Ok, I'm thinking of either "sockdrawering" a couple of cards, or closing them altogether. First one is my GM card. Got it in november while I was still in the process of cleaning up my credit. I got it just as EFX masked my disputes and raised my scores. They approved me at 15.49%. I called them back after my EFX report got clean, and they pulled another hard. This time, they raised my limit, but refused to change my rate. So, should I pay it to $0, and put it away (thereby keeping the limit open on my report), or should I just close it? Second one is my capitalone card.. got it back in 2000 when no one else would give me credit. Rate (lowered by Mr Cooke) right now is 12.74%, but only a $1,300 limit, and a monthly fee of $3 (also lowered by Mr Cooke.. from $6/m). I know if I just stopped using this one, this fee will still be charged every month. I'm wondering if by putting them away, the creditors might close the accounts because I don't use them.. and if I close them myself, then I lower my overall limits on my reports. Any recommendations? My FICO as of yesterday when I checked is 734.. so I think I should be able to get better rates than these..
I think its time to tell Cap 1 you want your fee dropped or you will be closing your account. IME, they won't close an inactive account, but they may mark it "inactive" after a few years of non-use. Others on the board suggest using the cards once or twice a year to keep the TLs current on your CR. HTH
I've just heard (or I think I did) that some creditors would close an account with no activity. But I guess it makes sense to may a tiny purchase every now and then to keep it open. Thanks for the input. p.s Who keeps their socks in drawers these days anyway?
I would say that depending on what your long term financial goals are, that would determine if you closed them or not. I tend to prefer the simpler bookkeeping system, so I closed out the accounts that I did not want. Of course, I got a good MC and a good Visa both with very good credit lines. At that time, I had two Household accounts that were issued in November, so I closed them as I only wanted the MC and Visa that I had. Since the two household accounts were so new, my sccores only dropped 2 points. Since I have no desire to acquire more credit in the next year or so, this plan worked out for me. Back in November, I could not get a card with a credit line greater than $1000 (household). I started my cleanup in December, and by the March 1st, I had one CL of 12,500 (BoA), and the other at 7,000 (Chase Continental). So I figure I will hang on to these and build them up even higher. I guess my sock drawer is the shredder by my desk.
I am in the exact same situation,, my cap 1 card keeps gouging me for a 3 dollar a month fee, on a card that i never use because i now have awesome credit, im afraid to close the acct because it is my oldest TL. If i close it, would the CRA's hit my score hard closing out my oldest TL.
$5 OR $10 OR $100 PER 6 MONTHS WILL KEEP IT OPEN...(1 or 2 or so charges per year) If you have an annual fee...it PROBABLY would be a good idea to CLOSE it...DON'T SOCK DRAWER IT...
