How do you make this decision?

[AverageJoesCredit]

I just take whatever card i know im gonna use or possibly use that day with me. When im done ,it or they go back in their wallet homes

[Aahz]

---

@Gatito wrote:

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? 

---

I have 20 open credit cards.  They're allocated as follows-

"Permanently" in Wallet for daily/regular use-

- Blispay (2% everywhere), AMEX BCP (6% groceries), Fort Knox Visa (5% gas), Synchrony Marvel (3% entertainment), US Bank Cash+ (5% charity - I shop at thrift stores daily), AMEX SimplyCash Plus (5% office supplies)

"Permanently" Sock Drawered due to current BTs or only open for future BTs--

- Chase Ink Cash, Barclay's Upromise, CapOne Quicksilver, Chase IHG, Barclays Sallie Mae, Citi DoubleCash, DCU Visa, BofA BBR (x2), Chase AARP

"Permanently" Sock Drawered except for AMEX Offer use

- AMEX OBC, AMEX SimplyCash

"Temporarily" Sock Drawered - brought out for temporary bonus category use

- Discover IT (rotating 5% categories), BBVA NBA (5% everywhere during NBA All-Star and Finals)

I have no store cards because I don't shop at any store often enough to get more benefits from them then I can get from my Visa/MC/AMEX/Discover cards.

Only one of my cards has an AF - BCP and the additional 1% on groceries more than makes up for the AF

I would close or have closed cards that a) had an annual fee, b) is/was not useful for BTs, and/or c) doesn't provide any ongoing benefit not covered by another card in my portfolio.

[Anonymous]

---

@UncleB wrote:

---

@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. 

---

I have 2-3 cards (my everyday cards) that I keep in my wallet.

I picked up another wallet somewhere (I don't even know where) that I keep another few key cards.  If I am going to a specific store, I grab that wallet, and it has the cards I will likely need.

Then I have a business card holder (someone posted one here, and I picked it up from amazon) that holds all my SDed cards.

Keeps things simple, organised, and relatively safe.

[RonM21]

---

@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.

---

+1

I generally do the same thing

[takeshi74]

It's all about your specific needs/wants and the info in the Closing Credit Cards thread linked in the Helpful Threads sticky.

The same sort of considerations for new cards are involved with determining whether or not to keep your current cards.  You should be starting with your specific needs/wants and using that to determine which new cards to apply for, which cards to keep, which cards to close, etc.  If a card meets your requirements then it may be a good fit.  If the card no longer fits your requirements then it may no longer be  a good fit.  You have to be able to evaluate if you're benefitting from any given card or could potentially benefit from a card you're considering.  If rewards are a priorty then you need to be aware of where your spend it going and in what amounts.  You also need to run the numbers for your spend to help you decide.  You cannot just look at the % earn on a card.  It's never just about the card but your specific needs/wants and how well a given card suits you.

If you're having difficulty with this then you may need to start over with carefully considering your requirements.  If you have clearly defined them then you have exactly what you need to decide.  If you have not then you will have difficulty with your decision making process but that really applies to any topic, not just card or even just credit.

For me it's mostly about rewards and doing the math makes it very clear which ones I keep and which ones I cut.  There are some that I'm keeping even though they don't maximize rewards for me but those cards provide other benefits and I am able to actively monitor all that I'm keeping open.  You must actively monitor all open accounts whether you're using them or sock drawering them.  If you cannot or will not actively monitor a sock drawered card then close it.

---

@Gatito wrote:

I'm also very fond of my Marvel card I want to keep that in my wallet too.

---

Why are you fond of it?  Try to objectively analyze the benefits of your cards and cards you're considering versus relying on emotional and irrational reasons.  How is this card benefitting you?  Is it doing a better job than any other card that might suit you?  Compare using metrics and math, not fondness.

---

@Gatito wrote:

Mainly wanted to thin out the wallet because it's getting to be too much.

---

How many can you reasonably manage?  What amount do you want to trim down to?  That will play a part in determining how you evalaute.  Keep in mind that you've stated that you intend to keep 2 no matter what so you're stuck with those unless you're willing to reconsider your reasons for keeping them.

---

@Gatito wrote:

Is there any factors that should be taken into consideration regarding hurting the credit wise?

---

Certainly consider scoring impact (again, see the Closing Credit Cards thread) but don't let score drive your choices.  If you're considering closing cards why are you worrying over score?  What new credit are you intending to apply for where you'll need to worry over score in the near term?

All your comments indicate to me that you just need to sort out your priorities.  Once you have that you'll have what you need to make your decisions.

[Anonymous]

---

@kdm31091 wrote:

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.

---

How can one begin to define what "too much" credit is?  There was a thread on here a few months back where people were stating their total credit limit across all accounts relative to their income.  For some people it was less than 1:1.  A lot of people had it around 1:1.  There were also a ton of people that had 2, 3, 4, 5+ times their annual income in total available credit.

At what point do CLDs begin to happen and/or lines of credit being closed down due to too much available credit?  I'm certain it varies by person/profile.

Can't one request CLDs on cards that they aren't using much (or at all) but want to keep them open to lengthen their ability to positively impact AAoA?  I personally wouldn't SD cards with large limits, but if they are small limit cards (small percentage of overall credit) and they are positively impacting AAoA I personally wouldn't close them.  And, if they are larger limit cards that one wishes to SD, perhaps trying to get a CLD on it if possible would be a smart move.

[longtimelurker]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

---

How can one begin to define what "too much" credit is?  There was a thread on here a few months back where people were stating their total credit limit across all accounts relative to their income.  For some people it was less than 1:1.  A lot of people had it around 1:1.  There were also a ton of people that had 2, 3, 4, 5+ times their annual income in total available credit.

At what point do CLDs begin to happen and/or lines of credit being closed down due to too much available credit?  I'm certain it varies by person/profile.

Can't one request CLDs on cards that they aren't using much (or at all) but want to keep them open to lengthen their ability to positively impact AAoA?  I personally wouldn't SD cards with large limits, but if they are small limit cards (small percentage of overall credit) and they are positively impacting AAoA I personally wouldn't close them.  And, if they are larger limit cards that one wishes to SD, perhaps trying to get a CLD on it if possible would be a smart move.

---

Generally, the first sign of "too much credit" can be pretty similar to the start of rebuilding: you start getting denied a card, or you get a card with small limits, rather than CLDs or closures of existing cards (which seems to be more likely when too many inquiries or new accounts spook an existing lender).   But as you say, no hard rules, depends on profile and issuer.  IME, you usually hit this first with an individual issuer's exposure  (in my case Citi felt that they had extended me enough credit,)

Once you are in this zone though, it's really not a big deal to have a non-useful card closed, even if it has a high CL (and you may have only high CL cards), so IMO, sockdrawing them is fine if you don't mind closing them.

I would use CLDs only in particular MS/bonus churning situations, where you request CLDs to maximize the chance of auto-approvals on the next card, to avoid "eyes on the account" issues.

[driftless]

---

@kdm31091 wrote:

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.

---

+ 1 Fewer but better cards. Closing out unneeded or unwanted cards is part of the process. FYI - we closed out our US Bank accounts including checking and savings accounts and consolidated at Chase.