, to date, offered. Because, objectively, I think most would say Chase Bank and Capital One are in business to do business. It's not like they have weekly meetings to discuss holding down @CA4Closure. At least, I HOPE NOT! 

So if they bug you so much, then no objective argument is needed: kill 'em.  But I don't see where they've treated you all that badly. 

[Anonymous]

Personally I would close any card that has an AF and doesn't net me anything, a small price to pay just to have a 20 year old TL is like saying it's okay to pay for something you're not using. So if Cap1 is unwilling to remove said fee or allow PC to a non fee product, goodbye. 

We as consumers are already nickel and dime to death with fees everywhere such as phone/TV etc. So I prefer not to pay them when wherever I can. 

I'm a bit surprised by that low CL on the Freedom considering your score though, must have someing in your file they weren't quite okay with.