Wanting to Close Some Accounts - Advice Needed

[CaptainConcorde]

I'm a little over two years post Chapter 7 Bankruptcy and my rebuild is going very nicely.  I'm gardening until summer 2027.  Most of my cards were obtained within six months post BK so my age of account is generally the same.  There are a couple cards I'd like to close just from a management perspective.  I don't use them, they have low credit limits, and high interest rates.  They're kind of "subpar" cards designed for rebuilds so they've served the purpose.

I know the general advice is "never close a card".  Because my age of accounts is so static though I don't think I'll see a big effect from dumping three cards.  Likewise the slight decrease in credit available is negligible and I just got a $8000 CLI on one of my NFCU cards that isn't reporting yet.  So if I cancel these cards now I'll still be showing increased credit lines and available.  My utilization is under 2% and I pay off the cards monthly.

The cards I want to eliminate are Petal Visa ($800), Capital One Venture ($800), Seen Mastercard $1000, and Credit One AMEX ($1000).  This would drop my available credit lines from $95150 to $91550.  It would also leave me with the cards I primarily use and make it easier to manage them.  Even now I "rotate" cards every few days and make a minor purchase or two on most of them then pay it off.  Just to keep them active.  But these four cards never get used.  

So would it be OK to close them?  Am I correct in thinking the hit to my FICO score would be almost invisible since I just got a $8000 CLI on another card?  Should I be OK to close them?  Thanks.

[pizzadude]

You'll be fine to close these cards, it should have no impact on your FICO score given your other credit limits / utilization.  

The "never close a card" advice is YMMV - you should do what is best for your situation and needs 

[ptatohed]

I'd keep any No-AF cards open, lock them, file them away, and wait for the creditor to close them.  But that's me.  If you close them, you'll be fine.  

[radiofrequencies]

The only time closing a credit card directly impacts your score is if it is your only open credit card. Your credit age isn't affected until 10 years post closure because closed accounts stay on your credit reports for 10 years. When the closed accounts fall off of your reports in 10 years, your other accounts will have aged 10 more years and you likely will not see any score drop. Feel free to close any accounts you don't want to deal with any more, especially that Credit One card.

[DeeBee78]

Close any of the subprime cards, especially that have an annual fee. Merrick Bank should be on your list too. 

[TrapLine]

Closing accounts slowly over the years as my spend pattern and utilization changes. Also, wanted a simpler life and quit chasing credit cards. The Posters in this thread pretty well covered it.

Things to be aware of: Average Age of Account; Oldest Account; Utilization as that can affect buearu scores. Since I watch all of that, the closings have not caused any Fico or Vantage Score changes.

Did have an oops back in time when I closed an old account that did not have other older accounts as a back stop and, my credit bureau score took a hit. It took a long while to build the scores back. Loosing old accounts over time can be helpful and eliminate the need for usage when the spend can be better placed on cards yielding your best rewards.

[mgood]

If it's charging an annual fee, and you're not getting much use from it, close it. Like yesterday.

Never close a card that's not costing you anything to keep open . . . unless you're getting to a point where they're becoming tiresome to manage all of them and you just want to thin the herd. Sounds like you're approaching that point. Have at it, if you'd like. It won't hurt your score.

It could bring down your average age of accounts. As mentioned, they stay on your reports for up to ten years after closing, so it'll be a long time before this matters and your average age should look much better by then. Keep in mind that having a bunch of old cards will help with average age as newer cards are added and bring down that average. My four oldest cards really don't do much for me, but I keep them just to help the average age.

I don't remember the details, but there are people here who say that when your average credit limit is above a certain point you get a boost on the score that determines what you pay for car insurance. So getting rid of low-limit cards can help that average.

I hardly ever close cards, but I did axe one recently. My Eddie Bauer Mastercard wasn't getting much use. (They closed the Eddie Bauer store near me where I used to use it frequently.) Wasn't costing anything, but wasn't doing much to help either. (Paid me 3% back at Eddie Bauer instead of the 2% I can get with several catch-all cards. Insignificant with the small amount of shopping I do there now.) And I was thinking that the herd could stand some thinning. Due to lack of use, they lowered my limit from $8.5k to $3.4k. That made it my lowest limit. Plenty for my needs at Eddie Bauer, but it did drag down the average a little. I decided that they're right, I'm not using it, and called and asked them to close the account.

[ocheosa]

@CaptainConcorde 

I would close any cards not wanted, especially at this early stage in your rebuild.

A couple of recommendations:

• Consider reallocting the Venture limit to your Quicksilver before closing so you only lose partial credit line.
• Check if your Quicksilver or Platinum qualifies for an upgrade to the Savor?  From what I've read the system doesn't seem to always offer Savor upgrade from Platinum so you may need to go: Quicksilver to Savor and Platinum to Quicksilver. YMMV.

[CaptainConcorde]

All of the cards are No Annual Fee.  I had two with AF right after BK (a different Credit One and one other) but I cancelled them at eleven months.  

[1lifeisworthit]

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@CaptainConcorde wrote:

I know the general advice is "never close a card". 

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The general advice has never, at any time, ever been that. Not one single time.

You should close all cards you don't want to keep. There are cards you should prioritize closing first... A hierarchy of closing, so to speak.... But that is not at all the same as stating all cards should be kept open no matter how awful they are..