Trimming unused cards and Amex questions

[Caught750]

Hey guys, several questions. Prior to understanding credit and knowing what I wanted to accomplish I got a bunch of cards. Some good, some bad. Some lenders that like me, others that don't. I apparently underestimated my profile as well. Now I'm looking to trim some cards, especially with the potential PRG changes. My thoughts; drop Cap1 for sure. They have me bucketed and I have no use for QS. Possibly dump PenFed as they don't like my Egyptian status. I'd keep my membership for auto loans. I have a small recurring charge on my PCR to show a payment history with them. What are everyone's thoughts on this? Those are the easier ones.
The big question; Amex will likely get 95% of my spend. The rest I'll probably spread to my Hyatt and AA cards. A little spend gets a free weekend with Hyatt so it's definitely worth that much. Amex spend will primarily be on PRG and EDP.
I used BCE as my foot in the door with them and had no SUB. Delta I got, apparently, before I did enough research. I looked up who had a hub in philly and was told Delta did. I didn't look at the flights, dumb, which are awful. This was the reason for AA. I did get a SUB on Delta. I'm considering closing my BCE and Delta cards. They're both from earlier this year. I could move the limits from them to my EDP. I don't want to p*ss off Amex though. Would closing these cards present an issue? I'd still have PRG, EDP, and HH. I also have a decent cash back set up without PCR and QS.

Thoughts on these potential closures? On Amex and their reaction to this?

[UpperNwGuy]

Fewer cards is better.  I support closing the cards.

[Caught750]

I agree with fewer is better. That's what I'm going for. Or at least not keeping cards I don't use. I just don't want to have Amex kill subs in the future or have issues with internal score and CLIs in the future. Any thoughts on that topic?

[Caught750]

Travel would be Amex centric with PRG and EDP. The Hyatt and AA cards supplement them as AA is my PRG airline. $4,000 dining spend gets a free night at a plenty nice Hyatt along with a free night for renewal. HH I like and Hyatt and Hilton cover plenty of hotels for me.

For cash back if I go that route I have Discover and Cash+. I'd also happily add DC as Citi seems to like me much more than PenFed and Cap1.

I don't want 15 cards if I use 5 of them. I'd also happily keep 10 useful cards. Just want to thin out useless accounts, I'd plan to do this as I get CLIs on other cards to keep TCL semi intact.

[longtimelurker]

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@UpperNwGuy wrote:

Fewer cards is better.  I support closing the cards.

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While I agree on killing unused cards, we should also be aware that, very rarely, a card can suddenly become good.   One example for me was Chase Amazon, which was giving 3% on Amazon at a time where Sallie Mae (RIP), Citi Forward (RIP) and USB Cash + were giving 5%.   It then changed to an uncapped 5% (for the prime version) with additional benefits on Whole Foods...

And now, motivating OP, the PRG seems to be undergoing changes that will be very positive for some.  And the grandfathered Savor is another recent example.

So that's a slight risk in getting rid of cards, although in general you can always apply for them again if they become good.

[Caught750]

Thanks LTL, the cards I'm looking to cut (PCR and QS first) aren't really useful to me. Either it's a lender that doesn't like my profile at all (PenFed) or the card (QS) just doesn't benefit me. As far as BCE cash back isn't my thing right now and the point of the card was to build a relationship with Amex without losing an MR SUB.

My biggest concern is really burning bridges with Amex by closing 2 cards.

[Gmood1]

No way to know if closing the Amex cards would make a real difference. I've closed three Amex cards in the last 3 years. One just in the last month. I'd assume, it's not a big deal.

I wouldn't close the Penfed or the Cap one however. Never put all your eggs in one basket. Penfed may not like your profile now. But that could change in time. Sometimes patience with these lenders will pay off.

Try to keep some diversity. Even if the lender pisses you off from time to time. lol

[Caught750]

Gmood, so you'd keep em all and just make sure they stay alive? Maybe close an Amex card if anything?

[Gmood1]

Yeah, dump the Amex cards. Or product change to something usable, if possible.
Since you have other Amex CCs you use. I think you'll be fine.

I dumped a Amex, Chase and Synchrony CC on the same day!

[Anonymous]

I asked a similar question about closing AMEX cards with a SUB last weekend and received some caution.  I opened AMEX cards within the last year where I received either Delta miles or MR points.  AMEX can, if a card is closed within a year claw back the SUB.  If you aren't in a hurry to close the accounts, you may want to wait until the cards are greater than 12 mos. old.  Others have closed accounts within a year and have had no trouble at all.  Don't forget to transfer all but $500 of the to-be-closed card's limit to a card you're going to keep.

YEMV