In the past ten years, I’ve opened and closed a few credit cards. But within the past five years, I’ve decided to keep only three major credit cards and canceled the rest.
Of the three, I primarily use the Visa and American Express for everyday purchases. But I prefer American Express because I get rewards for more places, such as The Home Depot (although I prefer to shop at Lowe’s - the service & selection is much better!). But one card I never use is my Capital One MasterCard. I kept it mostly as a back up card and fortunately not had to use it for anything.
Lately credit card companies have been changing their customer’s credit limit (meaning lower the amount) even when the customer is in good standing. And what’s also new is that they are canceling the cards to even good standing customers.
Recently I received a letter from my Capital One MasterCard informing me of my account being closed. This was because I hadn’t used the card in years. It was really my “back up” credit card. But I was really surprised at first since I considered myself to be a good credit card holder. I mostly pay in full and on time each month.
Curtis Arnold, the founder of Cardratings.com also got a letter in the mail from a credit card company notifying him it was closing his account. The account he hadn’t used in a while.
