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should i cancel this credit card
Shazkar Shadowstorm
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
i probably asked this before but never got around to doing this so i don't remember what the consensus is
i have this credit card i've had basically since HS
i don't use it anymore, ever, (like, i haven't even activated a new card after the last one expired, i just have that account), because it has no benefits/bonuses or anything and i've gotten better cards
it started out very low credit limit but they've since put it up to $6k
anyway, basically, they decided last year to start charging a yearly fee
i called and got it waived last year
my dad said to cancel the card but i never got around to it
got the letter again this year about the upcoming fee, called with the intent to cancel, but they say i can call and waive the yearly fee every year if i choose to
so
basically what would you suggest
i have this credit card i've had basically since HS
i don't use it anymore, ever, (like, i haven't even activated a new card after the last one expired, i just have that account), because it has no benefits/bonuses or anything and i've gotten better cards
it started out very low credit limit but they've since put it up to $6k
anyway, basically, they decided last year to start charging a yearly fee
i called and got it waived last year
my dad said to cancel the card but i never got around to it
got the letter again this year about the upcoming fee, called with the intent to cancel, but they say i can call and waive the yearly fee every year if i choose to
so
basically what would you suggest
poo
Shazkar Shadowstorm on
0
Posts
I'm sure someone else here will be able to give you more info, but I'd say cancel it.
If you're uncomfortable with $6000 credit limit, you can ask them to decrease it to something you're more comfortable with.
*edit* also if you're uncomfortable with the yearly fee, see if the company offers another type of credit card that doesn't charge a yearly fee and change it to that..
I mean, that makes everyone happy.
Your credit goes up because you pay off your debt right away. Your card is still active, so you continue to get the benefits of (hopefully) low interest and, as others have said, you've had it for quite some time.
And you get a tank of gas out of the deal.
No?
Or, if you really don't want to bother with it any more, like at all, then just cancel it and be done with it.
yeah, the main one i use had 3.5k limit and at least gives me a small percent back, and i have another that also has small benefits
the only reason i really have for possibly not cancelling it was this:
otherwise i really have no use for a credit card that gives me not even 1% back
They've even told you that you can call and have the annual fee waived every year, essentially making it so that you don't actually have a fee for the card.
Simply use it once in a while, like for a dinner every six months or so, pay it off immediately, and then forget about it. This keeps it active and positive for your credit rating.
Like, there doesn't seem to be any reason to get rid of it. It may hurt your credit to cancel it, you may lose out on opportunities to further increase/improve your credit ranking (by not having another line to use/have in great standing), and you won't have access to $6K worth of emergency funding should something incredibly shitty happen. You weren't even thinking of cancelling it (it seems) until the fee was introduced, but that's a non-issue with a singly call on a yearly basis.
Keep the card.
average age of open credit lines is a factor in his credit score
the using it only serves to increase the number of consecutive on time payments which is big, but having it sit around won't hurt him. Cancelling it will, at least until he can get that average back up. I second the calling the company and seeing if you can use your credit history with them to get them to offer you a card that is more useful to you.
but then there's also no reason to keep this card around.
tricky.
Thing is, this is one of those banks (1st Financial Bank) that they basically only really give cards for college students / people who are just starting out (aka they mostly want to prey/make cash on college students). So they only really have 1 card. Nothing to switch to. Hm. And now I'm at the point where I have 2 other legitimate credit cards open, that I make use of...
Basically I would prefer to just get rid of this card and not deal with it, but I just was worried about cancelling it and the effect of that on my credit score etc.
How long have you had this card? How long have you had your next oldest card?
It will impact your credit score in the short term, both because of decreased available credit and because it's your oldest line of credit. It should only be a minor bump, and as long as you have other accounts and are responsible your score should rebound without really making any extra effort.