So I had the CapitalOne Quick Silver Visa and the CapitalOne Walmart MC card. As you all know they canceled the Walmart card and replaced with a plain Quick Silver Master Card. BOTH only give 1.5% back now. Our main expense is groceries (we hardly travel) so I got the new OnePay 5% Walmart card. I also have the Amazon Prime card. We will never use that “new” CapitalOne MC so should I cancel the account? I am told that could affect our credit score downward. I do not know if the CapitalOne MC reset the credit clock or if it retains the history of the old CapitalOne Walmart card? I will keep the CapitalOne QS Visa.
I also am stuck with the CapitalOne card after the Walmart relationship ended. To prevent it going idle, as several other cards have, I set it as the payment method for my monthly Ooma bill, which is less than $7.
Thanks! Smart move!
Need to know how old the card is compared to your others, and if you’re carrying any revolving balances to give you the best answer. There is no correct stock answer without the details.
If the card is a few years old and helps with your average age of open credit and also makes your debt ratio lower, it’s a no-brainer to keep. But if it is (relatively) new compared to your average age of open credit and isn’t helping your debt ratio, I’d cut it loose.
CapitalOne offers a lot of very aggressive promotions where you can often score hundreds for a new account. If it’s not doing you any favors, closing it out makes it more likely you can get a CapitalOne promotion in a couple of years.
I suggest checking your credit score and open accounts on CreditKarma. If you have 3 cards now and want to cancel one, that may be perfectly fine as long as your total available credit is high and usage is low. If your CapitalOne account has a high credit limit cancelling it will increase your monthly percentage to the point where your credit score could drop. That’s not a big deal if you’re still in the high 700s but if it goes way down your car insurance and other bills and loan interest rates (like on a new car) could go way up.
I have 4 credit cards (AmEx, VISA, 2 MasterCard) and use AmEx primarily, MC at places that don’t accept AmEx, and the other two occasionally to keep them active (they’re in a drawer at home - I don’t carry them around).
There was one time I wished I had all my cards with me. I was at a hotel in a small town in Austria last year and when it came time to check out 3 of my credit cards were declined. No reason given and I was in a hurry to catch a train. Fortunately my debit card worked. If that had failed I would have had to spend a lot of time on the phone and probably missed my train and flight. So my new rule for international travel is to bring ALL of my cards in case I get stuck playing roulette trying to find one that works.
Airline guy here. Before you travel away from home go online to each of your CC companies and enter a “Travel Alert”. That way they (theoretically) know you are going to be using the cards in areas different than you usually do. That should keep the shutdowns from happening when you vacation. I do this every Feb when I motorcycle down to Florida and I can’t remember the last time a card was declined.
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Yes, I used to do that but several card companies no longer give you that option. They say they know you’re traveling through AI or something.
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It varies by bank.
What was the reason you repeated exactly what I said but left off the important “average age of credit” component?
Ok. So a thief steals your card and starts traveling. The “AI” then thinks “Oh, he’s traveling so I won’t decline that card”. I don’t think so……..
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I’m sorry you don’t believe me. Here’s word-for-word from my credit card website:
”You no longer need to let us know when you travel. We monitor your accounts and will send automatic alerts if we detect suspicious activity.
Should you need us while traveling, call the number on the back of your card anytime.”
And from another card:
”Global Card Protection Leave your worries at home when you travel. You don’t need to tell us when you’re going abroad. Our intelligent security systems monitor your Card use for anything unusual, no matter where you are. If we spot something unusual, we’ll notify you immediately to help protect you from fraud.”
And from a third card:
”We’ve got you covered!
With our enhanced security measures:
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You don’t need to set up travel notifications anymore.
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We’ll send you fraud alerts if we see any possible identity theft.
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We’ll alert you if we notice any suspicious behavior on your account.”
Citi, Discover, US Bank, Barclays, Wells Fargo, and many others still recommend you tell them. It depends on the bank and also on domestic versus international travel.
Thanks Jolly! I think many companies are embracing AI as some kind of miracle to reduce labor costs. I think it’s a bubble.
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Most of the third-world agents these companies use have an IQ of about 70. So while the AI may not be as great as a Discover agent out of Utah, it is much better than the garbage agents they’re using now.
That’s just not true. If that card carries a very old opening date (all he’ll say is, “I told you when I opened it”) or there are other factors – it could hurt his credit.
And an existing card is not “new credit,” but cancelling it could affect other areas of his life like insurance, renting, etc.
When I get the automatic alert it’s because I bought a plane ticket using that card; so that card then lets me know that they know that I am travelling. They usually send me an email to that effect. I have never had a problem when I check with my credit card companies before I travel on their travel policies and fees, etc. Some cards charge fees for use abroad and others don’t.