Reopening Citi CC due to no activity - Will it re-open with same original open date?

[Anonymous]

My Citi Thank You card was closed 3 days ago due to inactivity. 

My current utilization rate: <1.63%
Citi Thank you CL: $9,100 / Open date: 10/12/2012 / $0 BAL

My Current Total Credit Limit: $52,500 (already excludes the $9.1k from Citi)

My AAoA: 6 years

1. The above numbers are from a recent credit report, but only looking at TL labeled: "CREDIT CARD" Is this the way to do it? or should i also be including credit limits and credit age from "CHARGE ACCOUNTS": (report calls charge accounts to my department store credit card like my Macy's Amex and Home Depot)

2. I called Citi and ask to re-open but they said they have to send my file for review and that it would cause a hard inquiry, sort of like re-applying. Does anyone know, if they in fact re-open it, I would still have the original Open Date?  Or would I have a new "Open Date" ? How bad is a hard inquiry? 

3. If the account is closed to to inactivity and it is in good standing, does the rule of  "it will show up on my credit report for 10 years" Still apply? If that is the case, 10 years is such a long time that the AAoA would not be affected by then. Will i be able to use the $9,100 towards my Total Credit Limit as well??

4. By just looking at my credit cards only, removing the Citi will make my AAoA go from 6.0 years to 6.4 years. My Utilization rate would go from 1.63% to %1.92, which is not a big impact but it would be if I carry a balance of around $5k or more. WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

[Chris679]

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@Anonymous wrote:

My Citi Thank You card was closed 3 days ago due to inactivity. 

My current utilization rate: <1.63%
Citi Thank you CL: $9,100 / Open date: 10/12/2012 / $0 BAL

My Current Total Credit Limit: $52,500 (already excludes the $9.1k from Citi)

My AAoA: 6 years

1. The above numbers are from a recent credit report, but only looking at TL labeled: "CREDIT CARD" Is this the way to do it? or should i also be including credit limits and credit age from "CHARGE ACCOUNTS": (report calls charge accounts to my department store credit card like my Macy's Amex and Home Depot)

2. I called Citi and ask to re-open but they said they have to send my file for review and that it would cause a hard inquiry, sort of like re-applying. Does anyone know, if they in fact re-open it, I would still have the original Open Date?  Or would I have a new "Open Date" ? How bad is a hard inquiry? 

3. If the account is closed to to inactivity and it is in good standing, does the rule of  "it will show up on my credit report for 10 years" Still apply? If that is the case, 10 years is such a long time that the AAoA would not be affected by then. Will i be able to use the $9,100 towards my Total Credit Limit as well??

4. By just looking at my credit cards only, removing the Citi will make my AAoA go from 6.0 years to 6.4 years. My Utilization rate would go from 1.63% to %1.92, which is not a big impact but it would be if I carry a balance of around $5k or more. WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

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1. All revolving accounts are scored for utilization including store cards or accounts labeled as charge accounts.

2. If they re-open the same account it should keep all of the history. A hard inquiry is nothing to worry about.

3. All positive tradelines will stay on your account for min 10 years. As long as it is paid off and has no lates it is positive.

4. Closed accounts still count for aaoa, it will not be affected if the account is closed.  I would try to keep it open and PC it to the Double Cash card.  That is what I did with my Citi TYP. 

[Anonymous]

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@Chris679 wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

My Citi Thank You card was closed 3 days ago due to inactivity. 

My current utilization rate: <1.63%
Citi Thank you CL: $9,100 / Open date: 10/12/2012 / $0 BAL

My Current Total Credit Limit: $52,500 (already excludes the $9.1k from Citi)

My AAoA: 6 years

1. The above numbers are from a recent credit report, but only looking at TL labeled: "CREDIT CARD" Is this the way to do it? or should i also be including credit limits and credit age from "CHARGE ACCOUNTS": (report calls charge accounts to my department store credit card like my Macy's Amex and Home Depot)

2. I called Citi and ask to re-open but they said they have to send my file for review and that it would cause a hard inquiry, sort of like re-applying. Does anyone know, if they in fact re-open it, I would still have the original Open Date?  Or would I have a new "Open Date" ? How bad is a hard inquiry? 

3. If the account is closed to to inactivity and it is in good standing, does the rule of  "it will show up on my credit report for 10 years" Still apply? If that is the case, 10 years is such a long time that the AAoA would not be affected by then. Will i be able to use the $9,100 towards my Total Credit Limit as well??

4. By just looking at my credit cards only, removing the Citi will make my AAoA go from 6.0 years to 6.4 years. My Utilization rate would go from 1.63% to %1.92, which is not a big impact but it would be if I carry a balance of around $5k or more. WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

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1. All revolving accounts are scored for utilization including store cards or accounts labeled as charge accounts.

2. If they re-open the same account it should keep all of the history. A hard inquiry is nothing to worry about.

3. All positive tradelines will stay on your account for min 10 years. As long as it is paid off and has no lates it is positive.

4. Closed accounts still count for aaoa, it will not be affected if the account is closed.  I would try to keep it open and PC it to the Double Cash card.  That is what I did with my Citi TYP. 

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1. Thank you, I will take that in mind
2. I requested earlier today for a re-open and now it is under "review", should have an answer soon.

3. Understood, since i am re-opening it will help my AAoA if I open a new TL in the future

4. If i get the account re-open they told me i could request to PC it to a Double Cash- Will try it! Thank you for the suggestion. 

[Anonymous]

Good luck OP. I hope everything works out for you.

[Anonymous]

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@Chris679 wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

My Citi Thank You card was closed 3 days ago due to inactivity. 

My current utilization rate: <1.63%
Citi Thank you CL: $9,100 / Open date: 10/12/2012 / $0 BAL

My Current Total Credit Limit: $52,500 (already excludes the $9.1k from Citi)

My AAoA: 6 years

1. The above numbers are from a recent credit report, but only looking at TL labeled: "CREDIT CARD" Is this the way to do it? or should i also be including credit limits and credit age from "CHARGE ACCOUNTS": (report calls charge accounts to my department store credit card like my Macy's Amex and Home Depot)

2. I called Citi and ask to re-open but they said they have to send my file for review and that it would cause a hard inquiry, sort of like re-applying. Does anyone know, if they in fact re-open it, I would still have the original Open Date?  Or would I have a new "Open Date" ? How bad is a hard inquiry? 

3. If the account is closed to to inactivity and it is in good standing, does the rule of  "it will show up on my credit report for 10 years" Still apply? If that is the case, 10 years is such a long time that the AAoA would not be affected by then. Will i be able to use the $9,100 towards my Total Credit Limit as well??

4. By just looking at my credit cards only, removing the Citi will make my AAoA go from 6.0 years to 6.4 years. My Utilization rate would go from 1.63% to %1.92, which is not a big impact but it would be if I carry a balance of around $5k or more. WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

---

1. All revolving accounts are scored for utilization including store cards or accounts labeled as charge accounts.

2. If they re-open the same account it should keep all of the history. A hard inquiry is nothing to worry about.

3. All positive tradelines will stay on your account for min 10 years. As long as it is paid off and has no lates it is positive.

4. Closed accounts still count for aaoa, it will not be affected if the account is closed.  I would try to keep it open and PC it to the Double Cash card.  That is what I did with my Citi TYP. 

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+1

[takeshi74]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Understood, since i am re-opening it will help my AAoA if I open a new TL in the future

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You'd have to verify with Citi if the account would report with the old open date if reopened.

AAoA is irrrelvant either way.  Closure does not immediately impact AAoA so reopening would not improve your situation aside from keeping the account on your reports longer.  Read the Closing Credit Cards thread linked in the Helpful Threads sticky.  Make sure you carefully research before taking action, not after.  If Citi reopens and doesn't use the old open date then you'll definitely drop your AAoA.

If you want to avoid closure due to inactivity then verify the policy with each of your creditors and ensure that you're meeting at least the minimum activity requirement.

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@Anonymous wrote:

By just looking at my credit cards only, removing the Citi will make my AAoA go from 6.0 years to 6.4 years. My Utilization rate would go from 1.63% to %1.92, which is not a big impact but it would be if I carry a balance of around $5k or more. WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

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What I'd do doesn't matter.  You need to understand the impacts and decide based on your needs/wants, priorities, etc.  AAoA is not just your open credit cards.  It is based on all open and closed accounts on your report.  6 versus 6.4 isn't a drastic difference but that's not the actual impact unless you have no other credit accounts on your report.

I'm not sure I understand your concern over revolving utilization.  Are you anticipating a need to carry a balance of $5K or more?  If having the additional available credit would significantly help with your revolving utilization then it may be worth considering.  CLI's on other cards could also help with that.  However, if you need to carry a balance then you should probably look into why you have that need and get that addressed.  Don't rely on credit alone as an emergency fund.

Given your scores it doesn't seem worth worrying over as impact is probably going to be very small even if the account remains closed.  Your revolving utilization was already low and is still low even without that account.  1.63% versus 1.92% isn't significant.  If Citi can reopen with the original open date, consider it a plus.  If not, no big deal.

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@Anonymous wrote:

How bad is a hard inquiry?  

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Despite the obsession over them they are a small factor.  They can have a bigger impact for those with thin credit profiles and/or credit profiles with issues but with your scores they're going to have a small impact.  A single HP isn't worth fretting over with your credit profile.

[Anonymous]

My account was approved to be re-opened, got my credit card a couple days ago.