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Closing a card?

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arjames01
Contributor

Closing a card?

I currently have 4 credit cards. An Amex BCE $6000, chase freedom $7500, discover IT $7500 and a bank of Americard rewards card $7500 that I just opened.

I'm leaving Chase for all my banking for BoA hence opening the Bank americard. I don't ever carry a balance and I don't think I "need" 4 cards. I rarely use the Amex or Freedom. Would it be worth it to close them if they don't get used? Or should I just leave them be? I don't want to have "too much credit" but I don't want my credit to be hurt if I close 1 of them.

11/2013- EX 690, EQ 763, TU 694
01/2015- EX 781, EQ 775, TU 777

Chase Freedom $7500, AMEX BCE $6000
Message 1 of 9
8 REPLIES 8
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Closing a card?

I woud leave them open and have a utility auto bill them since 4 cards is sort of ideal. Especially if you dont have any debt.

Message 2 of 9
bdhu2001
Valued Contributor

Re: Closing a card?


@Anonymous wrote:

I woud leave them open and have a utility auto bill them since 4 cards is sort of ideal. Especially if you dont have any debt.


+1

Original Mortgage maturity Sept 2044; Refi maturity Dec 2030
Starting Score: EX 751 EQ 720 TU 737 on 4/9/14
Current Score: EX 849 EQ 835 TU 843
Goal Score: 850


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Message 3 of 9
arjames01
Contributor

Re: Closing a card?

Only debt is a car loan and student loan. I don't have any utilities or recurring bills. Just rent which is paid cash. Is it okay if nothing is charged to them? I just don't want the bank to close them vs myself closing them. Doesn't that look worse?

Thanks for the replies! I really appreciate it. Smiley Happy

11/2013- EX 690, EQ 763, TU 694
01/2015- EX 781, EQ 775, TU 777

Chase Freedom $7500, AMEX BCE $6000
Message 4 of 9
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Closing a card?


@arjames01 wrote:
Only debt is a car loan and student loan. I don't have any utilities or recurring bills. Just rent which is paid cash. Is it okay if nothing is charged to them? I just don't want the bank to close them vs myself closing them. Doesn't that look worse?

Thanks for the replies! I really appreciate it. Smiley Happy

I have a couple recurring bills you could put on your cards. I'm just helpful that way.

Message 5 of 9
kdm31091
Super Contributor

Re: Closing a card?

Many people on here lean very far towards "if it has no AF just keep it". I more agree with "if it's useless get rid of it".

 

Utilization has no memory from month to month, so unless you are planning on maxing out the remaining cards it will not a big deal. Just keep the overall util among the cards under 30%, less is better.

 

Anyway, if a card doesn't benefit you, and you see no future benefit, there is no reason to just keep it. Some cards just cease to be useful for you. Or you just flat out don't need them. I was excited to get a Sallie Mae, but I don't get that much use out of it, even though it's a fantastic card. Discover is doing 5% gas right now anyway, and most of my groceries are purchased at BJ's where I have a card, so, Sallie is great but for me personally it has not been especially useful. I should have thought about it more before getting it.

 

In any case, if it's no longer useful, close it and move on. You have to do what you are comfortable with. 4 cards is "good" for scoring, but you can do fine with 2 or 3. It all comes down to how many cards you are comfortable managing. Some people can manage 20 cards and it doesn't bother them. I never want to exceed 6 personally, and the 6 I have is pushing it, I'm gonna pare down to 4 eventually.

Message 6 of 9
SunriseEarth
Moderator Emeritus

Re: Closing a card?


@arjames01 wrote:
I currently have 4 credit cards. An Amex BCE $6000, chase freedom $7500, discover IT $7500 and a bank of Americard rewards card $7500 that I just opened.

I'm leaving Chase for all my banking for BoA hence opening the Bank americard. I don't ever carry a balance and I don't think I "need" 4 cards. I rarely use the Amex or Freedom. Would it be worth it to close them if they don't get used? Or should I just leave them be? I don't want to have "too much credit" but I don't want my credit to be hurt if I close 1 of them.

I'd vote to SD them.   You could always make a small purchase every few months just to keep active. Or you could use when the benefits makes more sense.   The AMEX Offers and Freedom rotating categories would be good times to use.



Start: 619 (TU08, 9/2013) | Current: 809 (TU08, 3/05/24)
BofA CCR WMC $75000 | AMEX Cash Magnet $64000 | Discover IT $46000 | Disney Premier VS $43600 | Venmo VS $30000 | NFCU More Rewards AMEX $25000 | Macy's AMEX $25000 Store $25000 | Cash+ VS $25000 | Altitude Go VS $25000 | Synchrony Premier $24,200 | Sony Card VS $23750 | GS Apple Card WEMC $22000 | WF Active Cash VS $18,000 | Jared Gold Card $16000 | FNBO Evergreen VS $15000 | Citi Custom Cash MC $14600 | Target MC $14500 | BMO Harris Cash Back MC $14000 | Amazon VS $12000 | Freedom Flex WEMC $10000 | Belk MC $10000 | Wayfair MC $4500 ~~
Message 7 of 9
CluelessJohn
Contributor

Re: Closing a card?

There is no reason I'm aware of to close a card.  I've had a no-fee TD Bank Visa (or precessor card) since 1993.  Haven't used it for ~7 years.  The haven't sent me a stmt in 5+ years but it has a 10K CL and reports as open.  Helps utilization if you're ever in a bind.

Chase Freedom Visa ($15K) Chase Freedom Flex ($15K) Chase Amazon Prime ($9K) USAA Limitless ($20K) AMEX BCE ($30K) CapOne QuickSilver ($15K) Citi DC ($20.5K) Citi Custom Cash ($5K) Discover It ($7.5K) BOA Cash Rewards ($5K) BOA MLB ($13K) USBank Cash+($10K) WF Active Cash ($8K)
FICO 8 ~800
Message 8 of 9
twist7d7
Regular Contributor

Re: Closing a card?


@SunriseEarth wrote:

@arjames01 wrote:
I currently have 4 credit cards. An Amex BCE $6000, chase freedom $7500, discover IT $7500 and a bank of Americard rewards card $7500 that I just opened.

I'm leaving Chase for all my banking for BoA hence opening the Bank americard. I don't ever carry a balance and I don't think I "need" 4 cards. I rarely use the Amex or Freedom. Would it be worth it to close them if they don't get used? Or should I just leave them be? I don't want to have "too much credit" but I don't want my credit to be hurt if I close 1 of them.

I'd vote to SD them.   You could always make a small purchase every few months just to keep active. Or you could use when the benefits makes more sense.   The AMEX Offers and Freedom rotating categories would be good times to use.


+1 if they are no AF just set up auto pay and SD them. I advise getting paper statements so nothing is missed when you do this.

AMEX PRG (NPSL) Lowes (10k) CSP (7.2k) AMEX BCE (6k) Cap1 QS (3.5k) Citi DC (2.6K) BofA (2.5K)M&T Bank visa (2k) Discover iT (1800) Slate (1k)
Age: 22 Scores ~710 across the board
Future Cards Sallie Mae, US Bank Cash+, Freedom
Goal increase CLs by 20k in 2015
Message 9 of 9
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