Hello, everyone. I have been reading the forums for awhile now, but this is my first time posting, so pardon me if this post is in the wrong section or if I am doing any of this incorrectly.
I have a question about closing accounts, but first I will give some background info. I screwed up my credit pretty badly about ten years ago when I turned 18 and was going through some pretty major mental health issues. Anyway, all of that fell off my credit report a few years ago, and recently I decided I was mature and stable enough to start rebuilding my credit and getting credit cards. When I first started rebuilding last September, I had no FICO score and basically a clean slate, which was great, given what my credit report had previously looked like. After researching the best ways to build credit, I learned about the benefits of being added as an AU, so I asked my mom to add me to her Discover card, which has a very low utilization on when it reports (and always PIF before due date), and which has been open for 27 years. This instantly gave me a FICO score in the mid-600s. Shortly after, I received a mail offer from Credit One (ugh, I know), so I decided to just get a card from them as a way to start building my credit file up. My husband got a card with Capital One in December and added me as an AU in January. After that, I decided I needed to have more credit that was in my name, but I didn't prequalify for anything, as I had just gotten a FICO score. So I did the SCT and got a card from New York & Co., which is a store I have never shopped at and likely never will. I know...that was foolish.
So now, five months into rebuilding, I had a score of between 695-720, depending on the bureau, and I decided to check again to see if I prequalified for a Cap. One card yet, and to my surprise, I did. I prequal'd for the Platinum and QS1, and went with the Platinum (since it has no AF). I was approved with an SL of $500. That afternoon, I got something from Citi in the mail for the second time, which was an "invitation to apply" for an AAdvantage MileUp card. I went on their site to see if I prequal'd for anything, but I didn't. I applied anyway, since it gave a single number for APR and had the opt-out language. I was shocked when I saw I was approved for over $9k! That is far more than I need, but I am very happy, as that will help maintain low utilization. I also recently got store cards for Target and Amazon. Unfortunately, due to having several new inquiries and new accounts, my credit score just plumetted to the low-to-mid 600s.
So here's my question: is it a good idea to close some of these cards? I definitely want to close the Credit One card, because they are AWFUL and I have no interest in keeping that card. And I have no use for the NY&Co. card, so I want to close that. And then I'm thinking of removing myself as an AU from my husband's card, as he currently has a balance of around $200, and often maintains a balance, and it is a fairly new account anyway. Given that all of my accounts are quite new, aside from the AU on the Discover card, it should help my score to close those those accounts, as that would boost my AAoA, right? Is there something I am not considering with this?
So, here are my current cards and their account ages, with asterisks next to the ones I want to close/be removed from:
Credit One (5 mos.)*
Citi AAdvantage (0 mos.)
Capital One (0 mos)
Target (1 mo.)
Amazon (1 mo.)
NY&Co. (3 mo.)*
AU accts.:
Discover (27 yrs.)
Capital One (3 mos.)*
Should I do it? I would greatly appreciate any input y'all have for me! Thank you so much for your help!
