From what I have read here on the forums, closed accounts that were in good standing will still count towards your AAoA, so it won't affect your scores in that regard (if I'm wrong in that regard, hopefully someone will correct me on that). Plus, getting rid of all those fees will be a good thing IMHO. So personally, I would close all those and you won't lose anything other than having to pay those stupid fees.
@Anonymous I think about closing some of mine every morning. If you close cards today and open a prime one in a short future(6mo), that card will be 10yrs old by the time your closed cards fall off. It's always our subprime cards that are our oldest. I'd tell you for now that if it has annual fee then get rid off it.
@AnonymousClosed accounts will show on your reports until 10 yrs after the closing date. Any of them with ungodly fees kick em to the curb. You seen the saying on here finances over FICO. Congrats on the non vulture card approvals. Keep 1 of them so you sit at 3 cards and have only 1 report a balance or AZEO for now. Wait 6 months and then go for your next wanted card. Then close out the remaining starter card. Step by step you'll get there.
Personally, I'd close every single one of them--*after* obtaining at least one 'good' card. Those annual fees and APRs are OUTRAGEOUS, especially for cards like those. My Amex Blue Cash Preferred has a $95 AF, but you know what goes along with that? Yeah, all sorts of great benefits! In other words an AF is not an AF is not an AF.....
As others have noted, your good payment history will stay on your reports for awhile, so that's not really an issue. Plus your credit is still very new (as credit goes), so I don't think closing them will hurt you at all.
Maybe close all but one, hold on to that one card until you're nicely settled with at least one good card, then close it, too.
@MileHigh96 wrote:From what I have read here on the forums, closed accounts that were in good standing will still count towards your AAoA, so it won't affect your scores in that regard (if I'm wrong in that regard, hopefully someone will correct me on that). Plus, getting rid of all those fees will be a good thing IMHO. So personally, I would close all those and you won't lose anything other than having to pay those stupid fees.
Yes. Dump them and don't think twice about it.
They will continue to be factored into your aaoa and aooa for many years
By the time they drop out your other accounts will be plenty old enough
Those cards are like leeches on your finances, @Anonymous! But you're smart to think twice before just closing them. For a rebuilder, even as ugly as they are, they can serve a purpose. By the grace of God, I've never to resort to cards like that since I never had to rebuild, but those types of predatory cards need to go when your profile has improved.
To clarify, there is no guarantee those cards will continue to report to the CRBs for ten years. The cards may drop off tomorrow, report for five years, ten years, or even longer. I've had cards do any of those. That said, in most cases they do continue to report for around ten years, but there is no universal standard. Be prepared for either outcome even though you will normally not take an instant hit on AAoA by closing. However, in the grand scheme of things, we're talking about cards that are less than two years old. You aren't closing a ten year old card, so it's a small and temporary bump-in-the-road at the worst case.
You mentioned fees on the First Premier and Indigo/Destiny. Do you pay any fees on the Capital One or Credit One cards? If so, have you contacted them to see if they would waive the fee or convert those cards? If any of those cards has or can be converted to a product that doesn't cost you anything, I definitely would keep one of them open for the medium term. Put some small charges on it to keep it active and let it help your AAoAs until your prime cards age and you add a few more. Then, in five or ten years, close the last one. But if all of them are costing you fees, close them all immediately. Echoing the above, finances above FICO.
