Is it time for me to purge?

[raisemysc0re]

In the last 2 months I have opened 2 new cards totalling $58K and have about $300K Credit Card limit altogether.

I now have 15 cards and I'm thinking it might be time to close a few .

I read that AAoA is important but that AoOA is much more important. Not 100% sure if this is true?

Even though my oldest (6+ years - FNBO) has a very small CL of $7700 & no rewards it does not have an AF so I believe I have to keep this one.

CapOne QS is one of my other eldest accounts (about 5 years) and they slashed that a few years ago from 17K to 11K due to little use. I feel like this might be a good candidate for purge...

DiscoverIt is a middling CL of 18K 5+ years as well, but again I only use it to keep it open, so it is also a consideration.

Ditto for my Barclay's at 13K and about 5years.

I have one PenFed, Amex and a couple NFCU cards betwen 1-2 years old and the rest are less then a year.

What do you folks think? Purge or hold off until some of the useful cards age?

What Fico scoring models would be most affected by this purge if I did go ahead with these closings?

[longtimelurker]

Average age of open accounts doesn't seem to matter to FICO scores, just some front ends like Credit Karma.  So closed accounts will still on your account for a while, preventing an immediate hit due to age, but will eventually drop off.  Hopefully that will give other accounts time to age.    The other hit from closing is utilization, but if your balances are low, and/or you are not applying for credit, this can be fairly unimportant.

The age of the oldest open account can also matter.

But.... you should have a reason for closing, just as (ideally) you should have a reason for applying for cards.  Is it that 15 is too much work to handle?   If so, certainly close, perhaps focusing on those that you just use to keep alive, and maybe keeping your oldest as a precaution.

[raisemysc0re]

I don't keep balances on any card unless it is in a 0% promo period.

Currently have about 4K out of the 300K so UTI is not a concern.

All Sock Drawer cards are easily managed. I have them all as Amazon Payment Methods and I can make small Amazon purchases using each of them with minimal effort 2 or 3x a year. Just don't know if even that minimal effort is worth it or not.

I have no intentions to refi with current rates, I believe I am all set with Credit cards for the next year or so and I just bought a newish truck last year when the rates were still low. The only upcoming credit I may apply for is a new car for my wife.

If closing these older cards will drop my scores (Fico8 or Fico9) by 20 points or more then I'd keep them. If 0 - 20 points then I'd close them.  

[calisig]

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@raisemysc0re wrote:

Even though my oldest (6+ years - FNBO) has a very small CL of $7700 & no rewards it does not have an AF so I believe I have to keep this one.

CapOne QS is one of my other eldest accounts (about 5 years) and they slashed that a few years ago from 17K to 11K due to little use. I feel like this might be a good candidate for purge...

DiscoverIt is a middling CL of 18K 5+ years as well, but again I only use it to keep it open, so it is also a consideration.

Ditto for my Barclay's at 13K and about 5years.

I have one PenFed, Amex and a couple NFCU cards betwen 1-2 years old and the rest are less then a year.

What do you folks think? Purge or hold off until some of the useful cards age?

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I would start of by closing one of them - the one I liked the least. Then check your score and report after the change posts to your credit report, and see what you think, and go from there.

In considering closing FNBO, it's not that much older than your next oldest cards, so if you kept at least one of your 5 year old cards, then it probably wouldn't matter much closing FNBO if you liked that one least.

You didn't say which Discover It card you have. If you have their 'Cash Back' card, I would probably keep it, but if you have 'Chrome' or 'Miles', I would probably close it - unless you want to try PCing to 'Cash Back' - but that hasn't been an option lately.

I would also consider PCing other cards you don't like - if their respective bank has other cards you would like, and they allow PCing.

Barclays, with it's 5% bonus on redeamed rewards, looks a little better than Quicksilver, so between those two probably close Quicksilver. But it probably doesn't matter since you have the Citizens Cash + card - which you probably put your non-category spend on anyway.

Like @longtimelurker wrote - whichever one (or two) you close, it will stay on your report and add age for up to 10 years anyway - but there is no guarantee how long it will stay.

I've added a lot of new accounts to my profile lately, and haven't noticed any hit to my score due to reduction in AoAA, but my AoAA is also 11 years - even with the new accounts. But if you extrapolate your situation out, even if you close one of your oldest accounts, by the time it falls off your report, your other accounts will have plenty of age on them to keep your score up. Look at your score now - almost 800 (FICO 8), and your AoAA isn't that old. So it doesn't seem like AoAA will be a problem by the time your closed account(s) drop off.

Good luck

[red259]

The cards I close are ones with AFs that I no longer have a use for. The non-AF cards I keep open to help overall credit util and account age. Exceptions to this would be if I had store cards (I don't) that I no longer have a use for or if I had credit cards with a really low credit limit when I have way better credit limits on other cards (don't have this either but someone who may have started out with small balances might). 

Over time if you aren't using certain cards some lenders may close them. I think BoA did this to me and Barclays. Neither card was a major loss and were cards that I never intended to use in the future. 

Another reason I might consider closing a card is if I am maxed out on credit with a lender and it is making it difficult to get new cards. Some lenders let you move credit lines around others don't. 

If you are having difficult tracking all the cards then you can close the cards too to make your accounts more managable. Nothing wrong with that. Just focus on keeping cards with the highest limits, that you actually have a use for and that may be old cards for your account age. I'm sure most of us have some cards that we could cut and not really miss a beat and if you don't want to give up any cards you don't have to. It is a personal choice. 

[SouthJamaica]

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@raisemysc0re wrote:

In the last 2 months I have opened 2 new cards totalling $58K and have about $300K Credit Card limit altogether.

I now have 15 cards and I'm thinking it might be time to close a few .

I read that AAoA is important but that AoOA is much more important. Not 100% sure if this is true?

Even though my oldest (6+ years - FNBO) has a very small CL of $7700 & no rewards it does not have an AF so I believe I have to keep this one.

CapOne QS is one of my other eldest accounts (about 5 years) and they slashed that a few years ago from 17K to 11K due to little use. I feel like this might be a good candidate for purge...

DiscoverIt is a middling CL of 18K 5+ years as well, but again I only use it to keep it open, so it is also a consideration.

Ditto for my Barclay's at 13K and about 5years.

I have one PenFed, Amex and a couple NFCU cards betwen 1-2 years old and the rest are less then a year.

What do you folks think? Purge or hold off until some of the useful cards age?

What Fico scoring models would be most affected by this purge if I did go ahead with these closings?

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Closed accounts continue to be factored into all of the FICO aging factors so long as they continue to be reported, which is usually for many years down the road, typically 10 years.  But I don't see any need to close anything that doesn't have an annual fee.  If an older card is useless, I would try product-changing or upgrading it, rather than closing it.

[LawStudentCivilis]

I feel this forum can give incomplete information when individuals are trying to decide whether to close older cards.  Yes, it still reports or contributes to FICO score but we all know lenders often look at more than credit score alone.  How many times have we cycled through posts where people are often confused about denials despite having a high credit score?

Since you mentioned you do not find it difficult to maintain less than useful cards, I would not close the oldest one.  Even if it continued to report after closure, I imagine it would remain at the age it is closed at.  In my opinion it would be greater benefit to allow the card to continue to age, affecting both the overall age and age of oldest acct.  Depending on what your financial future entails, I don't see how having older (and open) accounts with a long history of positive credit management would work against you.

I also believe in trimming down and managing what is best for you. So I'm not saying don't close any cards, just that it may be wiser to allow the oldest account to continue to age and remain open.

[James3]

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@raisemysc0re wrote:

In the last 2 months I have opened 2 new cards totalling $58K and have about $300K Credit Card limit altogether.

I now have 15 cards and I'm thinking it might be time to close a few .

I read that AAoA is important but that AoOA is much more important. Not 100% sure if this is true?

Even though my oldest (6+ years - FNBO) has a very small CL of $7700 & no rewards it does not have an AF so I believe I have to keep this one.

CapOne QS is one of my other eldest accounts (about 5 years) and they slashed that a few years ago from 17K to 11K due to little use. I feel like this might be a good candidate for purge...

DiscoverIt is a middling CL of 18K 5+ years as well, but again I only use it to keep it open, so it is also a consideration.

Ditto for my Barclay's at 13K and about 5years.

I have one PenFed, Amex and a couple NFCU cards betwen 1-2 years old and the rest are less then a year.

What do you folks think? Purge or hold off until some of the useful cards age?

What Fico scoring models would be most affected by this purge if I did go ahead with these closings?

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I was able to product change an old FNBO card to their Evergreen card, which gives unlimited 2% cashback. The FNBO card is my oldest card (20 years) and now the one I use for general spend. I had recently opened a Citi Double Cash, which would hurt my AAoA less if closed.

[raisemysc0re]

This was an old secured card. First card on my journey back from the abyss.

That is why it is my oldest active account.

I just called and they said that this card cannot be PC'ed because of this...