Too many credit cards! Help!

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:
I'm needing some advice, I should have paid attention more, but I got entirely too application crazy, I ended up getting around 50,000 new credit cards so I am back here seeing if you guys can pull me out of my mess. I now have way too many credit cards that I can actually put money through, and I was going to see if y'all could tell me which ones I should cancel, sock drawer, and keep.

Here is THE LIST:
Sunglass hut, $2800
Overstock, $5800
Marvel credit card by synchrony, $7000
Walmart card by synchrony, $6000
Old Navy visa, $1000
Eddie Bauer store card, $500
Sportsman guide visa, $2000
Bank of America secured Visa, $500
American express regular gold card
American Express every day card, $9900
American Express blue cash every day, $2000
Quicksilver one, $7250
quicksilver visa signature, $10,000
Venture, $15,000 visa signature
Discover it, $6500
Barklay arrival, $3000
Chase freedom, $2000
City double cash world elite MasterCard, $3700
Penn Fed cash rewards, $3500
Penn Fed promise card, $3500

As you can see, I have way too many! Any input would be much appreciated!

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Something else to consider, is that you don't have to put money through every card every month.  I currently have a card that I plan on using once every 3 months just to keep it active until the appropriate time to actually get rid of the card.

[Anonymous]

Lol, I know what you mean about Sunglass hut, $2800 buys a lot of Oakleys!  This actually started at $800, but I must have gotten a credit limit increase on it automatically. The last time I checked on this account I saw the increase. 

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@Anonymous wrote:

I would personally get rid of Amex Gold and ANY store cards you don't use....I mean is it necessary to have $2800 at Sunglass Hut

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[Anonymous]

 When you say close them, how badly will that affect my scores? I'm wondering if I should cancel one per month for a while, versus dumping them all at once. What are your thoughts? 

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@driftless wrote:

Wow!  Some nice cards in there though.  These are the ones that I would close right away:

Sunglass hut, $2800
Overstock, $5800
Marvel credit card by synchrony, $7000
Walmart card by synchrony, $6000
Old Navy visa, $1000
Eddie Bauer store card, $500
Sportsman guide visa, $2000
Bank of America secured Visa, $500
American express regular gold card

Quicksilver one

$7250 Barklay arrival, $3000

Chase freedom, $2000

Moving forward, I suggesting picking the number of cards that you want, and then closing additional cards to get to that number.  I am not a fan of SD'ing cards

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[Anonymous]

Closing card should not effect your score unless your utillization is an issue. 

[AverageJoesCredit]

Lol, 1st thing that popped out to me was the SH at 2800 , wow. Mine still is at $800, hsvenr used it in 10 months and will probably close. You got some good cards. I like the idea of just rotating them everyonce in awhile but if you feel uncomfotable with so many you gotta do what cha gotta do

[SouthJamaica]

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@Anonymous wrote:
Personally, I would get rid of any store cards, then secured cards. After that, determine which cards are useful to you based on your current spending habits and choose the ones to keep. Good luck!

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+1

[BirchBarlow]

Keep it simple.  At the very least, 86 the store cards, the secured Visa, the Amex charge card, the QS1, and the PenFed cards.

[Anonymous]

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@BirchBarlow wrote:

Keep it simple.  At the very least, 86 the store cards, the secured Visa, the Amex charge card, the QS1, and the PenFed cards.

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What is 86'ing a card mean? Educate me please. LOL!

[joltdude]

im going to disagree on one thing.... Tossing the BOA secured...do you have any baddies or problems in the past with BOA? if not id SD it untill it graduates at least....it would leave your options open for a boa card..... think you can PC it after it graduates.. which isnt a bad thing... 

As for Sync and Comenty.... id get rid of most if not all of them...might keep either wallyworld or mavel.. (not both).. but yes... the three pile idea is great..

Wondering if you can combine the penfed limits and get rid of one of them.. but i wouldnt kill both cards... Might not be as easy to get the next time around

[Anonymous]

I suggest keeping anything you picture yourself using, even the store cards. Many come with promotional financing that can be nice or a rewards system that amounts to more than a regular cashback card. Cards without an annual fee won't cause you any harm, so i would focus on other cards on the chopping block to start with.

I would keep at least one card from each big bank, weather by combining or closing all but the best of their offerings.