Should I close my capital One card?

[Anonymous]

Hello! This is my first post!
Started out at 560 FICO. I’m up to 685 with a goal of 720 by EOY18.
I really want the capital one venture card, but I already have two quicksilver One cards with them. I was thinking about consolidating the two cards into one line. The only issue is capital One will only let me keep the younger card, which is important because my AAOC is already low. I just refinanced my student loans, so I’ve gone from AAOC of 5 years to 1y3m. I’m wondering if the venture card will be worth the hit to my AAOC, which is already hurt as it is.

[rbentley]

I am thinking you have misunderstood how your AAoA is calculated.  When you close an account you do not lose its age on your credit reports.  It is simply moved to the closed category and maintains its age at closing for approximately 10 years.  It is true that you will see a drop in your report AAoA on CK and CS, but that is because they only calculate AAoA based on open accounts.  Your true FICO score and reports from the CRB's will include your closed accounts in the age calculation.

[Anonymous]

Well said!

[Anonymous]

Thank you! I absolutely have misunderstood, all I know is what the apps tell me, haha!!

Thank you for teaching me!

[SouthJamaica]

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@rbentley wrote:

I am thinking you have misunderstood how your AAoA is calculated.  When you close an account you do not lose its age on your credit reports.  It is simply moved to the closed category and maintains its age at closing for approximately 10 years.  It is true that you will see a drop in your report AAoA on CK and CS, but that is because they only calculate AAoA based on open accounts.  Your true FICO score and reports from the CRB's will include your closed accounts in the age calculation.

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I wouldn't close the older card, unless it has an annual fee and you can't get rid of the annual fee with an 'upgrade'.

1. There's no guarantee a closed card will stay in your profile for 10 years; I had 5 closed accounts disappear from my Equifax reports in less than a year from closure.

2.  If the closed card does stay in your profile for 10 years after being closed, 10 years from now you might wish you hadn't closed it.

[Anonymous]

If I do close it now and replace it with a card that’s just a year and a half younger, would it make that much of a difference? It does have an annual fee, but I’m going to ask about an upgrade.

[SouthJamaica]

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@Anonymous wrote:
If I do close it now and replace it with a card that’s just a year and a half younger, would it make that much of a difference? It does have an annual fee, but I’m going to ask about an upgrade.

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If you're saying it's your oldest card, but it's only 1 1/2 years older than your second oldest card... then no it wouldn't be a huge difference.

[HeavenOhio]

@Anonymous, do you have balances of zero on your cards? To combine cards, the donor card needs to have a zero balance.

The suggestion to look into product changes to no-fee cards is a good one. If one of them can be PC'd, you'd know which card needs to be kept. If both of them can be PC'd, even better.

How old is this card, and how old is your second oldest card?

[Anonymous]

My oldest card is 3 years old

The first capital one (2nd oldest) is 2yrs old

The second capital One (3rd oldest) is 1yr 1m old.

[HeavenOhio]

When are the annual fees due on these cards? If the fees aren't around the corner, you have time to attempt product changes. And you can zero out both balances and see if the option to combine into the older card becomes available.

How up to date is your signature? You mention two QS1 cards in your post, but the sig lists other Capital One products. I see potentially four accounts that need to be addressed. Indigo and Credit One should go. And QS1s need to be product-changed or combined into a superior card.