As the title says, Citi has pissed me off beyond all belief, and I’m dumping my cards with them. Looking to rework my strategy on what I should do, been out of the CC game for a bit and want to make sure I’m not missing something new.
Current cards: (list cards, limits, opening date)
Chase Sapphire Preferred, >$10k limit, Jan 2023
Chase Freedom Flex, $5k limit, Mar 2023
Chase Freedom Unlimited, $10k limit, Feb 2023
Chase Freedom, $5k limit, 2014
Amazon Prime Visa, $10k limit, years ago
Alliant Visa Signature, $15k limit, 2018
WF Autograph, $15k limit, when it opened
WF Active Cash, $12k limit, whenever the Propel was discontinued
Citi Doublecash, $15k limit, 2015
Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select, $13k limit, Apr 2024
Citi AAdvantage MileUp, $7k limit, May 2024
FICO Score: 800
Oldest account age: e.g. 12 years
Chase 5/24 status: 5/24 (2/24 come spring)
Income: $100,000
Average monthly spend and categories:
dining $500
groceries: $300
gas: $250
Airline tickets: $200 or so on average
Amazon: $200
Home Improvement: $200
other: $400
Open to Business Cards: No
What’s the purpose of your next card? Travel or Cashback
Do you have any cards you’ve been looking at? WF Journey?
Are you OK with category spending or do you want a general spending card? Ok with categories
So I have a ton of cards already, just trying to figure out what makes the most sense for me going forward. Part of me is tempted to run my Prime Visa for Amazon, WF Autograph for gas and dining, then the Alliant Visa for everything else. I do have the Chase quadfecta as well.
The reason I went for American is my city has mostly American flights and I’m only a short drive from one of American’s major hubs. I do have Gold status with them at the moment, and do a decent bit of flying for work and heading back north to see family. I appreciate having the priority boarding, free checked bag, and preferred seat benefits, but I don’t fly quite enough to earn status without the card spend, one of the reasons I don’t just run the Chase cards. My city also has solid service with Southwest, so that might be an option I’d explore as well.
My wife is heavily tied into Hilton and runs one of the Hilton Amex cards and has status with them, so transferring to Hyatt or other hotels has zero value to me.
CardSavvy4 said: @Smart
I am OP. If it doesn’t have an AF, it’s going in the sock drawer.
For what reason though, that’s what I’m asking. You have a sufficient amount of cards such that cancelling them won’t make any difference. I have a feeling that you’re buying into the myth that closing cards is bad or something, but I’m not sure which.
It depends on how you define ‘hurt’ I suppose. Many lenders don’t like seeing large unused credit lines sitting dormant. It makes you appear to be a less profitable customer. Denials have been suggested for this reason for certain credit cards. Also with unused cards you still have to manage those accounts for potential fraud and such, which isn’t necessary if they’re closed. My argument wouldn’t be it doesn’t hurt you to keep them open, it would be it doesn’t help you to keep them open.
@Smart
But you just told them they don’t need more cards, so why would hurting their approval odds matter? Keeping them on the other hand makes it quick and easy to pivot if their needs change. Once the card is gone, it’s gone. Then they need to apply all over again if that card is the best fit.
Yes there’s a chance of fraud, which can be mitigated.
But you just told them they don’t need more cards, so why would hurting their approval odds matter?
They don’t “need” more cards. That doesn’t mean at some point that they won’t want another card, be solicited with/take advantage of an offer, etc. There’s still value in looking like a desirable customer.
Keeping them on the other hand makes it quick and easy to pivot if their needs change
What sort of needs are those? I suppose one could weigh the potential to fulfill those “needs” changing that you speak of versus desirability in the eyes of potential lenders.
Once the card is gone, it’s gone.
Correct. It’s extremely rare in the years that I’ve been talking credit with people that I’ve heard someone say “I wish I didn’t close that card!”
Then they need to apply all over again if that card is the best fit.
Yup, but the situation you describe isn’t one that I feel happens much, if at all.
Yes there’s a chance of fraud, which can be mitigated.
It can be not only mitigated, but eliminated by not leaving cards open that you longer see value in, too.
@Rohan
Exactly this. Whenever something doesn’t go my way with a credit card I try to step back and ask am I still getting more out of the relationship than they are. Most if not all of the time the answer’s yes. So closing my cards would benefit them more than me.
CardSavvy4 said: @Rohan
You’re the second person now to say Amex. I might have to dig into that.
Any recommendations on where to start?
I’d also say Amex has the best customer service and think it’d be a good idea to use one of their cards if you think there’s a chance things might go sideways. I don’t believe it’s any different based on whether you get a card with an annual fee, so you might consider their BCE card.
I say this as someone who used to work for a competitor.
CardSavvy4 said: @Rohan
You’re the second person now to say Amex. I might have to dig into that.
Any recommendations on where to start?
Amex really caters to high spend, and it helps if you’re amenable to business cards.
If the credits/coupons don’t piss you off…
I’d do Personal Gold which is 4x groceries and dining.
Blue Biz Plus 2x everywhere.
Biz Platinum (to book American Airlines through their portal and get 35% rebate). this gets you 1.54 cpp on flights
So this equates to 6% on dining/groceries, 3% everything.
HOWEVER, there are a lot of fees that need to be negated.
AND the Amex Gold does not have a no AF downgrade path, so if you change your mind, that might hurt your credit some… but I doubt it as you already have a thick credit file.
You could also do Biz gold instead of personal gold, and get the 4x on dining/gas, but that leaves a hole on groceries.
@Rohan
Amex catering to high spenders is a myth. They have a whole range of cards and the BCE is a good card for just about anyone, save for the crowd holding the Centurion card.
Wade said: @Rohan
Amex catering to high spenders is a myth. They have a whole range of cards and the BCE is a good card for just about anyone, save for the crowd holding the Centurion card.
What I meant is if you have $1070 AF, for two cards, you might want to have the spend to make it worth your while.
@Wade
Basically, anything I am totally new to or I expect things could go sideways or requires protection. A custom shoe vendor screwed me with sizing and Amex sided with me. Even I put my rentals in Amex BCP over CSP as Amex CS is easier to work than Chase benefit center.