How do you choose between closing a card and sock drawer?

[Anonymous]

I have about seventeen credit cards. I am debating between sock drawing, pc-ing, or closing five of them. How do you decide what to do with your old cards? Is there a method for timing account closures? What's the strategy?

The following are in my "burn" list.

Citi AAdvantage (3k CL, opened 02/1

Amex Everyday (1k, 02/18)

Cap One Venture One (5.4k, 08/15)

Chase Amazon Prime (2k, 03/17)

Citi Brooks Brothers (2k, 04/18)

Citi TY Preferred (9.4k, 08/15)

Potential "burn"

BCP (CFU intro grocery offer)

Discover (combine limit onto another card after BT 0% is over)

[Anonymous]

If it's your oldest account I'd keep it open to help AAoA, though even if you close it it will report for up to 10 years.

If there's no annual fee, there's no harm in keeping it open, other than keeping an eye on it for fraudulent use.

If there's an annual fee and you're not benefiting from the card, I'd close it or PC it to a non AF card.

If you have no use for the card at all (and won't in the future), that for me moves it closer to the "close" list.

[wasCB14]

When I moved from the northeast to CA, closing Brooks Bros was an easy call. More casual fashion and I went from two local-ish stores to zero, while the card's benefits were heavily focused on in-store shopping.

My SL was $1,260 and it went to $1,560 two or three months later...but still not enough to buy some of their suits!

For context around that $1,260...about 2 months after my approval I got a $7,500 CSP...so it's not like I had a lousy credit profile.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

If it's your oldest account I'd keep it open to help AAoA, though even if you close it it will report for up to 10 years.

If there's no annual fee, there's no harm in keeping it open, other than keeping an eye on it for fraudulent use.

If there's an annual fee and you're not benefiting from the card, I'd close it or PC it to a non AF card.

If you have no use for the card at all (and won't in the future), that for me moves it closer to the "close" list.

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Good point on the oldest account point. Do AA accounts count towards the oldest line/AAoA/utilization? My oldest is on a family member's accounts as an AA. My oldest card is Disco (06/2015) and I have three other accounts opened 08/2015 that I plan to keep around for a while.

Yeah, I just don't see myself using some of those cards. E.g., I have the Amazon Synchrony card and I can't think of a reason to keep the Chase Amazon (I don't even remember why I opened the chase one).

[Anonymous]

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@wasCB14 wrote:

When I moved from the northeast to CA, closing Brooks Bros was an easy call. More casual fashion and I went from two local-ish stores to zero, while the card's benefits were heavily focused on in-store shopping.

My SL was $1,260 and it went to $1,560 two or three months later...but still not enough to buy some of their suits!

For context around that $1,260...about 2 months after my approval I got a $7,500 CSP...so it's not like I had a lousy credit profile.

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I also moved to California. I'm in grad school right now, but when I am done, I will be in a "wear your suits" profession. I heard it is only slightly more casual here compared to East Coast - wear East Coast business casual and keep a suit in the office.

Brooks Bros filed for bankruptcy though, so we'll see if they are still around.

[ToxikPH]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I have about seventeen credit cards. I am debating between sock drawing, pc-ing, or closing five of them. How do you decide what to do with your old cards? Is there a method for timing account closures? What's the strategy?

The following are in my "burn" list.

Citi AAdvantage (3k CL, opened 02/1x) Downgrade to $0 AF card, keep AA miles alive

Amex Everyday (1k, 02/18) Would keep if you have other MR cards but SD if not to keep balance alive

Cap One Venture One (5.4k, 08/15) PC to QS if possible as the V1 is terrible

Chase Amazon Prime (2k, 03/17) I don't use Amazon that much but this card is up to you

Citi Brooks Brothers (2k, 04/18) Never heard of it so up to you

Citi TY Preferred (9.4k, 08/15) PC into a R+ or DC if you aren't using

Potential "burn"

BCP (CFU intro grocery offer) Will be useful after the intro is over, downgrade to BCE then upgrade back later

Discover (combine limit onto another card after BT 0% is over) I fully support combining

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I'm just gonna put what I would do with this line up but your situition is 100% gonna be different then mine. First some points, I main in points but have CB cards as back up. I'm a huge fan of Amex, Delta, and Hilton so Amex points is my main "currency" but do have Citi as backup.

[sxa001]

OP I think you mean AU (Authorized User) accounts and yes those count towards your average age of credit, this is one reason if someone has a good profile with cards that have been open for a long time adding you asn AU is a good idea. 

In terms of deciding to sock drawer versus close an account.  I don't see any harm in just putting cards in the sock drawer if there is no AF, if it is your oldest card it would be good to keep it open and use it perodically (every 3-6 months) to try to keep it open.  I probably wouldn't rely soley on AU cards for my credit history, personally.  

[kdm31091]

I would keep the oldest account open, and in general if no annual fee there is no pressing reason to close it as long as you're okay with keeping an eye on it for fraud. That said, it's fine to close accounts that no longer serve you a purpose.

[Anonymous]

I did mean AU (I'm operating on three hours of sleep - sorry). Thanks!

I am an AU and it is about 5 years older than my oldest card. The account holder wanted to close the account but they kept it opened to keep the AAoA up.

One annoying thing is I had to take out some student loans, and it ended up happening in four disbursements. They adjusted the COA a few times, which increased how much you can take. Four separate loans instead of just two, which will really impact the AAoA. It's like a $30k loan and two $500 loans.

[Anonymous]

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@ToxikPH wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

Cap One Venture One (5.4k, 08/15) PC to QS if possible as the V1 is terrible

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I just checked and have an offer to PC to QS on the website, but I would not be eligible for the signup bonus. Maybe in the future I would want to just get the signup bonus? I have the CFU and Citi DC.

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@ToxikPH wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

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I'm just gonna put what I would do with this line up but your situition is 100% gonna be different then mine. First some points, I main in points but have CB cards as back up. I'm a huge fan of Amex, Delta, and Hilton so Amex points is my main "currency" but do have Citi as backup.

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Once I start working (in two years), I plan on doing regular trips from California to the East Coast (perhaps monthly) and the Amex plat would be great for rewards. The Chase UR partners are really great for me though, so it'll be a hard choice. If work sends me on enough travel, perhaps it will make sense for me to get both.

Why are you a big fan of Hilton? I have been using them for a while but thought that their reward system wasn't too great. I coincidentally stayed at Hilton properties in the past and racked up some points. Now, I keep an HH card around because I have 300k points, and I am aiming for 400k for a vacation. I plan on opening an Aspire sometime in the next year to get the signup bonus. After that, I think I'll hop over to Hyatt or Marriott. Is there something really great about Hilton that other hotels are missing?

This was helpful because I was thinking along similar lines. Thanks for your response - I appreciate it.