How do you make this decision?

Gatito · ‎06-13-2016

I'm thinking about closing my CEFCU, Express, and Walmart. I'm also thinking about leaving the Nordstrom and Best Buy at home because they can look me up at the store if I need to use it, USBank because there is no rewards on that credit card but I get a free checking account if I decide to open one there just for having the CC so I was thinking that can come in hanbdy maybe I'll use it once a year or so, leave the BBVA compass at home or just for gas and leave the Barclay at home as well maybe use every once and a while to keep open. Mainly wanted to thin out the wallet because it's getting to be too much. ANy ideas?

How does everyone here decide when to leave the cards at home or when to close them? Is there any factors that should be taken into consideration regarding hurting the credit wise? Obviously none of these are my oldest credit cards thats my Capital One and I'm keeping that. I'm also very fond of my Marvel card I want to keep that in my wallet too. I also want to keep the STanford credit card in my wallet because it's where I work at and my checking account is there makes it super convenient to pay.

UncleB · ‎06-13-2016

@Gatito wrote:
I'm thinking about closing my CEFCU, Express, and Walmart. I'm also thinking about leaving the Nordstrom and Best Buy at home because they can look me up at the store if I need to use it, USBank because there is no rewards on that credit card but I get a free checking account if I decide to open one there just for having the CC so I was thinking that can come in hanbdy maybe I'll use it once a year or so, leave the BBVA compass at home or just for gas and leave the Barclay at home as well maybe use every once and a while to keep open. Mainly wanted to thin out the wallet because it's getting to be too much. ANy ideas?

How does everyone here decide when to leave the cards at home or when to close them? Is there any factors that should be taken into consideration regarding hurting the credit wise? Obviously none of these are my oldest credit cards thats my Capital One and I'm keeping that. I'm also very fond of my Marvel card I want to keep that in my wallet too. I also want to keep the STanford credit card in my wallet because it's where I work at and my checking account is there makes it super convenient to pay.

Until fairly recently I preferred to "keep it simple" and carry all my cards with me, that way I didn't have to worry about keeping up with them (since they were all in one place).

I've had a change of heart, though. I now keep only the cards in my wallet I'm likely to need, with the cards I use for balance transfers and 'emergencies' now kept at home in an old box that a order of checks came in.

My 'change of heart' was for two reasons; my wallet was getting too crowded, and if I ever lose my wallet I would still be able to use the cards I keep at home while the others are being replaced. Even with keeping some of my cards at home I still have enough 'diversity' in my wallet to take care of nearly anything that might come up.

Everybody's situation will be different, though... we just have to figure out what works best for us.

gibeon · ‎06-13-2016

I rotate mine in and out based on what I'm doing (travel cards for travel) and due dates (don't let balances report) and keeping the slow cards active enough to not auto close.

23 Open Bank Cards / 7 Open Store Cards / TOO many inquires / Mid/High 600's

Anonymous · ‎06-13-2016

@UncleB wrote:
Until fairly recently I preferred to "keep it simple" and carry all my cards with me, that way I didn't have to worry about keeping up with them (since they were all in one place).

I've had a change of heart, though. I now keep only the cards in my wallet I'm likely to need, with the cards I use for balance transfers and 'emergencies' now kept at home in an old box that a order of checks came in.

My 'change of heart' was for two reasons; my wallet was getting too crowded, and if I ever lose my wallet I would still be able to use the cards I keep at home while the others are being replaced. Even with keeping some of my cards at home I still have enough 'diversity' in my wallet to take care of nearly anything that might come up.

Everybody's situation will be different, though... we just have to figure out what works best for us.

I've preached against carrying all your cards in your wallet because it is too much risk is you lose or misplace your wallet, you want some backup cards. If you have a number of cards, some may be more or less online only, or really only for a type of store you are not going to today, so it can safely be left at home. It's easier for me as I am against the "put small charges on cards to keep them alive" so I don't need to either find recurring charges or rotate.

As for closing: if the card isn't of use, and you don't need the CL, I would certainly consider closing. But that is a continual big debate here!

Gatito · ‎06-13-2016

I really didn't even consider me losing my wallet or something and that is a great idea!

I also just didn't want to have "too much" on my credit and maybe not enough use coming out of them. Get rid of some baggage. Especially since in the county I live in now Walmart isn't allowed in. LOL

EDIT: Should get rid of USBank too for not having any rewards. What incentive do I get from using my their card vs my own cash?

Decisions Decisions.

Themanwhocan · ‎06-13-2016

@Gatito wrote:
I really didn't even consider me losing my wallet or something and that is a great idea!

I also just didn't want to have "too much" on my credit and maybe not enough use coming out of them. Get rid of some baggage. Especially since in the county I live in now Walmart isn't allowed in. LOL

EDIT: Should get rid of USBank too for not having any rewards. What incentive do I get from using my their card vs my own cash?

Decisions Decisions.

Request a $1500 CLI on the US Bank card every 6 months. Call and ask if the card is eligible to PC to the Cash+ occasionally.

TU-8: 804 EX-8: 805 EQ-8: 788 EX-98: 767 EQ-04: 752
TU-9 Bankcard: 837 EQ-9: 823 EX-9 Bankcard: 837
Total $443,800

CreditMagic7 · ‎06-13-2016

@Themanwhocan wrote:
@Gatito wrote:
I really didn't even consider me losing my wallet or something and that is a great idea!

I also just didn't want to have "too much" on my credit and maybe not enough use coming out of them. Get rid of some baggage. Especially since in the county I live in now Walmart isn't allowed in. LOL

EDIT: Should get rid of USBank too for not having any rewards. What incentive do I get from using my their card vs my own cash?

Decisions Decisions.
Request a $1500 CLI on the US Bank card every 6 months. Call and ask if the card is eligible to PC to the Cash+ occasionally.

^This

kdm31091 · ‎06-13-2016

Assuming one has at least a few cards in good standing with decent limits and low utilization, I think it's fine to close whatever is unused. You can choose to just sockdrawer unwanted cards and occasionally use them to keep them active, but to me, that mostly feels pointless -- if the card doesn't benefit me in my everyday life and I'm going out of my way to keep it active, what's the gain? The unused limit can be useful for utilization, but utilization is so fluid and temporary that I don't place too much importance on it. It's nice to have a buffer for emergencies, but realistically, I don't feel the buffer has to be anything too huge. While most people like to keep unused cards open because "it doesn't hurt anything", and that's true to an extent, it can actually be detrimental to have too much available credit.

As for carrying cards, I only carry what I am expecting to benefit from/use. Anything unused goes in the drawer and I generally close worthless cards once they have been open at least several months if I deem them not useful. Like I said, to me, there's not much point in keeping dead weight around, but I also don't advocate rapid opening/closing of accounts as it doesn't look good.

You can request a CLI on the US Bank card, but a larger limit on a useless card still makes a useless card. If they refuse to PC it to anything with rewards you may just consider moving on.

Anonymous · ‎06-13-2016

@gibeon wrote:
I rotate mine in and out based on what I'm doing (travel cards for travel) and due dates (don't let balances report) and keeping the slow cards active enough to not auto close.

This is a great strategy. I currently keep all of my cards in my wallet which I know is very risky in the event my purse or wallet are stolen. I def need to come up with a strategy and figure this out .

Anonymous · ‎06-13-2016

I carry 4 cards with me and leave the rest in a separate wallet at home. 1-2 cards for main usage and the other 2 for backup. Each from different banks.