ima49er
New Member
Cash: $ 0.00
Posts: 3
Joined: 29 Jun 2004
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| Cancelling credit card |
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I recently transferred my balance to a lower interest card, and upon completion of the transaction, I called my old card company to close the account. I had to try this twice, and both times I was on hold FOR-EVER!! Finally I got through to a so called "Account Manager" and told her what I wanted to do. She told me that I should keep the account open since I have had it for 4 years and that if I closed it, all of my history would be erased. I tried to have her clarify this, and got nowhere. For fear of my good history being erased, I left the acocunt open with a zero balance. Is what she said true, and what should I do? I really hate this account being left open--I figured mortgage companies would look at this as 8k that I could spend even though I wouldn't. HELP!
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Tue Jun 29, 2004 2:45 pm |
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Andrew
Admin
Cash: $ 467.10
Posts: 1717
Joined: 02 Nov 2003
Location: Texas
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The important thing here is to differentiate between what you will lose and what you won't.
You have been with your old card for 4 years, so you have a history with them. This history can be used to your advantage. For example, I was able to use my long-time membership (in good standing) with my oldest credit card to get a lower rate just by asking. With a brand new card, I wouldn't have been able to do this. So a positive history with a credit card company can be a good thing. But by closing the account, you will definitely lose this history, since you are choosing to end the relationship. (You might try asking them for a lower rate. They would have nothing to lose by doing so at this point, but they could lose you as a customer if they don't.)
Your credit history is another matter. Your credit history may be affected by your good standing (or negative standing) with your old credit card, but closing your old credit card will not erase your credit history. It will simply be another note in your credit history, hopefully "closed in good standing". I would say that if you no longer want the card, and you've thought it thru and are sure you won't want it available in the future, then by all means go ahead and close it. You don't want to pay any yearly fee, if you are not going to be using it.
I don't think a mortgage company would look to unfavorably upon having an available credit line of $8000, if you did decide to keep the old card for backup credit.
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Tue Jun 29, 2004 3:01 pm |
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ima49er
New Member
Cash: $ 0.00
Posts: 3
Joined: 29 Jun 2004
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Thanks for the reply!! I did try to get them to lower my rate before I transferred, but it was not as good as the new card, so I switched. I was a little upset that I had been a customer so long, and the best they could do was 17.99. It was lower than that a few months ago, and then I started to pay more on it to get the balance down...low and behold they jacked the rate up to 22!! Gotta love those card companies!!
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Thu Jul 01, 2004 12:51 am |
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