Closing old credit cards -- a bad idea? how to do it?

[pedant]

Hi folks,

I'm 26-years-old and have a whopping nine credit cards to my name. A number of them I rarely (if ever) use, and I'd like to get rid of them. These are the ones that impart zero rewards/rebates, have no annual fee (in fact the only annual fee is with the National Bank MC), but take my credit history back the farthest, as these are the ones the banks give you when you are a poor undergraduate university student.

Here's the list:
1) Generic CIBC Visa (opened 2004)
2) Generic BMO MC (formerly an Airmiles MC, opened 2004)
3) HBC Credit Card (opened 2004)
4) Sears Credit Card (opened 2005)
5) TD Green Visa (opened 2005)
6) National Bank (MD Management) Platinum MC (129$/yr, opened 2007)
7) MBNA Smart Cash MC (opened 2010)
8) Costco Amex (opened 2011)
9) Amazon.ca Chase Visa (opened 2012)

I'd really like to get rid of numbers 1 through 4. Not that they're costing me anything in terms of an annual fee, but I really don't use them and they're a nuisance to keep track of. But since they're my oldest cards would I really be hurting my credit history if I cancelled them? Any benefit in doing it over a drawn out time period rather than all at once?

[mind_business]

[stardancer]

Definitely get rid of the department stores; I had HBC and Sears, but could only use them out of town (none in my town); never used whatever points they gave me. When I called recently, I learned that I had already cancelled the Sears card, so I could cut it up. I couldn't cancel the HBC card, because it wouldn't accept the number; the card was that old and HBC has changed hands in the meantime.

Keep only the cards you use. If you have a good credit history on those cards then you are okay. When you cancel cards, you also lose the credit history, so if you need a good score, cancel them over time. Although if you don't have any history for a number of years on those cards, then it doesn't matter.

[OhGreatGuru]

You remind me of the little old lady who was ahead of me in the check-out line at Canadian Tire the other day. She searched through the dozen or so cards she had in her wallet twice, and couldn't find the Canadian Tire Card. So then she says "Oh, it must be in the other bunch", and she pulls a wad of 15-20 cards wrapped with a rubber band out of her purse, and finally finds it.

Definitely get rid of excess cards. You shouldn't need more than 2 - a VISA and a Mastercard. Maybe 3 if you have been coerced by Costco into signing up with their partners Amex.

See related thread: http://canadianmoneyforum.com/showth...t=credit+cards

Related poll & thread: http://canadianmoneyforum.com/showth...t=credit+cards

Also this thread on Financial Webring by someone who lost track of what cards he owns
http://www.financialwebring.org/foru...?f=34&t=115309

[ddkay]

There's always some absurd promotion to reel in new CC customers, it's not a surprise to see people with so many.. I only have MBNA MC and TD Visa. I travel and haven't had any problems. MBNA is just a backup I leave at home, and I use sometimes for the 3% cashback on groceries, if I remember...

[SheaButters]

7) MBNA Smart Cash MC (opened 2010)
8) Costco Amex (opened 2011)
seems like all you need! maybe a visa too

burn up the points on all the other ones, make sure they are zero balance and cut them up

then every couple months just cancel one off the list, the duration doesn't matter if thats what you're referring to
does a creditor really want to see that you have 9 cards? really? 9 cards?

why do you have a card with annual fees? do you use that one? what does it give you?
personally i'd cancel that one first, along with your generic ones and store ones

[bayview]

Agreed 2 cards max. The only exception for me was agreeing to sign up for a CIBC Petro Points Mastercard which offers a 2 cts/litre off gas prices at PetroCan. I only use it for gas to keep things simple.

[sags]

Good credit information remains on credit reports for 20 years.

Derogatory credit information remains on credit reports for 6 years in Ontario (depends on Provincial legislation) from the date of default.

I don't know that it would matter much if you cancel some cards. One thing to be careful, for some people who have some outstanding balances, is that lowering the overall credit limit will increase the % of debt to limit ratio.

Example......if a person has 20,000 total credit limit spread over 10 cards, and they owe 2,000 there debt ratio would be low. If they cancel everything but the 1 card they owe 2000 on...........their debt ratio is 100%.......and that would hurt their credit score.

[indexxx]

I'd definitely keep the Smart Cash MBNA card- rated the best cash-back card in Canada. I use it for virtually all my purchases- I get money back from them every couple of months in the form of a cheque. So my groceries, gas, restaurants, and any purchases at retailers, online, or bill payments etc I try to use my MBNA card, and then simply pay the full balance every month. I also like to have a Visa and an Amex simply because sometimes there are deals or extended insurance etc by using one of these cards.

[pedant]

Thanks everyone!

I know, I know, it is totally ridiculous. I'm just glad I'm the type of person who is able to sit on credit and not just rack up huge balances. I've got some friends who can't, and are in big trouble.

I do love the SmartCash and use it for the 3% back on gas and groceries. I'm a Costco member anyway, and restaurants are a big expense for me, so I use the Amex at restaurants for the 3% back (accumulated $105 back so far this year). I regularly attend conferences in the USA, so I figured the Amazon.ca Visa, which waves the usual foreign currency fee, would be beneficial for those trips and any US purchases. I use the MD Platinum MC for basically everything else.

Now, there was a specific question about the MD (through NBC) Mastercard. I got it while I was still a medical student, and back then it was free. It gives 1.5% travel rewards on everything with a very hassle-free redemption process, and comprehensive insurance. It has the highest credit limit of all my cards which has been handy (i don't carry balances on my credit cards anymore, but do make some larger purchases). Now that it's not free, though, I don't think it's worth it. The fee for this year when through in July, so I may just keep it til next June, redeem any rewards I've accumulated to that point, and cancel it. I have a select service TD account (fees waived, I always keep the minimum $5000 in there) so next year I think I'll see if my TD Green Visa can be converted to the Infinite Travel Rewards card to replace the NBC card.

I'm not anticipating needing a mortgage or car loan for at least the next two years, so I think I'll take your advice and start with cancelling the Sears and HBC cards, then the CIBC and BMO. Eventually, as I said, next summer hopefully I can ditch the NBC card.

Now I just have to avoid getting enticed into opening up new cards in the interim!