Closing too many recent CC- Advice ??

Anonymous · ‎08-31-2016

Hello everyone,

So.... when I first joined myFICO, I made the mistake of apping for too many credit cards without thinking about the potential benefit each card would be for me. Don't judge LOL. I totally regret it now, because I don't want this many credit cards anymore. Even though it's definitely not a problem for me to keep up with them (I'm an accounting/finance major), I just don't want to have a sock drawer full of cards. I want to cut it down to about 10 cards.

My main problem is that I want to cancel some cards that I opened in the past 6 months. What would happen if I cancel cards for accounts recently opened? Would it look bad on my credit report? Would it make my score drop?

I want to close:

Fingerhut- 3k limit (opened back in 2013 to help build credit)

Old Navy- 2k limit (opened in 2013)

JC Penny-1.2k limit (opened 6 months ago)

Conoco/Phillips- 1k limit (opened last month)

Belk- 1k limit (opened last month)

Goodys- 350 limit (opened 6 months ago, for my mom)

I want to keep:

Walmart - 6k

Amazon- 6k

Amazon Chase - 5.5k

Paypal MC -3k

Barclay MC - 2k

Discover- 2k

Target- 2k

Captital One QS1 - 500 (Want to PC this to QS)

Amex BCE - 500

Freedom UL - 500

VS Angel - 500

The only card that have a balance is my Amazon Chase which have a Balance Transfer promotion on it. I just paid off almost 5k of CC debt, and my scores have risen from the 660s to the 700s. I'm getting closer to my goal, and I am going to refinance my car in two weeks when another balance drop off my report.

Last question, would closing my accounts affect my chance of getting a good refinance rate? Should I wait till after I refinance to close them?

NRB525 · ‎08-31-2016

Close them. You'll be glad you did. Your score will not be impacted, or it won't be impacted enough to make any difference.

High Bal Jan 2009 $116k on $146k limits 80% Util.
Oct 2014 $46k on $127k 36% util EQ 722 TU 727 EX 727
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Jan 2019 $7.6k on $360k EQ 832 TU 839 EX 831
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May 2021 Paid all Installments and Mortgages, one new Mortgage EQ 761 TY 774 EX 777
April 2022 EQ=811 TU=807 EX=805 - TU VS 3.0 765

kdm31091 · ‎08-31-2016

I think people in general worry too much about closing cards when they don't need to worry.

You are keeping several cards and you will see little to no difference from closing the dead weight. Close them and move on. I agree with you that it's pointless to have a drawer full of unused cards in the long run.

Anonymous · ‎08-31-2016

Close them. A ding to your AAoA is most likely all you will see on your CR. Plus the APR's on those types of cards tend to be really high.

juniornj23 · ‎08-31-2016

Look you shoul close the one you dont use

Amex ED (2000) Amex BCE (2000) Amex macys (5000) Amex Gold , VENTURE (5000) MC PLATINUM (600) CAP QUICKSILVERONE (1250) CAP QUICKSILVER (4500) CAP QUICKSILVER (3500) PENFED AMEX (5000) PENFED CASH REWARDS (25,000) PENDFED REWARDS VISA SIGNATURE (20,000) UPROMISE (1000) NFL (4000) OVERSTOCK (2800) HSN (3200) DISCOVER IT(8500) AMAZON PRIME (10000) MARVEL(7000) BOF VISA(2000) BEST BUY VISA CITI (9000) BLISPAY (9000)Amex Magnet (10,000) Uber (3100)

WELCOME TO 100K CLUB . LAST APP 08/29/18 Credit Score 8 TU 720 EQ 705 EX 724

Starting Score: 640
Current Score: 720
Goal Score: 850

Take the myFICO Fitness Challenge

CARD I want .
Chase Freedom and US cash +

Now back to the garden until 2020

Anonymous · ‎08-31-2016

@Anonymous wrote:
Close them. A ding to your AAoA is most likely all you will see on your CR. Plus the APR's on those types of cards tend to be really high.

OP will not see any ding to AAoA from closing a card, because it will remain on OP's report for 10 years.

Anonymous · ‎08-31-2016

Thanks for the answers everyone..

I think I am more concerned about my UTI. I am losing over 8.5k of credit, which I don't have too much to begin with. My UTI right now is 8%. It will probably take it up to 15-20% maybe? It probably would impact me getting the best rate I could for my car. So that's why I am wondering if I should wait, just in case my UTI affect my score.

juniornj23 · ‎08-31-2016

I have 120k in credit and i can tell you if you dont use them close them i have close 7 cards

Amex ED (2000) Amex BCE (2000) Amex macys (5000) Amex Gold , VENTURE (5000) MC PLATINUM (600) CAP QUICKSILVERONE (1250) CAP QUICKSILVER (4500) CAP QUICKSILVER (3500) PENFED AMEX (5000) PENFED CASH REWARDS (25,000) PENDFED REWARDS VISA SIGNATURE (20,000) UPROMISE (1000) NFL (4000) OVERSTOCK (2800) HSN (3200) DISCOVER IT(8500) AMAZON PRIME (10000) MARVEL(7000) BOF VISA(2000) BEST BUY VISA CITI (9000) BLISPAY (9000)Amex Magnet (10,000) Uber (3100)

WELCOME TO 100K CLUB . LAST APP 08/29/18 Credit Score 8 TU 720 EQ 705 EX 724

Starting Score: 640
Current Score: 720
Goal Score: 850

Take the myFICO Fitness Challenge

CARD I want .
Chase Freedom and US cash +

Now back to the garden until 2020

Anonymous · ‎08-31-2016

@Anonymous wrote:
Thanks for the answers everyone..

I think I am more concerned about my UTI. I am losing over 8.5k of credit, which I don't have too much to begin with. My UTI right now is 8%. It will probably take it up to 15-20% maybe? It probably would impact me getting the best rate I could for my car. So that's why I am wondering if I should wait, just in case my UTI affect my score.

Closing them can not help your score, and as you said, it can hurt your score through raising your UTI. I would just wait 2 weeks until your car is refinanced.

Anonymous · ‎08-31-2016

thx for clarifying