Closing card question

[Yasselife]

I'd like to know if it's Ok to close cards prior to the 2yrs mark. 
I am currently trying to reduce the amount of cards that are SD, like quicksilver, synch, usaa cash rewards... my ideal number would be 5.

Also, should I close gradually every 3-6 months or go on black&white mode?

[Hoben02]

No issue closing cards after one year, however, does this increase your utilization rate to over 30% and are the cards you are closing with the longest credit history. Definitely close a card if they are charging an annual fee and you are not using it, but if there is no fee might want to just keep it around

[Yasselife]

@Hoben02 @Utilization is less than 1%(azeo), I pay in full each month.

My reason is for peace of mind, and I'd like to keep those I find useful(quality over quantity), 'say lenders that offer flex loans/BT/and good rewards overall in their mobile apps.

[SouthJamaica]

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@Yasselife wrote:

I'd like to know if it's Ok to close cards prior to the 2yrs mark. 
I am currently trying to reduce the amount of cards that are SD, like quicksilver, synch, usaa cash rewards... my ideal number would be 5.

Also, should I close gradually every 3-6 months or go on black&white mode?

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It's ok to close them whenever you like, but bear in mind

1. It could affect your aggregate revolving utilization percentage

2. Down the road, probably many years later, it will reduce the age of your accounts

3. It will reduce the number of zero balance accounts, which could possibly cost a few FICO points here and there

And yes, if you do it, you should do it slowly and gradually.

[Anonymous]

The answers above are score focussed, which is certainly a consideration.   But the other concern with closing cards "too early" is the relationship with the issuer.       If you get a card with a big SUB, and close it soon after meeting the SUB, that has bad optics to a lender.

Some seem more concerned than others, such as Amex, who might deny you a SUB for a while on any of their cards if you have done this often (or similar, where both "often" and "similar" are decided by them!)   

[pinkandgrey]

The above answerers raise good points that you should consider. However, if score and relationship with lender are not weighing heavily on your mind, I would close any and all cards you don't want. If it were me, I would do it all at once. Again, that's just me. I agree about desiring "peace of mind" more than the other stuff, so I do what works best for me and move on with my life lol. Scores will rebound. 

[Yasselife]

@pinkandgrey Yes, going full speed black&white mode! 
closed:

paypal credit, quicksilver.  I'm debating if I should close usaa since it's one of my older cards with good limit though the apr is 25.99 and 1.5%? Help me, lol

[Anonymous]

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@Yasselife wrote:

@pinkandgrey Yes, going full speed black&white mode! 
closed:

paypal credit, quicksilver.  I'm debating if I should close usaa since it's one of my older cards with good limit though the apr is 25.99 and 1.5%? Help me, lol

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Since you want to get down to 5, I would just close it. USAA won't let you pc, lower Apr, and the cli would be hp. But the other thing it has no foreign fee compared to the other general spend cards you have(double cash + freedom unlimited). At the end of the day you gotta make choice on what you want. If that's what want to close, close it.

Are you still getting rid of freedom unlimited?

[Yasselife]

@Anonymous Getting rid off my freedom unlimited? Never! lol

I will hold on to the USAA card because of the yrs of relationship I have with them, 5yrs can add some weight in my decision. I see potential products that could be interesting in the future. I would close the card for a better USAA. 
last time I traveled was 10yrs ago, lol

Congratulations on you PC success with Citi and... that's as far as my flirting goes. 🙏

[Yasselife]

@Anonymous freedom 💪