Should I Close Card??

[Anonymous]

I have a 1st Financial Bank USA Credit card of which I opened when heading into college (About 10 years ago). Since opening the card, I have not held a balance on the card for years and through the years they have increased my limit to $17,500 which I will never consider using. In the past few years they have began charging and annual fee of $55 which I have paid since this is my oldest card and holds a pretty high limit. My current Credit Scorre is 750+ and I have $47,000 of open credit limit for use on other cards with about 5% of that utilized.  

My Question: Do I keep in open and pay the AF because it reduced my debt to credit ration and is a long standing card on my report. Or would it not impact my credit profile to warrant the AF?  

Any input is greatly appreciated.

[Involver]

I would call and ask them about an AF waiver before making a determination on closing it.  It would be beneficial to keep it open as long as possible if they're willing to waive the fee.

[Anonymous]

Try to get the annual fee waived or ask them for a product change to a no annual fees version if available. You will get the AAoA advantage another 10 years even if you closed it, but it doesn't hurt to keep it open if you can.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for your input! 

I gave them a quick call and since I'm holding a $0 balance they waived the AF. Just need to call each year and inquire before the bill comes due. I will keep the card open for now.

[SouthJamaica]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I have a 1st Financial Bank USA Credit card of which I opened when heading into college (About 10 years ago). Since opening the card, I have not held a balance on the card for years and through the years they have increased my limit to $17,500 which I will never consider using. In the past few years they have began charging and annual fee of $55 which I have paid since this is my oldest card and holds a pretty high limit. My current Credit Scorre is 750+ and I have $47,000 of open credit limit for use on other cards with about 5% of that utilized.  

My Question: Do I keep in open and pay the AF because it reduced my debt to credit ration and is a long standing card on my report. Or would it not impact my credit profile to warrant the AF?  

Any input is greatly appreciated.

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Important to keep it open, especially if it's reported as your oldest account.... unless you have another account which is close to it in age.

So ask them to upgrade the card or waive the fee or downgrade the card... anything to keep the account open without an annual fee.

But if it were me, I'd pay $75 a year to keep my oldest account.  Some day, when you have a lot of old accounts, it will be less critical.

[SouthJamaica]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Thanks for your input! 

I gave them a quick call and since I'm holding a $0 balance they waived the AF. Just need to call each year and inquire before the bill comes due. I will keep the card open for now.

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If you don't use the card, they may cancel it for inactivity, so watch out.

[Chris679]

I would close it rather that have to call to cancel the AF on a card I get no benefit from.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Thanks for your input! 

I gave them a quick call and since I'm holding a $0 balance they waived the AF. Just need to call each year and inquire before the bill comes due. I will keep the card open for now.

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Good! It never hurts to call and try. The limit on the card is a descent one and if they keep waiving the fee, then there's no harm in keeping it open. If they stop waiving it close it, you would keep the AAoA on the card for a while.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Thanks for your input! 

I gave them a quick call and since I'm holding a $0 balance they waived the AF. Just need to call each year and inquire before the bill comes due. I will keep the card open for now.

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In the future if it's becomes a hassle to member to call....

the 'hit' for closing it probably isn't something you'd easily absorb anyway...

You said you opened this account over 10years ago, you don't use it

you've got almost 50k in other unsecured accounts, with a 5% util ratio ...if they have some 'age' to them at all

the next one down will become your oldest...this card will still hang on your reports for ten more years as all the cards you use age as well.

The 'oldest' account mantra loses value at a point, when you've got other 'aged' accounts, especially if you're only keeping it because you feel like a hostage

to a crad you no longer want.

Again, a thin younger file yeah you're kinda stuck but with an aged file with a solid AoA, 50k in unsecured debt 5% usage and a 750+ score you

are NOT in hostage mode any longer, if you want to dump a card you'll be fine.

I doubt with that profile that this ONE card is over 10 years and the rest are 18 months old...who knows one of your other cards may bump you up once they see

the one less open big limit card on your profile or two cards could bump you 5-10k a piece and your overall available CL's might still be around the same...either way

worse case you hit a small dip which you'll recover in a matter of months....

Again this is a fee you'd been paying for the last few years just because, there is no need to waste that money or your effort it's not like those points are being held hostage and won't be earned back in very short order given your stats....