There’s an old controversy in card-enthusiasts circles whether to keep free card and bank accounts or close them out. Usually inertia takes its toll and accounts remain dormant for a while. Eventually some banks will close out inactive accounts.
Some people like keeping dormant cards in case a deal comes along. For example, there might be a Chase Offer or an Amex Offer or a spend offer which pops up.
Today I decided to lower my mental clutter and close out the inactives. Two Synchrony cards were easily closed out from within the online login. I logged into an old Best Buy Visa account, only to discover it’s already been auto-closed by issuer. Two Amex cards got the axe – Amex’s phone system can close out a card for you. Two more no-fee Chase INK cards are still on the chopping block.
I also downgraded Blue Cash Preferred to a Blue Cash Everyday card to save the annual fee. My shiny new Citi Custom Cash can potentially get 5% at the Grocery, just 1% less than the Amex card pays. Also, we often see Grocery in the rotating category from Chase which I value at more than 5%.
Be sure to always zero out any rewards balances before closing. In the case of Chase, for example, I simply transferred the Ultimate Rewards points to another active card. One of my Chase cards also had a small $5 balance from the Grocery Chase Offer – I loaded $5 to my Amazon account to zero out that balance and then I’ll close out the card.
