What to do with old cards?

bazhance

Hi all, I have been using the credit card companies money for about 3 years now with about 30k earning me my holiday money spead over 3-4 cards.I had about 10-12 cards some of which I hadn't used for years so I cancelled quite a few.I have just applied for 2 more 0% cards one of which was sent to me as pre-approved (capital) and both have been turned down, so can only assume its because of shutting the other cards.Capital even suggested contacting a credit ref agency.Anyone else had this prob.

kati_reeve

I'd really appreciate some advice from people who have the same cards I do or who have experience of these cards. I read Martin's article re: which ones to keep but I thought other money savers might have some more advice for me.

As I said in my first ever post, Lloyds gave me 0% for six months so I'm obviously keeping that card at least for the next six months. I also have a Platinum Barclaycard with a credit limit of £2,750 which has nothing on it and a Mint card with a £400 limit which is also clear at present.

I want to get down to just two cards so do I get rid of the Mint or the Barclaycard? I wanted to keep the Mint card coz I had it in my head that they were better for purchases - is this the case? I have no intention of buying anything on a credit card but I want one for emergencies. Another reason I wanted to keep the Mint was because it has a much lower limit so I can't go crazy and spend thousands. I had a bit of a spending problem a while ago but it's under control now. I want rid of the temptation but I also realise that credit cards can be life savers if something massive comes along that you haven't budgeted for.

Or, should I wait six months and then get rid of the Lloyds card?! I really want to get down to two but suppose I could wait a bit. But getting rid of the Capital One card I had and getting that deal from Lloyds felt great and now I need another fix of Money Saving!!!!

Any advice from seasoned money savers would be very greatly appreciated. I think this is a wonderful site - it's great to see strangers taking time out of their day/ work etc to help other people. :T

ukric

When I had a barclaycard they offered me £50 worth of waterstones/hmv vouchers to keep it open, i took them up on the offer and cancelled it about 4 months later having not used it. Might be worth it.

Chris2000

Mint card gives cashback on purchases. I don't know if that includes former RBS Advanta customers or if it's for "brand new customers only", but that might make it better than other cards for new purchases.

If you're disciplined, there's little point getting rid of a Lloyds TSB card. It doesn't appear on your credit file, as long as all payments have been made on time, so it can't affect your credit score with other lenders. Lloyds send occassional balance transfer offers by post if you haven't used the card for a while, or if you phone up to ask.

On the other hand, if you might be tempted to spend the available credit and build up a debt, get rid of it as soon as you've cleared the 0% balance.

Allie_K

New to site and really nervous about posting because I'm a bit of a technophobe. Have learned so much from this site already. Made a huge holiday purchase the other week on one credit card I have remained loyal to because same company as main current account but had a 0% card waiting in the wings to transfer balance onto so wouldn't have to pay any interest. Now can pay back over a cool 9 months whilst money for holiday sits in savings account earning some interest. Interesting though about not remaining loyal to your banks etc. because actually thinking about transferring to one with a better deal now I have read some of stuff on this brilliant site. To person asking about which current a/c to cite on forms if you have more than one I usually cite the one that my salary is paid in to but that is the one I have been with the longest x

bella21

Does anyone know if you can cancel an existing credit card while there are still payments that need to be made on it.... at the moment the card that i want to cancel is a Capital one card but not sure if they do this.
Thnaks!

THE_ROCK84

kati_reeve wrote:

I'd really appreciate some advice from people who have the same cards I do or who have experience of these cards. I read Martin's article re: which ones to keep but I thought other money savers might have some more advice for me.

As I said in my first ever post, Lloyds gave me 0% for six months so I'm obviously keeping that card at least for the next six months. I also have a Platinum Barclaycard with a credit limit of £2,750 which has nothing on it and a Mint card with a £400 limit which is also clear at present.

I want to get down to just two cards so do I get rid of the Mint or the Barclaycard? I wanted to keep the Mint card coz I had it in my head that they were better for purchases - is this the case? I have no intention of buying anything on a credit card but I want one for emergencies. Another reason I wanted to keep the Mint was because it has a much lower limit so I can't go crazy and spend thousands. I had a bit of a spending problem a while ago but it's under control now. I want rid of the temptation but I also realise that credit cards can be life savers if something massive comes along that you haven't budgeted for.

Or, should I wait six months and then get rid of the Lloyds card?! I really want to get down to two but suppose I could wait a bit. But getting rid of the Capital One card I had and getting that deal from Lloyds felt great and now I need another fix of Money Saving!!!!

Any advice from seasoned money savers would be very greatly appreciated. I think this is a wonderful site - it's great to see strangers taking time out of their day/ work etc to help other people. :T

Awwww the magic words!!

reelcrazy

I have cancelled my Halifax One, Tesco Visa, Barclaycard Gold and Barclaycard Mastercard over the last few months. None of them tried to tempt me to stay.

Ivenofinmoney

Whilst I agree in principal with the suggestion of keeping the decks clear with cards your not using.

It has been suggested to me in the past that you should not cancel them all at once, as this could have a negative impact on your credit rating.

Is this correct or one of those Myths that get punted around ?

tithyrin

If I am in credit with a CC (£5 tops) and I want to cancel, will they send me a cheque for the credit or will I not be allowed to close the account?