Is Fewer Better After a Certain Point?

[changingmantra2]

Seven years ago - I was a newbie here - eager and envious - hoping for the day of $5,000 CLs - "prime" cards - and a 700 + credit score.  Now I have all of that - and the thrill and angst associated with apping and trying to get CLI no longer exists.  I have virtually no emtional attchment to it - no longer look at my stash of cards with pride and anticipation of adding to it.  Rather - I look to downsize -  Last week I closed my Chase Sapphire and moved the CL over to Freedom.  I have nice CLs that I hope to never have to use - and too many cards to juggle.  Other than one other bump on my CR - and still being way below an 800 CS - I have pretty much arrived - as far as credit cards are concerned, that is. 

 I wonder if -at this point what best helps my credit file - is just having a few cards - with significant CLs.  I wonder if when I go for a mortgage - if  it would  look better that I have maybe 4 well-managed CC accounts each with at least a $10,000 CL, as opposed to 8 or so major credit cards and 5 or so store cards.   

Currently I have the following: 

$22,000  American Express  (Rarely use it  - only reasons  to keep it is that its the only card I have where I can set the CL of my AU - and CL)

$18,500  Discover (Have not used much lately due to heavy usage of Barclay cards - But will keep it   Discover is good to me - gave a $5000 CLI tonight - and I love their customer service)

$15,000  Simplicity ( Were it not for the 1,000 + Citi Deals points I have - I would close on the spot - but I actually us the points - not the card)

$15,000  Arrival + (Primary card - which MIGHT get downgraded - and replaced for some purchases by Discover Miles - I like the extra miles I get through the Boost Rewards Portal - It does make a difference)

$13,000  Freedom (The only Visa in the bunch that might be worth keeping, but I rarely use this card - I use it when I can get extra rewards through the UR Mall)

$10,000  Thank You Preferred (I have one monthly purchase on this card of $7.99 -  Got a $3,500 CLI last week -but... cannot say that will increase usage)

$  7,400  Sallie Mae  (All groceries - Gas - Amazon go on this card - It gets heavy usage)

$  5,000  Credit Union (I use this like once a year - only got it to establish a credit history with my credit union - hoping it would look for a future mortgage / car loan)

Then there are the Former GE cards - that I got in the rebuilding stage that I am not so sure I need any longer 

1. Amazon - which is pretty much been replaced by Sallie Mae

2. JC Penny -  I shop there once a year

3. Pay Pal  -  I shop on Ebay regularly - but have charges put onto other credit cards just so I can get points

4. Walmart -  Mostly replaced by major credit cards

Then there is Firestone  -  I like the coupons and 6 months no interst deals -

question 1 -  Is it time to just get rid of several of these cards?   2. Does a credit file look better - even more mature without having so many accounts - especially unused acconts?  3. Which would you close?

Thanks -

[Callandra]

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@changingmantra2 wrote:

Seven years ago - I was a newbie here - eager and envious - hoping for the day of $5,000 CLs - "prime" cards - and a 700 + credit score.  Now I have all of that - and the thrill and angst associated with apping and trying to get CLI no longer exists.  I have virtually no emtional attchment to it - no longer look at my stash of cards with pride and anticipation of adding to it.  Rather - I look to downsize -  Last week I closed my Chase Sapphire and moved the CL over to Freedom.  I have nice CLs that I hope to never have to use - and too many cards to juggle.  Other than one other bump on my CR - and still being way below an 800 CS - I have pretty much arrived - as far as credit cards are concerned, that is. 

 I wonder if -at this point what best helps my credit file - is just having a few cards - with significant CLs.  I wonder if when I go for a mortgage - if  it would  look better that I have maybe 4 well-managed CC accounts each with at least a $10,000 CL, as opposed to 8 or so major credit cards and 5 or so store cards.   

Currently I have the following: 

$22,000  American Express  (Rarely use it  - only reasons  to keep it is that its the only card I have where I can set the CL of my AU - and CL) - I would normally say close it but it seems you have a reason for keeping it and it's a huge CL

$18,500  Discover (Have not used much lately due to heavy usage of Barclay cards - But will keep Discover is good to me - gave a $5000 CLI tonight) - Up to you, but might be worth keeping

$15,000  Simplicity ( Were it not for the 1,000 + Citi Deals points I have - I would close on the spot - but I actually us the points - not the card) - again, up to you but it seems like Simplicity is kind of lackluster as a card; have you considered PCing to Double Cash or another card? 

$15,000  Arrival + (Primary card - which MIGHT get downgraded - and replaced for some purchases by Discover Miles) - I say close this and move the limit to SM

$13,000  Freedom (The only Visa in the bunch that might be worth keeping, but I rarely use this card) -I say close this 

$10,000  Thank You Preferred (I have one monthly purchase on this card of $7.99 -  Got a $3,500 CLI last week -but... cannot say that will increase usage) - I say close this

$  7,400  Sallie Mae  (All groceries - Gas - Amazon go on this card - It gets heavy usage) - is Arrival+ older than SM (or do you not care so much about closing an account and its age?)? If you don't want Arrival+ (not really worth it after the sign-up bonus unless you have A LOT of overseas uncategorized spending and want the no FTF for that) -- you should be able to move the limit to SM

$  5,000  Credit Union (I use this like once a year - only got it to establish a credit history with my credit union - hoping it would look for a future mortgage / car loan) - if you're still interested in the relationship, keep this open, otherwise you probably don't need it

Then there are the Former GE cards - that I got in the rebuilding stage that I am not so sure I need any longer 

1. Amazon - which is pretty much been replaced by Sallie Mae

2. JC Penny -  I shop there once a year

3. Pay Pal  -  I shop on Ebay regularly - but have charges put onto other credit cards just so I can get points

4. Walmart -  Mostly replaced by major credit cards

Then there is Firestone  -  I like the coupons and 6 months no interst deals -

question 1 -  Is it time to just get rid of several of these cards?   2. Does a credit file look better - even more mature without having so many accounts - especially unused acconts?  3. Which would you close?

Thanks -

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Wow, you have some awesome cards and limits! I might be the you of long ago -- wishing for those sorts of limits! (I know, I know, patience young grasshopper)

I bolded the cards I think you should keep. I think you could stand to ditch all the store cards (doesn't sound like you need them and you don't really use them anyway; it seems like you want to close some cards anyway). 

[CreditMagic7]

Just need to add some clarity to one of these suggestions.

$15,000  Simplicity ( Were it not for the 1,000 + Citi Deals points I have - I would close on the spot - but I actually us the points - not the card) - again, up to you but it seems like Simplicity is kind of lackluster as a card; have you considered PCing to Double Cash or another card? 

Citi Diamond Preferred card is PC eligible to DC or another maybe ( I have done this successfully myself) however it's been reported that the Simplicity card is not.

[Callandra]

^Ahh, okay, my bad. I thought it would be but I guess not! 

[Anonymous]

Imho, keep the Amex, Discover, Sallie Mae, maybe the Freedom if you want to take advantage of the mall.

Keep the Amazon card in case Sallie Mae gets nerfed.
Roll the limit of A+ onto Sallie Mae, or try to get it PC if it's and older TL. Try to PC the simplicity to Double cash and close the rest.

[NRB525]

What is the AMEX card?

Of the rest of the credit cards, only Arrival+ has an AF. The real benefit to your score is keeping these cards active on your file, so they keep helping your file age.

If you use the Sallie Mae heavily, are you exceeding the $250 per month cap on groceries? Gasoline?

One longer term strategy for the Freedom and the TY Preferred is to let them gather category points and then use those points later with a transfer card. While the 5 points on the Freedom for gasoline this quarter looks a lot like the Sallie Mae 5%, if you let those Freedom points grow then later app for a CSP, get a sign up bonus, and combine / transfer those to United, then it can work to a higher value than just 5%. Same with TY Preferred: Using it for 2 points on dining and entertainment, then later get a TY Premier to get a sign up bonus and redeem those points on an airline flight on American at 1.20x.

By keeping these cards open longer, your scores will continue to improve, your garden spade will shine, and if you decide to harvest some sign up bonuses later, it's easy to see higher value than just using the cashback on regular spend.

[Anonymous]

There are some lenders who get nervous about lots of available credit but not all of them. If you don't need utilization padding then there is some value in either cutting limits or closing cards, but very little. For no annual fee cards it is almost always better to leave them open. If you dont want to keep track of them, just stash them and let the lender close them.

[kdm31091]

Managing many cards can be a headache. You only need to have really 3 well managed cards for a good FICO score. Anything beyond that is just extra in terms of scoring. If your utilization is low with 10 cards, it will still be low if you go down to 6 cards, etc so the "util" thing is overblown and util has no memory month to month anyway. So if it reports higher than you like one month, it'll fix itself the next month. Not the end of the world unless you are apping for a mortgage or car loan. Otherwise, not even worth worrying about.

Life is too short to feel like you can't do things the way you want. If many cards are too much for you to track then close them. On your list, to me, Arrival+, Freedom and Simplicity would be basically no brainers to close. Discover's categories are generally broader than Freedom's; Arrival+ is very difficult to justify paying for with other free 2% cards on the market; and Simplicity doesn't offer you much of anything. So I would at the least cut those 3.

The suggestion about obtaining a CSP and transferring your Freedom points to "get more value" etc is a valid suggestion and it can be done, but it's only really applicable if you travel a lot and want to pay a fee for a CSP. My personal view on it is just that I don't have the time or interest to spend hours figuring out the best use for my points, so I stick to cash back. The "point transfer" thing is often hyped up but it can be a headache at times, and generally (but not always) you get the most value out of first class international flights. Domestic coach flights (which many of us are totally fine with being in coach) are usually not as exciting a value with points. Since not everyone wants to or is flying internationally very often, the CSP option may not do you much good. But you need  to tell us more about your habits so we can give an informed answer. Regardless, I'd be closing the Freedom, Simplicity and Arrival+ if you want to "trim down" a bit.

Throwing them in the drawer is an option and can be useful, but you still must monitor them for fraud etc and if you are trying to simplify, may not help out too much. If you are 100% sure you don't want the card anymore just close it.

[icyhot]

I would say keep one Visa, one MC, one Amex, one Discover. You have those so figure out which Visa and MC you like most and close the rest.

[Anonymous]

how does the sallie mae get "heavy usage" when you are limited to 250 and 750/ month?

why not open a 2nd sallie mae and move the limit from the A+ to that?

How do you spend your money? List your monthly spending so we can get a better idea on best cards for your needs. Do you fly ever?