Should we close my spouses old credit cards?

[Anonymous]

My wife has 3 cards which we do not share: Amazon, TJ Max and US Bank. They all have credit limits below $1,600. She is on 3 of my credit cards, Amex green, Amex BCP, Chase Sapphire (no fee version) which give her access to about $40k in total credit. We are also looking to buy a house within 2-3 years. Could we close two or three of her credit cards without too much impact to her credit? The US Bank is the oldest, so could we just close the Amazon and TJ Max cards without too much of an impact? 

Break down of dates opened: 

US Bank: SEP 2017

TJ Max: JUL 2019

Amazon: MAR 2018

Chase: OCT 2015 (Not sure why it shows this far back? Didn't add her until 2020 I think)

Apple Card: SEP 2019

Amex Green: DEC 2018

Amex BCP: AUG 2021

[chiefone4u]

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@Anonymous wrote:

My wife has 3 cards which we do not share: Amazon, TJ Max and US Bank. They all have credit limits below $1,600. She is on 3 of my credit cards, Amex green, Amex BCP, Chase Sapphire (no fee version) which give her access to about $40k in total credit. We are also looking to buy a house within 2-3 years. Could we close two or three of her credit cards without too much impact to her credit? The US Bank is the oldest, so could we just close the Amazon and TJ Max cards without too much of an impact? 

Break down of dates opened: 

US Bank: SEP 2017

TJ Max: JUL 2019

Amazon: MAR 2018

Chase: OCT 2015 (Not sure why it shows this far back? Didn't add her until 2020 I think)

Apple Card: SEP 2019

Amex Green: DEC 2018

Amex BCP: AUG 2021

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If her utilization is low enough, and she will be left with three cards that she isn't an authorized user on... closing the cards shouldn't be much of an issue. 

If you don't mind me asking, what are you hoping to gain by closing those accounts? 

[Anonymous]

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@chiefone4u wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

My wife has 3 cards which we do not share: Amazon, TJ Max and US Bank. They all have credit limits below $1,600. She is on 3 of my credit cards, Amex green, Amex BCP, Chase Sapphire (no fee version) which give her access to about $40k in total credit. We are also looking to buy a house within 2-3 years. Could we close two or three of her credit cards without too much impact to her credit? The US Bank is the oldest, so could we just close the Amazon and TJ Max cards without too much of an impact? 

Break down of dates opened: 

US Bank: SEP 2017

TJ Max: JUL 2019

Amazon: MAR 2018

Chase: OCT 2015 (Not sure why it shows this far back? Didn't add her until 2020 I think)

Apple Card: SEP 2019

Amex Green: DEC 2018

Amex BCP: AUG 2021

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If her utilization is low enough, and she will be left with three cards that she isn't an authorized user on... closing the cards shouldn't be much of an issue. 

If you don't mind me asking, what are you hoping to gain by closing those accounts? 

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If we close the cards (Amzn, TJ, USB) she will only be left with one card that she is not an authorized user on, the Apple card. The other cards are my cards which she is an AU on. What we hope to gain is mostly peace of mind, I don't like having open credit lines that are not tracked well. I also don't like having cards at multiple institutions, it's just frustrating keeping track of them all. She had a late payment on the Amazon card recently which was extremely frustating, but luckily it fell within the grace period (no credit impact). 

[chiefone4u]

It can be challenging to manage multiple accounts, especially when doing so for more than one person. 

I would suggest setting up auto pay for minimum due to insure you don't have something sneak through leading up to a home loan.

If I remember correctly (someone else should be through before long to correct me if wrong), authorized user cards do very little for mortgage scores. Some profiles seem to respond well to AU cards being $0, others require a balance for the card to help.

Best mortgage scores come from AZEO (All Zero Except One), for that to work you need at least 3 cards. Mortgage scores want no more than 1/3rd of cards reporting a balance, so dropping her to one card that's not AU could effect her scores.

Mortgage scores also like an installment loan (I wouldn't open one just for points if you don't have one... it could cause DTI issues depending on your income and how much you're looking to borrow).

[SouthJamaica]

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@Anonymous wrote:

My wife has 3 cards which we do not share: Amazon, TJ Max and US Bank. They all have credit limits below $1,600. She is on 3 of my credit cards, Amex green, Amex BCP, Chase Sapphire (no fee version) which give her access to about $40k in total credit. We are also looking to buy a house within 2-3 years. Could we close two or three of her credit cards without too much impact to her credit? The US Bank is the oldest, so could we just close the Amazon and TJ Max cards without too much of an impact? 

Break down of dates opened: 

US Bank: SEP 2017

TJ Max: JUL 2019

Amazon: MAR 2018

Chase: OCT 2015 (Not sure why it shows this far back? Didn't add her until 2020 I think)

Apple Card: SEP 2019

Amex Green: DEC 2018

Amex BCP: AUG 2021

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It's not going to lower her score, but I wouldn't close any of them. Nothing will be gained by closing them.

[CreditInspired]

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@Anonymous wrote:

My wife has 3 cards which we do not share: Amazon, TJ Max and US Bank. They all have credit limits below $1,600. She is on 3 of my credit cards, Amex green, Amex BCP, Chase Sapphire (no fee version) which give her access to about $40k in total credit. We are also looking to buy a house within 2-3 years. Could we close two or three of her credit cards without too much impact to her credit? The US Bank is the oldest, so could we just close the Amazon and TJ Max cards without too much of an impact? 

Break down of dates opened: 

US Bank: SEP 2017

TJ Max: JUL 2019

Amazon: MAR 2018

Chase: OCT 2015 (Not sure why it shows this far back? Didn't add her until 2020 I think)

Apple Card: SEP 2019

Amex Green: DEC 2018

Amex BCP: AUG 2021

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IMHO, if those are the only 3 cards solely in her name, they should remain open. I'm a believer that women should have their own credit established and not just as an AU. This is just my 2cents.  

[SouthJamaica]

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@CreditInspired wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

My wife has 3 cards which we do not share: Amazon, TJ Max and US Bank. They all have credit limits below $1,600. She is on 3 of my credit cards, Amex green, Amex BCP, Chase Sapphire (no fee version) which give her access to about $40k in total credit. We are also looking to buy a house within 2-3 years. Could we close two or three of her credit cards without too much impact to her credit? The US Bank is the oldest, so could we just close the Amazon and TJ Max cards without too much of an impact? 

Break down of dates opened: 

US Bank: SEP 2017

TJ Max: JUL 2019

Amazon: MAR 2018

Chase: OCT 2015 (Not sure why it shows this far back? Didn't add her until 2020 I think)

Apple Card: SEP 2019

Amex Green: DEC 2018

Amex BCP: AUG 2021

---

IMHO, if those are the only 3 cards solely in her name, they should remain open. I'm a believer that women should have their own credit established and not just as an AU. This is just my 2cents.  

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+1

[Anonymous]

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@CreditInspired wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

My wife has 3 cards which we do not share: Amazon, TJ Max and US Bank. They all have credit limits below $1,600. She is on 3 of my credit cards, Amex green, Amex BCP, Chase Sapphire (no fee version) which give her access to about $40k in total credit. We are also looking to buy a house within 2-3 years. Could we close two or three of her credit cards without too much impact to her credit? The US Bank is the oldest, so could we just close the Amazon and TJ Max cards without too much of an impact? 

Break down of dates opened: 

US Bank: SEP 2017

TJ Max: JUL 2019

Amazon: MAR 2018

Chase: OCT 2015 (Not sure why it shows this far back? Didn't add her until 2020 I think)

Apple Card: SEP 2019

Amex Green: DEC 2018

Amex BCP: AUG 2021

---

IMHO, if those are the only 3 cards solely in her name, they should remain open. I'm a believer that women should have their own credit established and not just as an AU. This is just my 2cents.  

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There are 4 in her name total, there's just 3 that are duds in terms of what they're doing for her credit. What do you think about getting her set up with some better cards? Could I cosign on a card and get her a higher credit limit? 

[dragontears]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@CreditInspired wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

My wife has 3 cards which we do not share: Amazon, TJ Max and US Bank. They all have credit limits below $1,600. She is on 3 of my credit cards, Amex green, Amex BCP, Chase Sapphire (no fee version) which give her access to about $40k in total credit. We are also looking to buy a house within 2-3 years. Could we close two or three of her credit cards without too much impact to her credit? The US Bank is the oldest, so could we just close the Amazon and TJ Max cards without too much of an impact? 

Break down of dates opened: 

US Bank: SEP 2017

TJ Max: JUL 2019

Amazon: MAR 2018

Chase: OCT 2015 (Not sure why it shows this far back? Didn't add her until 2020 I think)

Apple Card: SEP 2019

Amex Green: DEC 2018

Amex BCP: AUG 2021

---

IMHO, if those are the only 3 cards solely in her name, they should remain open. I'm a believer that women should have their own credit established and not just as an AU. This is just my 2cents.  

---

There are 4 in her name total, there's just 3 that are duds in terms of what they're doing for her credit. What do you think about getting her set up with some better cards? Could I cosign on a card and get her a higher credit limit? 

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Almost no credit card company does joint accounts (i.e. cosigning). She can use your income on applications (assuming she has access to it). If a mortgage application is within the next 12 months DON'T OPEN ANY NEW ACCOUNTS (mortgage scores take a beating for new accounts).

Can you elaborate more on your statement that these cards are "duds in terms of what they are doing for her credit"?

[Anonymous]

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@dragontears wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@CreditInspired wrote:

---

@Anonymous wrote:

My wife has 3 cards which we do not share: Amazon, TJ Max and US Bank. They all have credit limits below $1,600. She is on 3 of my credit cards, Amex green, Amex BCP, Chase Sapphire (no fee version) which give her access to about $40k in total credit. We are also looking to buy a house within 2-3 years. Could we close two or three of her credit cards without too much impact to her credit? The US Bank is the oldest, so could we just close the Amazon and TJ Max cards without too much of an impact? 

Break down of dates opened: 

US Bank: SEP 2017

TJ Max: JUL 2019

Amazon: MAR 2018

Chase: OCT 2015 (Not sure why it shows this far back? Didn't add her until 2020 I think)

Apple Card: SEP 2019

Amex Green: DEC 2018

Amex BCP: AUG 2021

---

IMHO, if those are the only 3 cards solely in her name, they should remain open. I'm a believer that women should have their own credit established and not just as an AU. This is just my 2cents.  

---

There are 4 in her name total, there's just 3 that are duds in terms of what they're doing for her credit. What do you think about getting her set up with some better cards? Could I cosign on a card and get her a higher credit limit? 

---

Almost no credit card company does joint accounts (i.e. cosigning). She can use your income on applications (assuming she has access to it). If a mortgage application is within the next 12 months DON'T OPEN ANY NEW ACCOUNTS (mortgage scores take a beating for new accounts).

Can you elaborate more on your statement that these cards are "duds in terms of what they are doing for her credit"?

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You're right, definitely getting ahead of myself there. No need to open any new accounts for now. What I mean is I think the cards are only helping her in terms of their age. They have painfully low credit limits, we never use them, and two of them are store cards. And what you say about cosigning makes sense, she does have access to my income (joint bank) so we will definitely report that. Overall do you think there is anything we can do to help her credit while also at the same time table setting for a mortgage? Should we just wait to take any action after we get approved?