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What to do with Comenity card(Gander Mountain)...

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Anonymous
Not applicable

What to do with Comenity card(Gander Mountain)...

Have a Gander Mountain store card that is only about a year old.   Some luck, I know.  Comenity hasn't cancelled it and has been updating the payment history every couple months on it, even though there is zero balance.  Limit is only $300.  Question is, is there any harm in just letting it sit until they cancel it, vs cancelling myself right now?  Letting it age should strengthen my AAoA over time, right?  I have about 5 or 6 other cards as well.  Most are fairly new.  Just not sure if it negatively impacts my score letting the lender cancel my card, even it's due to a retailer going bankrupt.  

Message 1 of 15
14 REPLIES 14
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: What to do with Comenity card(Gander Mountain)...

Out of the 6 cards you have available, is that the oldest? As far as I know, although some has claimed otherwise, accounts in good standing should stay in your profile for 10 years after it has been cancelled. I read somewhere on here people that people closed their Credit One and First Premier accounts after rebuild and the accounts has disappeared from their profile. If it has NO annual fee on it anyway, I would keep it until they decide to cancel it. It's suppose to stay on your report for 10 yrs but it doesn't seem to be the case for some. That's the reason why I'm keeping mine until my AAoA will hit 5-7 yrs average. 

 

User cancel vs lender cancel. I'm not sure about this one. I had a World Market MC from Comenity that they cancelled after a month back in May and it's still reporting in my reports as current in status. 

Message 2 of 15
AverageJoesCredit
Legendary Contributor

Re: What to do with Comenity card(Gander Mountain)...

Players choice i guess. Not doing harm by sding it but if its relatively close to your other cards you could cancel it. $300 cl shouldnt break your util i would think. I have a couple cards that i chose to close and ive seen no negative affects so you should be good either way.Smiley Happy
Message 3 of 15
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: What to do with Comenity card(Gander Mountain)...

Yeah, the $300 is about 1% of my total credit line.  Less, once my CSP reports.  I wasn't worried about that. Primarily just whether or not the Gander card would eventually report as closed by creditor and if that would negatively impact anything.  I know this card isn't helping that much, and I personally don't mind an unused card just floating on my report.  But, I'm of the opinion that any help is positive.  If it's cancelled at 18 months, that's better for my AAoA for the next ten years than if it were cancelled at 12 months, right?  Marginally, I know, but better just the same?

Message 4 of 15
Dalmus
Valued Contributor

Re: What to do with Comenity card(Gander Mountain)...


@Anonymous wrote:

Yeah, the $300 is about 1% of my total credit line.  Less, once my CSP reports.  I wasn't worried about that. Primarily just whether or not the Gander card would eventually report as closed by creditor and if that would negatively impact anything.  I know this card isn't helping that much, and I personally don't mind an unused card just floating on my report.  But, I'm of the opinion that any help is positive.  If it's cancelled at 18 months, that's better for my AAoA for the next ten years than if it were cancelled at 12 months, right?  Marginally, I know, but better just the same?


A lot of people misunderstand how AAoA works.  Generally speaking, the card does NOT need to be open and active to count towards your AAoA.  So, the only time having that extra six months will have any effect on your AAoA will be in 10 years when the account ages off your report.  9 years from now, those 6 months will make 0 diference to your AAoA.

 

Of course, there are no guantees as to when a closed account will come off the report, but to remove it early I believe takes an active request by you or the issuer.  The CRAs themselves won't just take it off early.

 

I have two or three Comenity store cards that I closed a year ago, and they are still on my report, helping my AAoA.

NFCU MR: $25K | Venture: $21K | Amex ED: $18K | NFCU CR: $18K | Amex BCE: $15K | IT #1: $17.5K | PNC Core: $15K | PPMC:  $12K | Wells Fargo: $11K | Savor: 12K | Cap1 QS: $8.5K | Barclays Rewards: $7.75K | IT #2: $7.3K | MLife: $9.5K | Sportsman's Guide: $8.7K | PenFed PR: $5.5K | Elan Plat: $2.3K | TRV: $3.6K | BotW: $3K


Current FICO 8 Scores: EQ: 828| TU: 805 | EX: 814


Message 5 of 15
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: What to do with Comenity card(Gander Mountain)...

Closed accounts don't matter, and they will continue to help your AAoA until they age off in about 10 years.

 

You can do your own AAoA projections including when accounts opened and closed and see.  I have a nice spreadsheet I share with folks to calculate future AAoA including closed accounts, PM me for a link and test it yourself to see that having it closed by you or them will not affect you for 10+ years and even then, it's just ONE account.

Message 6 of 15
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: What to do with Comenity card(Gander Mountain)...

I understand that closed accounts still impact AAOA.  If it didn't, I would have closed it already.  But, and call me a stickler for the details, the extra six months makes more than zero impact.  It may be a marginal impact, but not zero.  If it costs me nothing to keep it open, I'm inclined to do that.  It can only help, albeit barely.  

Message 7 of 15
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: What to do with Comenity card(Gander Mountain)...

Will not affect your credit one way or the other.

Me personally, I don't want my credit record to show a card was closed by grantor.

The longer you let it sit as an open account, the longer the chance that someone makes a fraudulent charge on it.

If it were mine I would close it.

Message 8 of 15
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: What to do with Comenity card(Gander Mountain)...

In this case, sine the retailer is bankrupt, it's not possible to charge anything on it.  That said, I would like to know whether anyone has been negatively impacted by a card closing due to the retailer going bankrupt, with zero balance.  Really just trying to learn here.  

Message 9 of 15
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: What to do with Comenity card(Gander Mountain)...

Probably not with a $300 credit line, zero balance on a bankrupt company.

 

Seems like you have your answers before asking your questions.

 

Testing 1.  Testing 2.

Message 10 of 15
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