Closing Credit Cards - Advice on Oldest

[ddurrett896]

Currently have a 13 year old VISA and 11 year old AMEX that I rarely use. I keep them active because they are my longest cards but don't pay the best rewards since the programs are so old. Since, I've opened a better AMEX with double the points that's my go to when I'm not churning a card for the bonuses.

Will it hurt my credit score to cancel the 11 year old AMEX, as long as I keep the VISA which is my oldest? Thanks!

[runner3081]

Yes, a small negative impact for a lower available credit balance.

[PFInterest]

imo just close the ones you dont want. i dont care what it does to my score....it will be perfect no matter what not because of years open...but how i use them.

[Afty]

Do you expect to need credit in the near future? I.e. If you're planning to take a mortgage or finance a car soon, then you probably don't want to close those accounts. Otherwise I would close them. Your credit score will recover in not too long.

[rec7]

I just closed my oldest card. Opened a new credit card and line of credit. I only lost about 10 points. A few months later I have most of that back.

[BeneIRA]

Currently have a 13 year old VISA and 11 year old AMEX that I rarely use. I keep them active because they are my longest cards but don't pay the best rewards since the programs are so old. Since, I've opened a better AMEX with double the points that's my go to when I'm not churning a card for the bonuses.

Will it hurt my credit score to cancel the 11 year old AMEX, as long as I keep the VISA which is my oldest? Thanks!

If you have churned your way through a the Amex's, since they are once per lifetime, you could just product change it to either a Blue Cash Everyday or an Everyday. No annual fees and the latter gives you a no annual fee Membership Rewards card to keep your stash alive.

For the Visa, I would have product changed to a Chase Freedom a long time ago, especially if you have a Sapphire Reserve or Preferred. You can have multiple Freedoms and when it is a good quarter, such as groceries, you can stock up on gift cards and transfer the Ultimate Rewards to the CSR.

[Dale_G]

Sometimes not much happens. A few years ago I closed an old AMEX Gold card and opened a AMEX Blue card as a replacement. I liked the 6% rebate for groceries (and drugs at the grocery store). Both TransUnion and Equifax show the Blue Card account as dating from October 1971 - the old Gold card start date.

Swapping cards within the same issuer may be a non-event.

Dale

[michaeljc70]

I keep open a few older cards I really don't use due to the way credit scores are calculated. To be honest, I think it is completely unfair. It should be based on the length of your credit file and not how long certain accounts are open. I find it hard to believe you are a bigger credit risk if you had a card for five years, closed it and opened another for 5 year vs. 1 ten year old credit card.

Since I churn cards (maybe 3 a year), most of mine are new and the older ones balance that out somewhat.