Need help organizing my wallet!

CleanCredit · ‎11-15-2018

Hi guys,

It's been a while since I've apped for a new card and decided to come out of the garden today to app for the Capital One Savor, as they are doing the $500 Cashback bonus. I know the Venture is offering 75K miles, but I don't think I can spend $5K in 3 months and I don't want to overspend trying to do so.

With that said, I am trying to clean up my cards a little bit. I currently have the following cards:

Citi Double Cash - $17K limit
Chase Freedom - $12K limit
Chase Slate - $15k limit
Chase Southwest Rewards Plus ($95 AF due in January) - $17K limit
AMEX Blue Cash Preferred ($95 AF due in January) - $18k limit
Capital One Savor - $30K limit
UWCU Student Card - $1K limit (oldest credit card - don't want to close)

Long story short, I opened up the Southwest to get some bonus miles last year and I have not touched the card since then. I used to have the CSP and CSR, but PC'ed them to the Slate and Freedom after using them both for a year. The only card I really use right now is my Citi Double Cash simply for the ease of 2% cash back, and occasionally the BCP.

With that said, I am thinking of closing my Chase Southwest card, product changing the BCP to the BCE (to avoid AF), and possibly product changing my Slate back to a CSP, since I don't really have a travel card anymore. A year from now, I'll likely PC the Savor to Savor One and sock drawer it, but will keep it open as I want to maintain a relationship with Cap 1.

I'm looking for suggestions here. I know most say to not close a card, but I have no use for the SW and for some reason feel weird about having so many lines open that I don't use. Any suggestions, tips, or recommendations are welcome here!

Thanks!

Anonymous · ‎11-15-2018

@CleanCredit wrote:
Hi guys,

It's been a while since I've apped for a new card and decided to come out of the garden today to app for the Capital One Savor, as they are doing the $500 Cashback bonus. I know the Venture is offering 75K miles, but I don't think I can spend $5K in 3 months and I don't want to overspend trying to do so.

With that said, I am trying to clean up my cards a little bit. I currently have the following cards:
Citi Double Cash - $17K limit
Chase Freedom - $12K limit
Chase Slate - $15k limit
Chase Southwest Rewards Plus ($95 AF due in January) - $17K limit
AMEX Blue Cash Preferred ($95 AF due in January) - $18k limit
Capital One Savor - $30K limit
UWCU Student Card - $1K limit (oldest credit card - don't want to close)

I'd definitely close out the SW card so that you can get it again in the future. No sense in closing anything out without an AF unless you want simplicity and don't want to have to monitor for fraud, and I can understand that desire. Just make sure you have appropriate alerts set up. The BCP is a good value if you use it to full value. Some of us recently acquired the new Gold, and I'll be nerfing/cancelling the BCP eventually and switching to the gold for all food related purchases. The only time I voluntarily product change is if the new product doesn't have a sign up bonus of some kind that I could get by applying for it or if I want to keep a credit line but don't want to pay the AF.

CleanCredit · ‎11-15-2018

@Anonymous wrote:
@CleanCredit wrote:
Hi guys,

It's been a while since I've apped for a new card and decided to come out of the garden today to app for the Capital One Savor, as they are doing the $500 Cashback bonus. I know the Venture is offering 75K miles, but I don't think I can spend $5K in 3 months and I don't want to overspend trying to do so.

With that said, I am trying to clean up my cards a little bit. I currently have the following cards:
Citi Double Cash - $17K limit
Chase Freedom - $12K limit
Chase Slate - $15k limit
Chase Southwest Rewards Plus ($95 AF due in January) - $17K limit
AMEX Blue Cash Preferred ($95 AF due in January) - $18k limit
Capital One Savor - $30K limit
UWCU Student Card - $1K limit (oldest credit card - don't want to close)

I'd definitely close out the SW card so that you can get it again in the future. No sense in closing anything out without an AF unless you want simplicity and don't want to have to monitor for fraud, and I can understand that desire. Just make sure you have appropriate alerts set up. The BCP is a good value if you use it to full value. Some of us recently acquired the new Gold, and I'll be nerfing/cancelling the BCP eventually and switching to the gold for all food related purchases. The only time I voluntarily product change is if the new product doesn't have a sign up bonus of some kind that I could get by applying for it or if I want to keep a credit line but don't want to pay the AF.

Thanks for the response and tips. I am now thinking of keeping the SW open and just doing a product change to a different card without an annual fee. Part of me is nervous that if I cancel this card, it will be the second closed card with Chase over the last 3 years and I don't want them to blacklist me for any future Chase cards I want to apply for.

Anyone know how sensitive Chase is to churning/closing accounts with them?