I realized in December my portfolio is getting way too out of hand....My scenario may be different than allot here...Never any baddies or lates. My oldest cards are from 1982 (chase) and 1984 (Amex) I travel allot for work and with the family sooooooo want those cards for status and perks. Also my wife will NOT own a credit card because of earlier identity theft problems so some of the cards you see in my sig I got just for her to use (and she dutifully pays them off every month!!) Still it is getting ridiculous to keep all these trophies, especially when the rewards overlap....want travel miles of course but also like the cash back, to that extent I have decided to get rid of store cards (even though they were the Visa/MC versions) Sorry so long but here is the list:
Bloomingdales Amex
Nordstrom Visa
FNBO bucks back
AA gold
Hilton Amex (that had to go to get the Delta, yup flying them now because they have non stops from Boston to Orlando) Keeping the family happy!!
USAA Amex
Up on the chopping block this month:
Overstock (store version)
US bank, Cash +
Amex Business Gold
I am sure more will come up as I thin the herd.....It is fun to get rid of things not being used anymore.
@bz386 wrote:Planning to close:
Amex BCE (8K): Wil be gone once the remaining rewards post so I can cash out (damn $25 minimum payout).
Citi DC (15.6K): Will likely be gone soon. I value airline miles at 2c each, so the Citi DC reward structure doesn't do it for me. Citi customer service is just plain horrible.
Discover (14.5K): Will be closed once the double cash back posts in June or July. I hate rotating category cards, the categories never align with my needs. I don't shop for crap online so Discover Deals rarely does it for me either. The limited acceptance does the rest.
Freedom (10K): Another pointless rotating category card. Might close this very soon.
Amex PRG (NPSL): Only opened this for the bonus. Will definitely close in September when the AF posts, if I don't get a retention bonus. The 3x points on airfare is nice, but I can't really justify keeping two AF cards.
HSBC Premier (5K) - I hate HSBC. Their customer service is crap and their online banking is stuck in the 80s. But this is my oldest card and has no AF and no foreign transaction fees. Small CL, but considering I spent a whopping $25 on it last year, it doesn't matter. The jury is still out on this. I am *very* tempted to close it.
This would leave me with:
CSP (29K)- Keeper. Travel represents roughly 50% of my spending on credit cards, so the CSP is ideal for my needs.
Amex ED (24K) - Keeper. Everything that is not travel or dining goes on this card. Might upgrade to EDP eventually, but not sure I would always be able to hit the 30 swipes.
"Oldest account" is a credit factor of its own, so I strongly recommend that you hold on to the HSBC card.
@Anonymous wrote:
@SouthJamaica wrote:
@bz386 wrote:Planning to close:
Amex BCE (8K): Wil be gone once the remaining rewards post so I can cash out (damn $25 minimum payout).
Citi DC (15.6K): Will likely be gone soon. I value airline miles at 2c each, so the Citi DC reward structure doesn't do it for me. Citi customer service is just plain horrible.
Discover (14.5K): Will be closed once the double cash back posts in June or July. I hate rotating category cards, the categories never align with my needs. I don't shop for crap online so Discover Deals rarely does it for me either. The limited acceptance does the rest.
Freedom (10K): Another pointless rotating category card. Might close this very soon.
Amex PRG (NPSL): Only opened this for the bonus. Will definitely close in September when the AF posts, if I don't get a retention bonus. The 3x points on airfare is nice, but I can't really justify keeping two AF cards.
HSBC Premier (5K) - I hate HSBC. Their customer service is crap and their online banking is stuck in the 80s. But this is my oldest card and has no AF and no foreign transaction fees. Small CL, but considering I spent a whopping $25 on it last year, it doesn't matter. The jury is still out on this. I am *very* tempted to close it.
This would leave me with:
CSP (29K)- Keeper. Travel represents roughly 50% of my spending on credit cards, so the CSP is ideal for my needs.
Amex ED (24K) - Keeper. Everything that is not travel or dining goes on this card. Might upgrade to EDP eventually, but not sure I would always be able to hit the 30 swipes.
"Oldest account" is a credit factor of its own, so I strongly recommend that you hold on to the HSBC card.
But it's still a choice you can make if it is unsatisfactory to you. All these "rules" of keeping your oldest account open, and keeping < 10% in utilization are overrated. People are going to do what they want. If it's a crap card, close it. Oldest or not.
Kudos again! .....so overrated.
@Anonymous wrote:Also, even if you close the card, it's still your oldest account for the next ten years or so until it's removed from your credit report. Closing it now isn't going to change your score one bit.
Thanks for posting that point, Irish. 
