Question

[jeffery581]

I have store cards then got the visa/mc versions later on. Should I keep the store only cards? Problem is they are my oldest cards with higher limits. I would like to keep the v/mc versions only and rather not juggle so much and worry about usage to keep them open. 

amazon9k 3 years  amazon visa1500k amazon visa 2 month old

shell 23k 2 years   shell mastercard1000k 3 months old

I guess limits dont impact fico but it will affect my AAoA I am sure.

[Imperfectfuture]

Unless you have sallie Mae (discontinued Barclay card), suggest keeping the Amazon Visa open for year, do not use for 30 days, call lending, close and roll limit over. The Amazon Prime Card gives 5% back, and plenty of 1.5 to 2% general spend cards out there.

Shell, I do not have gas cards. Sallie Mae also covers that, as well as freedom and discover. Both may be redundant if you get a better cash back card.

For Fico scoring, keep a card open one to two years, then close. I found closing the Amazon visa at 11 months, not the same as closing a card at 12 months. Though, my scores will recover.

[jeffery581]

i can combine amazon store card limit with the visa version?

the fee for prime is not worth it for me.

[Anonymous]

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@jeffery581 wrote:

i can combine amazon store card limit with the visa version?

the fee for prime is not worth it for me.

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The Visa card is from Chase, whereas the store card is from a different lender, so you can't combine the limits. 

For Prime, if you spend more than $5000 per year, you've made up for the price of Prime with the store card. There is also free instant streaming of some shows. I've used it about as often as I've used Netflix. However, if you don't get enough value out of it, then the Visa is the better option. The Amazon Visa also gets 2% off at pharmacies.

For the Shell cards, I don't know if there is a difference in the rewards. Presumably the MC is better or earns rewards on other purchases. It looks like the Mastercard version gives 10c back per gallon. In the current environment, that's around 5% back and getting better as gas goes lower. I would still look into getting a dedicated gas card, though. PenFed has one that is 5% back with what is functionally a one-time, refundable fee of $25. AARP provides 3% back, which will be better than shell if we get back to $3.30 gas.

Edit: It looks like the Shell store card is 5c per gallon, while the MC is 10c per gallon. This makes the store card redundant to me. However, closing it will have a big impact on your utilization, since the Shell store card accounts for $23k/$30k of your available credit. Therefore, you may want to keep it open and leave it in the sock drawer until you manage to get some other cards with decent CLs. 

[takeshi74]

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@jeffery581 wrote:

Should I keep the store only cards? Problem is they are my oldest cards with higher limits. I would like to keep the v/mc versions only and rather not juggle so much and worry about usage to keep them open. 

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It's your call to make based on your needs, preferences and priorities.  Consider the info in the Closing Credit Cards thread linked in the Helpful Threads sticky along with other considerations that are important to you.  I'd close anything of no use to me.  Some would keep everything open if possible.  Others fall somewhere in between.  Preferring to not juggle so much is certainly a valid priority if you find it to be a concern.  You need to be able and willing to actively manage all of your open accounts -- even those that are sock drawered.

[NRB525]

To juggle less, perhaps switch to the US Bank Cash+, activate the 5% on Department Stores and 5% on Select Clothing Stores and consider closing:

JCP

Bloomingdales

Macys

Gap

Nordstrom

Banana Republic

Kohls

TJMax

each of whom would fall into one of those two 5% categories.

[CountryLivin]

I have a lot of store cards, but I only have 2 that I have both the store card and MC/Visa version. I have the Overstock store card and the Overstock Mastercard, I also have the Amazon prime store card and the Chase Amazon rewards Visa.

I will be keeping both of these, for the simple fact that the store cards have better terms. I can defer the interest on larger purchases...with the Visa/Mastercard versions, I do not have that option.

I'm not saying that the store cards are always better, I am just saying in my case, I purchase from these two retailers on a regular basis and it is to my advantage to have the deferred interest that these 2 cards offer.

[Anonymous]

re: the two Shell cards, it seems that the store card getting worse rewards, I'd put a pack of gum (or tank of gas) on it every few months to keep it active. That's a chunk of nice util padding. That's the type of card I'd bet they'd close somewhat quickly with no use. (no experience with it, just a guess)

ETA: Or you could see if they'd roll the limit into the Visa(MC?) if it's the same lender. The other account isn't THAT old and it'd still stay on your file for 10 years. Again, no idea if they would or if that could put you under a microscope unnecessarily.