Keeping all ones credit eggs in one basket isn't really a good idea. Lender diversity is good even with minimal cards. Having a couple high limit cards can show future applications you have experience with managing high limits. I would just keep everything and when time comes for a new Chase card transfer over Amazon limit then close. Sometime in future you may Ned those high limits for something better to have than wish one had when needed. If none of this matters close all except your primary
@Anonymous wrote:@Kforce I appreciate your in-depth response. To reply to your main points:
I am single and live alone, so I don't have the family needs like the ones you describe. I also am a fairly low spender, so even a 2% vs. 3% card would make little difference in the big picture, which is why I've been fine with a 2% card for everything and even 5% cards aren't really valuable for me, given how little I'd spend in the categories that seems to come up like restaurants (I almost never eat out) and gas (I average about $30/month, filling up about every 8-9 weeks since I WFH).
I've never run into network restrictions (i.e. Visa vs MC) other than many years ago when I used my Amex as my primary, so I'm not really concerned there.
I'm not clear on your point about having three cards for FICO scoring. Based on what I've read so far, I've not found a good explanation for how many cards is "ideal" for FICO scoring. And I don't need a "perfect" score, given my general needs, but I'd be happy just to keep it over 800. As I mentioned before, I have never, and probably will never, had a mortgage, just car loans. So the only other times I can really see in my life where credit scores are important are said car loans and apartment rentals, both of which may be coming up later this year. Can you please let me know if I've missed something important there?
So with that all said, a second 2% card (maybe even MC based on that point of yours), seems like it would be an ideal backup, especially if it were with Chase in order to minimize the number of banking institutions with whom I'd have accounts. Otherwise, keeping the 1.5% CapOne along with the 2% Fidelity might be the optimal pairing, even though that would require keeping the CapOne relationship. I could actually streamline some more, however, if I were to move my savings from Ally (which I don't think I mentioned earlier) back to CapOne's 360 Savings (when I used to use CapOne as my main bank for checking and savings). That may be an idea worth considering...
Thank you again for the feedback and suggestions!
I am envious of your planed line up of two cards.
You might be the MyFico award winner for least number of cards by design.
I will soon only have 4.
I don't know the approximate score loss from only two cards, however a few points would be lost by having either no accounts showing a balance or more than 50% of your cards having a balance. Taking advantage of all zero except one card and having less than 50% cards reporting a balance requires 3 cards. My guess is 10-20 points max as a Fico point loss. If I am way off others will jump in and correct my wild stab at a number. A lot of Fico score experts in the forum. The simplicity might be worth more than a few points, I wish I did not know about the score loss and I too might only have two cards. 
@Anonymous wrote:Hi all,
I'm new here and interested in getting some feedback on how to simplify my credit cards. I actually dislike using credit cards, which is one of my main reasons for wanting to reduce what I have. Speaking of which, I have the following 4 cards, each having a $25k limit, though my total outstanding balance at any given time is never more than a few hundred dollars.
- Fidelity Rewards Visa - 2% on everything, auto-deposited into my Fidelity brokerage account monthly.
- Amex BCE - 3% on groceries, but I only spend $400-$500/month, so not a lot and not a big difference from the Fidelity card.
- Capital One Quicksilver Visa - 1.5% flat, useless but my oldest card at this point, about 6 years.
- Chase Amazon Rewards Visa - Useless now that I don't even have an Amazon account, let alone Prime. However, Chase is my primary bank.
Ideally I'd have zero cards, but if I have to have just one, Fidelity makes the most sense since that's also where all of my investment and retirement accounts are located. As for the rest, they're all useless by comparison to the Fidelity card and I hate the idea of having to keep them and putting a small monthly payment on them, using them once in a while, etc. I'd rather just simplify, reduce the number of banks with which I need to deal and have an account, etc.
I appreciate any thoughts you all may have. FWIW, I'm 48yo and the only score I know right now is the VantageScore 3.0 via Chase, currently 818. Also FWIW, I have a 36-month car lease with a final payment in October. I'll either be paying the residual balance outright (about $19k) or leasing or buying outright a new 2022 Impreza, haven't decided what, though.
It seems to me that each card serves a significant purpose, so I would just leave it.
Fidelity because you actually use it and like it.
Amex BCE because it optimizes your cash back on groceries.
Capital One because it helps your score.
Chase card because it's the only one that shows up on your primary banking site.
Obviously, if you're going to drop any it should be the Capital One and/or the Chase card.
@Kforce wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:@Kforce I appreciate your in-depth response. To reply to your main points:
I am single and live alone, so I don't have the family needs like the ones you describe. I also am a fairly low spender, so even a 2% vs. 3% card would make little difference in the big picture, which is why I've been fine with a 2% card for everything and even 5% cards aren't really valuable for me, given how little I'd spend in the categories that seems to come up like restaurants (I almost never eat out) and gas (I average about $30/month, filling up about every 8-9 weeks since I WFH).
I've never run into network restrictions (i.e. Visa vs MC) other than many years ago when I used my Amex as my primary, so I'm not really concerned there.
I'm not clear on your point about having three cards for FICO scoring. Based on what I've read so far, I've not found a good explanation for how many cards is "ideal" for FICO scoring. And I don't need a "perfect" score, given my general needs, but I'd be happy just to keep it over 800. As I mentioned before, I have never, and probably will never, had a mortgage, just car loans. So the only other times I can really see in my life where credit scores are important are said car loans and apartment rentals, both of which may be coming up later this year. Can you please let me know if I've missed something important there?
So with that all said, a second 2% card (maybe even MC based on that point of yours), seems like it would be an ideal backup, especially if it were with Chase in order to minimize the number of banking institutions with whom I'd have accounts. Otherwise, keeping the 1.5% CapOne along with the 2% Fidelity might be the optimal pairing, even though that would require keeping the CapOne relationship. I could actually streamline some more, however, if I were to move my savings from Ally (which I don't think I mentioned earlier) back to CapOne's 360 Savings (when I used to use CapOne as my main bank for checking and savings). That may be an idea worth considering...
Thank you again for the feedback and suggestions!
I am envious of your planed line up of two cards.
You might be the MyFico award winner for least number of cards by design.
I will soon only have 4.
I don't know the approximate score loss from only two cards, however a few points would be lost by having either no accounts showing a balance or more than 50% of your cards having a balance. Taking advantage of all zero except one card and having less than 50% cards reporting a balance requires 3 cards. My guess is 10-20 points max as a Fico point loss. If I am way off others will jump in and correct my wild stab at a number. A lot of Fico score experts in the forum. The simplicity might be worth more than a few points, I wish I did not know about the score loss and I too might only have two cards.
The OP doesn't have a goal of maximizing score to keep adding cards, so any "penalty" from not having 3+ cards is not going to impact the few credit situations OP needs. "Optimizing score" through AZEO is a chimera referred to a lot here, but it distracts from OP's main objective: minimizing risk through fewer card obligations.
OP's goal is "good enough" rewards, minimum time spent managing cards, and does not include any Credit Card Hobby ( obsession ) desires. One card plus a back up credit card, plus the car lease and possibly apartment lease satisfies that goal set.
I realize this is well outside the mindset of everyone here, but it's a common choice by more-normal people who are not on MyFICO 
@NRB525 wrote:The OP doesn't have a goal of maximizing score to keep adding cards, so any "penalty" from not having 3+ cards is not going to impact the few credit situations OP needs. "Optimizing score" through AZEO is a chimera referred to a lot here, but it distracts from OP's main objective: minimizing risk through fewer card obligations.
OP's goal is "good enough" rewards, minimum time spent managing cards, and does not include any Credit Card Hobby ( obsession ) desires. One card plus a back up credit card, plus the car lease and possibly apartment lease satisfies that goal set.
I realize this is well outside the mindset of everyone here, but it's a common choice by more-normal people who are not on MyFICO
This sums up my position pretty well. I am definitely not looking to optimize rewards, just to find a minimalist approach to using credit since I have to play the credit game due to the need for renting apartments, getting car leases/loans, etc. Ultimately, I aim for simplicity and, to be blunt, I don't even really like the whole idea of credit card rewards since they're predicated upon so many people, whether or not for reasons under their control (I try not to judge), paying ludicrous amount of interest, which in turn is used to pay for those rewards, so it's definitely a serious form of exploitation. I'd prefer to be able to have a single credit card with no bonuses at all, just for the added safety they provide over debit cards. That said, the Fidelity card definitely is the simplest for me since it does give a simple, fixed bonus (to make up a bit for the increased prices to make up for interchange fees) that I don't even have to think about since it automatically goes straight into an investment account.
Thanks again to everyone here for the feedback! I'm certainly going to be closing the Amex eventually (probably early next year) and probably the Chase card as well, since not having it would help me stay true to not having an Amazon account. I think the combination of Chase (checking, maybe car loan/lease), Fidelity (primary card, backup checking, retirement/investments), and CapOne (backup card, high-yield savings) strikes a reasonable balance.
@NRB525 wrote:
I realize this is well outside the mindset of everyone here, but it's a common choice by more-normal people who are not on MyFICO
I do realize that such abhorrent behavior exists but no need to bring it up in polite society!