@Anonymous wrote:
@disdreamin wrote:
@SouthJamaica wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:Thank you very much for these very helpful tips. I guess what I'm looking for is what's the best way to manage all these zero balance cards. Store cards like target Macy's I can close no problems I will need to keep Amazon because my life depends on Amazon. I do have a Discover with $10,000 credit line I will keep that open. I will keep my Costco and American Airlines cards open and maybe one chase open like the Marriott chase. Definitely closing capital one bank of America in some off brand shop your Way card. And that sound like a plan? I am concerned that some of these cards would be run up again any ideas how I could lock them away like a liquor cabinet?
I wouldn't close any Chase cards. If you have one that's a real dog, product change it to something better.
The only caveat to that would be if you haven't availed yourself of a signup bonus with Chase lately, I wouldn't PC to anything with a lucrative SUB, if that kind of thing matters to you. I'd rather app for the SUB and PC the other account to a no annual fee card.
Honestly OP, if you're worried about running up cards, I'd get rid of all but the few (5-7) most useful cards and then be very careful with them. Try to treat them like debit cards and avoid buying or paying for anything you can't immediately pay off. If you meant you paid off $68k in credit card debt by doing a cash-out refi, that's an expensive and hard lesson, and I'd do everything possible to not end up in that place again (sounds like that's where you are). I don't think we can count of the housing market continuing the way it's been, so it may not be possible to get a redo if the cards were to be run up again.
Thank you! I did do exactly that, refi with cash out, but luckily my mortgage is still well within my means. But it's still scary to know I have all this unused credit and maybe slip and get myself in trouble again. I am really hoping with age, I learned my lesson and not be foolish again. I will definitely be closing what I consider junk cards, with low credit limits and high interest rates that I got offered and took just because I could and have no real reason to keep. I wil keep the chase, citi and boa, 7 cards in all, down from 23.
I absolutely understand this concern and have been there myself. So I am going to take a bit of a different tack on your ask, which is to close as many cards of the cards that you don't need as you want. Forget about maximizing rewards, etc. You are at zero balance so your utilization won't take a hit. Closed accounts still factor toward your AAoA. Keep the cards that you like best and actually use regularly, plus maybe one or two if you feel like you will need the utilization padding if you need to carry a balance at some point. My experience with rebuilding is that sometimes I wind up using cards that I wouldn't otherwise use for the sole purpose of keeping them alive or fear of "wasting" their rewards. Also, when you have a large number of cards with small(er) relative balances, it can easily add up before you realize. I truly didn't realize how high my overall balance was until I listed all the cards and balances in Excel.
All that to say, some people keep a large number of cards with a range of limits and manage them with no problem. Some of us prefer to keep a smaller number of cards and manage them just as well. Some strategize factors like rewards, APRs, annual fees, and good old fashioned brand loyalty in order to decide what cards they keep. I don't think there's any one right answer other than what you need to do in your situation to keep yourself on track and that might like look different from how others in the MyFICO fam operate. But you just had a massive accomplishment in getting your overall balance down to zero, and I hope you celebrate that! Hopefully I will be right behind you 
