Simplifying My Lineup

[seattletravels]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@seattletravels wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

OP, could you please clarify if whether you just plan on putting some cards in the SD or closing? If the latter, I agree with the 1st post and not closing your oldest account as it would significantly decrease your AAoA, thus taking a hit to your scores for some time.

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@VanderSnoot wrote:

Any dos and don'ts of simplifying your card lineup? A quick review of my lineup shows I can get most of my current rewards with about 4 or 5 cards from 4 issuers (the difference is getting a second US Bank Cash+ card). It means ditching rotating category cards, including my oldest card (by a significant margin) and it moves me decidedly towards Amex, a smaller network than Visa or MS (but my default 2% card would be a Visa). My total CL would roughly halve, and utilization would not be affected significantly. I would SD, rather than close, other cards and let them close on their own. All thoughts are appreciated.

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Wow, I was still half asleep when I read OP's post. Ridiculous 

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Haha been there! 🤪

[seattletravels]

TBH, for me, it's usually that I dont have the patience to read a long post and only respond to the first few sentences. 

[VanderSnoot]

@Pinkandgrey - you're my hero. I deeply admire your sig.

@Coldfusion - that's what I figure. My oldest card is 10 years older than my next card (which is only 2 years older than every other card in my wallet), so by the time it falls off, everything will be well aged (or issuers will have come out with new cards with better benefits, and everything will be new again).

@Taurus22 - my utilization now hovers between 0.1% - 1.0%, so halving my total CL will increase utilization to 0.2% - 2.0%. You can see why I'm not concerned.

@seattletravels wrote:

TBH, for me, it's usually that I dont have the patience to read a long post and only respond to the first few sentences. 

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Guilty too, @seattletravels. No harm, no foul. Yes, I'd SD the cards and let them close on their own. I have one card right now that I struggle to remember to use and pay once per 3-6 months, and I'd rather not play that game with six cards.

The one consideration slowing me down is that to get the majority of the benefits, I need to upgrade from the no AF BCE to the $95 BCP. The BCP isn't worth it to me with CF and Disco categories half of the year, but it's well worth it without those two cards. (Streaming is insignificant to me.)

[M_Smart007]

"I'd rather not play that game with six cards."

Play with 5 and you have a poker hand

I personally play with a full deck, and I am not talking upstairs

[EdMan63]

I definitely believe in simplicity. You will find that most people outside of this forum do too when it comes to credit cards. Manage your own plan and use what you've learned to make good decisions. You will be fine.  

[Aim_High]

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@VanderSnoot wrote:

@seattletravels wrote:

TBH, for me, it's usually that I dont have the patience to read a long post and only respond to the first few sentences. 

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Guilty too, @seattletravels. No harm, no foul.

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I'm surprised either of you has read any of my postings!

Lol  

I tend to be a little on the verbose side. 

I just can't help myself. 

[Anonymous]

If you get the same benefits from the other cards, I don't see an issue here but I would rather close cards than let lenders close them for me. I just take the ones I don't use often out every few months and throw a charge on them and push pay it right away. Cards I can't easily manage like that I get rid of (like I did with CareCredit and B&H). I can understand not wanting to have that hassle though so I would just close them. Stagger the closures though over a few months so you don't spook your lenders. 

The economy is something I would be thinking about too though. I know I'm certainly not willing to voluntarily close any of my cards when it looks like we are going towards a recession and cards will get closed by lenders as part of their belt tightening anyway. 

[wasCB14]

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@VanderSnoot wrote:

Any dos and don'ts of simplifying your card lineup? A quick review of my lineup shows I can get most of my current rewards with about 4 or 5 cards from 4 issuers (the difference is getting a second US Bank Cash+ card). It means ditching rotating category cards, including my oldest card (by a significant margin) and it moves me decidedly towards Amex, a smaller network than Visa or MS (but my default 2% card would be a Visa). My total CL would roughly halve, and utilization would not be affected significantly. I would SD, rather than close, other cards and let them close on their own. All thoughts are appreciated.

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I'm not really a fan of the "let cards close on their own" approach. I either keep a card active (perhaps minimally so) or close it.

Keeping accounts locked may work with some issuers. I'm not sure which issuers would be upset if a card is locked 90% of the time.

If you upgrade to the BCP, keep an eye out for targeted offers. It's fairly common to get an offer for $250 for $1k spend with the AF due, or $150/$1k spend with the AF waived for 12 months.

While I focus on SUBs and MRs now, I do like my old 5% cards and find they make some AFs less appealing.

[Aim_High]

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@VanderSnoot wrote:

Any dos and don'ts of simplifying your card lineup? A quick review of my lineup shows I can get most of my current rewards with about 4 or 5 cards from 4 issuers (the difference is getting a second US Bank Cash+ card). It means ditching rotating category cards, including my oldest card (by a significant margin) and it moves me decidedly towards Amex, a smaller network than Visa or MS (but my default 2% card would be a Visa). My total CL would roughly halve, and utilization would not be affected significantly. I would SD, rather than close, other cards and let them close on their own. All thoughts are appreciated.

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I did this a few years ago (simplified.)  Then, I decided to pursue a travel card (ended up with CSR) and got on My Fico and .... well.  You all have corrupted me!   Lol.  When I closed cards, I considered a lot of factors:  Age of accounts was very important, credit limit, relationship with the lender, APR and fees, and utility of the rewards program.  I got rid of several store cards which probably would have been closed by lender anyway since I would not be using them enough.  Four of the cards I kept are approaching or over 20 years of age now.  They have all been PC'd to other products and are with major banks (Disco, BofA, UMB, Chase.)   And that "anchor" of age helped me to keep my AAoA up pretty high even with a recent spree of new cards.  I've tried to find a valid use for all my cards so they'd have a purpose.   I have some cards in mind to add, but also thoughts of closing some of my current accounts. 

So in my opinion, simplicity is good but I also want to have diversity with different banks and options for rewards earning and redemption.   Just remember that cards and lenders are always evolving.  Cards can be PC'd and might become more valuable to you in the future.  Keeping them open leaves you options instead of having to apply for new credit. 

I would think carefully before closing your (by far) oldest account.

If you permanently SD accounts, I would suggest you just close them. 

   *See this recent remark from an UW:

     https://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Card-Applications/Navy-Federal-Thread-for-CLI-and-Additional...

I'd be careful concentrating most of my cards with one lender (AMEX) and closing most others.  (Yes, I have a lot of Chase in my wallet right now, but I am in the process of diversifying with some others also, and I've been on a run with Chase while I was under 5/24.) 

I dislike rotating category cards as well.  My Discover used to be the CHROME for that very reason and I deferred getting a FREEDOM until I got the Chase Quadfecta.  But 7.5% back (with URs through my CSR) is hard to ignore.

My other caution (which doesn't apply to you but might to others thinking of simplifying) would be to consider the impact of overall utilization before closing credit lines.  It sounds like that isn't a problem for your situation.  But even so, I would consider which cards have your highest limits and consider keeping those open or trying to reallocate credit lines.

[VanderSnoot]

@Aim_High - thanks for the link to @Plaidington's comment. Between his/her thoughts and @Saeren's two cents on the economy, I will hold off closing/SDing too many cards. I'll kill of the ones that are a pain (BB&T) and continue juggling the others. Once I get a net $250 offer (h/t @wasCB14) for the Amex BCP, I'll have to make the decision to simplify my spending structure.