It’s always when I return from vacation that I feel obligated to clean house. My recent trip to Turkey was no exception. I had only taken four credit cards with me and when I got back and had to reorganize my wallet, I realized a lot of cards needed to go. These cards have either outlived their utility or hefty annual fees are coming up that I’m not willing to pay.
With me cutting back on manufactured spending, it’s probably a good idea anyway to start putting some cards on the chopping block. Here’s a summary of the cards I’m getting rid of and why:
Citi AAdvantage Platinum
I went on a Citi AAdvantage Platinum binge not too long ago because I’m stocking up for a possible trip to Asia. That was before I got in on the ~$500 Hong Kong Airlines business class fare to Shanghai.
Now that I’ve got all the points I need, it’s time to put a bunch of these cards on the chopping block: Mine, my dad’s and brother’s. My 21-year-old sister inexplicably got targeted and approved for one and since she’s still building her credit, I’m going to keep her account open. The rest of us can do without the Citi AAdvantage Platinum Card.
American Express Platinum
While I initially defending the Amex Platinum Card changes introduced last spring, it’s finally time to chop this card up. Especially since I just applied for an American Express Business Platinum Card for my dad.
I was able to complete the $25,000 spending requirement thanks to Kickfurther, Kiva and a $14,000 vendor bill my boss let me pay with Plastiq. The Business Platinum Card comes in a sleek metal form and I love the 50% point bonus on transactions over $5,000. So you bet I’m going to hold onto this in favor of the personal Platinum card. Especially since the annual fee is $100 lower.
Amex Hilton Honors Ascend
I didn’t cancel my dad’s Citi Hilton Honors Reserve card on time and it got converted to the Amex Hilton Honors Ascend. The annoying part is that I didn’t even get a sign-up bonus out of it. Sure, Amex has been wooing me with spending bonuses, but I’m still bitter about the lack of sign-up bonus.
I’m a huge Hilton fan though and always get value out of Diamond status. But I think it’s time to dump this card and pick up an American Express Hilton Honors Aspire card for both of us. That card was always on my to-get list for its awesome benefits.
Bank of America Alaska Airlines Card
My dad still has two Bank of America Alaska Airlines credit cards and their annual fees are due soon. We actually do get use out of the companion certificate, not to mention Bank of America has been pretty MS-friendly.
Since I’m slowing down my manufactured spending activities these aren’t useful to me anymore. I will for sure get rid of one card, possibly both. And since I’m an authorized user, it means fewer cards in my (second) wallet.
Discover It Miles
I should have dumped the Discover It Miles Cards after the first year bonus ended. But it has no annual fee and I liked the $25 in-flight wifi credit, so I kept them all. Plus, I got into some pretty heavy manufactured spending and needed all the credit lines I could get. Now that things are slowing down, I’m getting rid of my dad and brother’s cards.
I might keep mine though because I do treat it like a travel savings account and Discover recently increased my credit line. We’ll see…
That’s pretty much it for now. Notice how there are no Chase cards on the chopping block? That’s because Chase has its act together. I haven’t gotten any cards I don’t want and I’m definitely not canceling the cards I have right now. My Chase cards are some of my oldest accounts and it will probably stay that way.
Which credit cards (if any) are you going to get rid of this fall?
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What about Southwest. How to close it so as to avoid the fee esp that it already posted.
If you’ve already paid the annual fee and its been 30 days or less, you may be able to get it refunded. Just let them know you want to close the account and would like the fee refunded.
I already downgraded my AA Barclay aviator card. I will be reapplying for the citi AA card to get their bonus again soon. I also need to shutdown my Spirit card. Earlier this year I signed up for two Sun Country cards and received bonuses on both of them. It was accidental but was still able to get 80k miles total I think. So I will be shutting down one of those.
Nice! Yeah I love that Citi cards are still relatively churnable.
Can you talk more about the “the ~$500 Hong Kong Airlines business class fare to Shanghai?”
1) I’m cancelling a few Marriott and SPG cards because with 2 players, we just have too many of them. We’ll keep 3 so that we’ll have enough nights for a long weekend somewhere.
2) I’ll cancel 1 Hilton Aspire but, keep 1 because of the 10 priority pass visits included with it.
3) I always cancel my Alaska and American cards when the AF are due and eventually apply for them again shortly thereafter.
4) I’ve downgraded my Delta Gold to the no AF Delta Blue because that’s my oldest card. Although I haven’t flown Delta since I’ve started this hobby 5 years ago.
5) There are other hotel cards that I’m still debating what to do with. Like you, I don’t MS anymore. The WM well dried up in my area back in May and without a chance to MS, it may not make much sense to keep them since I won’t be able to maintain status anymore. The only cards I know for sure that I’ll be keeping are my CSP, CFU and CF.
The airfare deal happened a couple of weeks ago. As usual, I shared it on social media since these things often end before a blog post can go live. Good call keeping your oldest card. Hopefully a good MS opportunity comes around and we can dust off those credit cards again…
I would think you would keep the Ascend for the 15K free night every year.
What is the $25 Discover travel bonus you are referring to?
Sorry – I meant the in-flight wifi credit. I’m so used to these travel bonuses on premium cards, I mistyped.
Still keeping the Arival Card?