COMBINING limits...that's a great idea. You combine limits so your overall credit profile looks better than it actually is. If Chase gives you 3 credit lines of $7,000 each, combine them and BAM... you have a $21,000 limit. When other lenders see you have a $21K credit limit, they are more apt to give you a $20K limit. You always want to work on getting a top limit as high as you can.
Myself, when I hit the $17K mark with my Lowes store card, I immediately noticed my Starting limits on other cards jumped up by $5-10K. Prior to that I was only getting $3K limits.
For CLOSING cards, I don't like it unless it's the only way to get rid of an annual fee (PC first)
If I can keep 1 card open for 10 years without thinking about it, that's basically 20 years of free credit history when it's all said and done. It's even better when they're store cards I'll never use because I won't be tempted into spending on them.
Cut up or sock drawer store/credit cards instead of closing them (non-AF cards) ... milk the AAoA benefits as long as you can 
Why close cards/combine limits? - Because I can 
Now for the serious answer.
A.) I have no need to decrease util by having more cards. Util is low and remains low.
B.) No one needs 10+ cards to "thicken their profile". 3-4 works out fine.
C.) I like to keep things simple. Im not scared of upsetting my AAoA by closing a few cards and even if that was a concern its ten years from now O.o Id imagine the rest of my cards would have grown a bit by then.
Now for the serious answer.A.) I have no need to decrease util by having more cards. Util is low and remains low.
B.) No one needs 10+ cards to "thicken their profile". 3-4 works out fine.
C.) I like to keep things simple. Im not scared of upsetting my AAoA by closing a few cards and even if that was a concern its ten years from now O.o Id imagine the rest of my cards would have grown a bit by then.
@Anonymous wrote:COMBINING limits...that's a great idea. You combine limits so your overall credit profile looks better than it actually is. If Chase gives you 3 credit lines of $7,000 each, combine them and BAM... you have a $21,000 limit. When other lenders see you have a $21K credit limit, they are more apt to give you a $20K limit. You always want to work on getting a top limit as high as you can.
Myself, when I hit the $17K mark with my Lowes store card, I immediately noticed my Starting limits on other cards jumped up by $5-10K. Prior to that I was only getting $3K limits.
For CLOSING cards, I don't like it unless it's the only way to get rid of an annual fee (PC first)
If I can keep 1 card open for 10 years without thinking about it, that's basically 20 years of free credit history when it's all said and done. It's even better when they're store cards I'll never use because I won't be tempted into spending on them.
Cut up or sock drawer store/credit cards instead of closing them (non-AF cards) ... milk the AAoA benefits as long as you can
There have been endless discussions about closing non-AF cards, all over the forums. Two camps, and I don't know if anyone has been able to change anyone's mind. I've characterized it as horder vs minimalist (to reveal my bias!) but the two views are essentially:
1) Keep them open as they do no harm. This avoids the 10 year drop off hit to AAoA, every bit of CL adds to UTIL etc
2) Close them. If you don't use them, why bother keeping them open. Doing periodic spend to keep cards open can be a pain and is spend that could earn more rewards on another card.
I've also argued that the benefits of either approach is very small, so, as is not uncommon, you end up with fairly heated exchanges about something with a small impact.
Basically, most cards people consider closing are those that they got early with small limits, so the util argument isn't that strong. And the dropping off of the AAoA is a long way away when your credit profile and very likely the scoring system will be different.
On the other side, keeping cards open and the rewards wasted is also small (auto pay of small recurring charges) and while the chance of fraud is there on accounts you don't use, it's not your liability either. One of the stronger arguements for me is the possibility of an issuer adding an AF which you don't see in time, but that is going to be very rare.
Not always true, but those at the beginning of credit or rebuilding seem more inclined to view 1, they worked hard (well, sort of!) to get the card, so it's valuable, why waste it. With a longer history and a thick file, worrying about preserving every card is much less compelling.
Bottom line, do whichever makes you feel happier, it makes almost no difference!