Which cards to bin

enthusiasticsaver

I would not want to pay any of those interest rates so I would ditch them all. If you have a decent credit record I don't think it really is necessary to keep the oldest card you have. I have never been declined for a credit card and used to regularly change for best rewards although the two I have at the moment, Santander 123 and JL Partnership I have had for about 5 years. As I am now retired I won't apply for any others.

gionnetto

GlasweJen wrote: »

Vanquis - 8 year old card, 39.9% APR, £3500 credit limit
Aqua - 3 year old card, 49.9% APR, £4000 credit limit
Capital One - 1 year old card, 19.9% APR, £500 credit limit

I would ditch the Aqua, defo.

My reasoning:
Vanquis is your oldest, and it's at its lowerst APR for that card - 2 excellent reasons not to close it
Capital One has a decent APR and it might increase your limit after you close another line
Aqua isn't as old as Vanquis, and the APR is the highest. Unless you use it for travel, or some sort of rewards, it only makes your credit too large when compared to your income.

[Deleted User]

If you're clearing balances in full then ignore the posts about high interest rates

gionnetto

!!! wrote: »

If you're clearing balances in full then ignore the posts about high interest rates

It's never a good strategy. Say you normally pay them in full but something happens to your health that makes you temporarily unable to work, or your critical illness insurance (or the benefits) take longer to pay than your credit card grace period, or your savings cannot be withdrawn before 30 days, APRs might make some difference.

Better to strategize including a B, C, and D plan for when things get really messy! If they don't, you won't use your plans. If they don't, you won't loose whatever it's left of your health worrying. :T

GlasweJen

The cards are just to get me a bit of credit history as I had none of my own until I took out the vanquis card. It's been a long struggle, I'm from a background where debt is seen as a shameful thing and even mortgages are frowned upon so even getting the vanquis was a huge step and it took me years to actually use it.

I've never actually spent anywhere near the limits on any of them. I got the cap1 with the intention of binning the aqua but with the drama from vanquis (they've still not changed my name, they want my original wedding certificate now which will be hard since they lost it) I just never got round to it. I have direct debits to clear the balances in full every month and get the text alerts with the reminders of how much that is so I can make sure the money is there for the DD coming out.