Questions about my portfolio of cards. It Alittle long

[Anonymous]

So here is the thing, as a 22 year old who was able to get some "nice" cards after getting a car loan, I went on a applying spree overall I have 9 credit cards, I don't use most of them, and some overlap in the category section so if you can please give me some advise for each card I have.

1) Capital one secured: my first card, I have a sentimental attachment to it so I'm not going to close it, but my wuestion is that if there's any way of upgrading it to a different card?

2) Paypal extras MC: funny thing in less than a year I already got back $50 dollars because they have promotions of things like "spend $500 in the month of December and get 3000 points" or "15 swipes get 2,500 points" stuff like that. So I kinda like it but don't use it as much..

3) Amex Everyday: my first Amex, I probably shoulda applied for a cash back since i can't get 20 swipes a month on it to get the 20% extra points...

4) discover Chrome turned "it": it started as a discover Chrome since I didn't get approved for an it at first.. but just a few days I called and got it switched to an "it" card with rotating categories.

5) Gap Visa: I have no idea why I got it, I'm thinking of closing it, but it has given me $100 in rewards since I got it a few moths back.

6) quicksilver ONE: it just hit its 6 month mark and they gave me a CLI, honestly I live capital one ALOT, everything runs sooo smooth with them, never had a problem. My question is, has it been long enough to upgrade it to a Quicksilver with no annual fee?

7) Amex PRG: I got it because I received the offer in the mail and decided to apply for it, but I'm thinking that I dont spend enough with it to Pay the annual fee of $195, it's a beautiful card but it's just not for me when I sit and think about it. QUESTION is should I cancel it? Or Downgrade it to a Green?

8) Amazon prime Signature visa: frankly I love the card, this will be my daily card after I get the PRG bonus, i spend ALOT On Amazon and I dine out and use a lot of gas Too, drugstores like Walgreens and CVS are close to me so I can get a few points there. Plus I believe it's one of the few No annual fee Metal credit cards.

9) care credit: I just got that today because I need some $3000 worth of dental work done and could pay all of it out of pocket, I do have a question about it though... how would I keep it active? I'm planing on paying the whole amount as soon as possible, but after that I don't know what do use it for? Unless I find a way to get the MC version of it instead so I can put a reoccurring payment on it to keep it active?

So that's all, please give me your imput on what I should do with some of the cards and how should I use them, since most of them overlap in the Dining and has categories..and will closing the charge card effect my score in any way? I definitely need the Amazon, platinum, quicksilver, and discover card. Please give me any advise if you can.

Also I'm done applying after my Recent Amazon prime and care credit approval.

[Anonymous]

I'd kill the Gap card (though getting $100 on it already is nice but how many new jeans do you need?)

Capital One - hit the chat button. Ask them to unsecure your Platinum. They'll say something to the effect of "graduating secured cards is something new we're testing..." yadayadayada. I would ask them point blank who you need to talk to, email, or write a letter to in order to get it unsecured.

Once it's unsecured, wait a day and chat again, asking to product change it to a QS or QS1. Doesn't matter - won't have an annual fee since it's originally a platinum. Then go online and combine the cards into the original formerly-secured, formerly-platinum card. That will close the newer card, move your higher limit to the sentimental and older card, and it will have cash back with no AF.

And don't forget to kill the Gap card.

[Anonymous]

Capital One is not that simple I've spoken to the EO's office and asked them point blank they don't care if your scores are 600 or 800 they have a formula and they stick to it in deciding who graduates it's somewhat of a lottery.

[Anonymous]

Definitely cannot PC it even if it graduates it can't be changed into a different card.

[Anonymous]

Do not downgrade to Green from PRG. Either keep PRG or cancel it. Green makes zero sense.

[HeavenOhio]

It was recently posted here that CapOne might graduate a secured card if it has 10 consecutive months of on-time payments. You can try that.

It's hard to product-change a QuicksilverOne into a no-fee card, but offers do come up infrequently. Call regularly and ask if your card is eligible. When the fee hits, call and ask if it can be waived. I have a couple of ancient QuicksilverOnes. Right now, I've been using them each and every month and hoping that will help.

If you really like CapOne and find that you're not having success at getting product changes, you can apply for a new Quicksilver and combine cards. Check their site to see if you pre-qualify, and apply when your inquiries are down and you think your newest accounts have aged enough. Note that CapOne will pull all three bureaus.

You might consider a product change on your AMEX Everyday card to possibly the Blue Cash Everyday card.

If you return to the same dentist in the future, you can use CareCredit again at that point. But if you find that the card is no longer useful to you, go ahead and cancel it.

[AverageJoesCredit]

Your doing great. Dont necessarily need to close the Gap Visa being that it is s visa and you could get a nice high limit with this being that its Synchrony and it can help with overall credit utilization. Congrats on all your success

[Anonymous]

Thanks for all the feedback, I thought that if you got the Quicdilver one, eventually you would be able to change it to a no Annual fee QS like the MC world or just a regular MC BUT with no annual fee.

As for the gap, let's say I don't close it for utilization purpose even though I don't usually spend a lot on my cards, how would I keep it active ? How many times a year would I need to swipe it?

PRG I believe I should just close it than after the year is up.. what I'm worried about is how my credit would look after I close it, if I read correctly a good standing closed account will stay on the records for up to 10 years right?

[rubicon]

I'd add that people have reported that CapOne will graduate at the cut of the 11th statement of consecutive on-time payments...most people are reporting that these accounts were opened no later than January of last year

[K-in-Boston]

---

@HeavenOhio wrote:

You might consider a product change on your AMEX Everyday card to possibly the Blue Cash Everyday card.

---

EveryDay can only be changed to EveryDay Preferred.  Membership Rewards to cash back and vice versa is not possible.

For CapOne, definitely see if you can get it unsecured and do as suggested by combining to your older card.

For PRG - do you travel at all?  Between taking advantage of offers and the $100 travel credit, it should almost pay for itself.  In fairness, I am likely going to close mine and it was my daily driver seeing probably an average of $60k a year of spend for about 14 years.  Downgrading to green makes no sense at all for most people, and you would need to decide if upgrading to Platinum made sense for your spend and travel needs.  If you really want to close it, I would wait until the AF hits, then call and ask for a retention offer - if there isn't one close it and they will refund the AF if you do it right after.