First off, my current credit score is between 815-820. And, this is not an account transferring type of question. Mrs. BB61 and I have never carried a balance on a credit card in the 24 years we have been married.

I’m thinking, however, of canceling my Cabela’s Visa and getting a Visa through Amazon. I just don’t shop at Cabelas anymore since they were bought out by Bass Pro Shops. On the other hand, Mrs. BB61 shops on Amazon all the time. With this background, here are my questions:

1. If I cancel the Cabelas card and get one through Amazon, will it negatively impact my credit? I have had the Cabelas card for 15 years. I am also looking to buy a new truck in about 18 months. I do have two other cards that are paid off every month and my only debt is my home which will be paid off in under three years.

2. Will changing credit cards hurt the two Miss BB61s’ credit scores? They are on the account but they only use it to buy incidentals while at college (food I pay for fun stuff they reimburse me). They have only been on the Cabelas card for 1-3 years respectively.

Suggestions are appreciated. Thanks!

Short answer: yes

Long answer: the damage might not be that severe. Your credit score is comprised of a number of factors, including average age of your credit, on-time payment history, and available credit (plus a host of other factors, credit used/credit available, credit pulls etc).

By closing a card of 15 years, and opening a new one, you are going to reduce the average age of your credit accounts. How much it is reduced depends on how many other cards/loans/mortgages you have. Second, if Cabelas has given you more of a credit limit than the new Amazon card, your available credit ratio might suffer (this will probably be negligible).

I doubt, unless Cabelas is your only card, that your score will suffer significant enough to impact your purchases. I’d go ahead and do the cancellation/opening, credit above 700-740 is perfect in any case.

I’m going to bold this section, as many of the following posts ignored this:

Does the Cabelas’ card have an annual fee? If not, consider just leaving the account unused and that way the above impacts never materialize. Good luck!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: reloader-1,

Can you just add another card and let the old card go dormant?
I don't know if that affects these so called "scores" or not.

Why can't you use the Cabela's card on Amazon? You don't need to cancel the Cabela's card, just quit using it if you get a new one.

quote:

Originally posted by smschulz:
Can you just add another card and let the old card go dormant?
I don't know if that affects these so called "scores" or not.

^^^This. For the least impact to your current score, just pay off the Cabela's card, cut it in half, and throw it away, then get and use the new Amazon card. Cancelling a card you've had for a long time can have negative impacts on your score.

Based on your description, it's not much of a hit and temporary. Just get the new one and cut up the old one. Unused credit won't hurt you. The percentage of available credit being used is more important and this could even help in the long term.
Creditors are looking for your credit to be within ranges, not a specific number.
In 18 months (or less), all will be well.

The prior two posts are your best answers, the only thing I would change is don't cut up the Cabela's card. Keep it and use it once a year to keep it active. If you never use it again, after a couple of years they'll close it on you. I have a BOA card I never use and they just sent me a notification to use it or it will close by year end. The inquiry for the new credit card will drop your score by 5-10 points but as the others have said that will recover in about 3 months or so. As long as your FICO is above around 760, you'll be able to get the lowest rate on an auto loan with whatever lender you end up using. In many cases these days, with credit as clean as you're describing, the computer will approve you automatically. Nobody will ever see your credit file to ask you any questions about it any way.

Shorter answer is who cares.


The banks have the American public fixated on their credit scores. You will still have a way better credit score than you will ever need.

I will 2nd the "who cares" sentiment above. It just doesn't matter. Do what is right financially for you and don't worry about it. Your current credit score could drop 75 points and you would still qualify for the best rates anyone has to offer.

quote:

Originally posted by TXJIM:
I will 2nd the "who cares" sentiment above. It just doesn't matter. Do what is right financially for you and don't worry about it. Your current credit score could drop 75 points and you would still qualify for the best rates anyone has to offer.

100%. No need to obsess like most of us do. Between the wife and I we have one credit card that we use for convenience and she has a debit card and that’s it.

I have a mid 800 score and all that says is I have borrowed a ton of money over the years (dumb). It could drop 150 points and it wouldn't affect what I want to do with money in any way shape or form.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: 1s1k,

Experience: I once cancelled a credit card, and it did to my surprise negatively impact my credit score. They coded it as a "cancelled by vendor", even though I was the one who requested the account close, and it cost me a few points on an otherwise spotless record.

Simple Answer.

Just take the Cabela's card and throw it in the safe or shred it.

Longer answer per Google.

https://www.investopedia.com/h...0into%20your%20score.


The Bottom Line
Don’t close a credit card account without a good reason. Having a lot of credit cards won’t necessarily hurt your credit score significantly if you handle them responsibly. However, if you need to cancel a card, do your best to reduce all your credit card balances first (preferably to $0), so you can either minimize or totally avoid any credit score damage.

--------------
Also, the cards you have given your daughters are your cards. Not theirs, they are just authorized, users. It's great they can use your's for their college needs etc... However, they should also get their own cards tied to their SSN to build their own credit score.

They could even a card with a set limit backed up by a cash deposit. They use that card to buy books etc.. for school and you pay the bill just as you would currently. Their credit score goes up and soon they can get back the money needed to open that card. Once they have a good independent credit score they will be able to get whatever card they want.

No. One or two credit inquiries will not have much impact. Length of credit might take a ding, might not. Your credit may dip for 3-6 months but should recover.

I’m going to agree with reloaded-1 at the top and also suggest your daughters get their own card to start establishing their own credit rating.

That’s what we did with our two sons. Many banks have a credit card program for college kids that have no fees and a modest credit limit to allow them to get used to managing their own money.

I have a dormant CC I about never use. I got a letter it will be closed Dec 12, if I didn’t use it. I put one tank of gas on it, then back in the storage file, no annual fee or anything.

I’m in the ‘who cares’ camp also, but thought I’d keep it. I’m all ‘froze up’ & don’t plan to borrow $$, >800 always in the score. It’s still those insidious peeks at the score, car insurance, home, whatever.

I wouldn’t want to juggle a bunch of cards, I really don’t get wrapped up in a credit score either.

Unless your looking to finance a house in the next year I wouldn't worry. Any hit your credit takes will be small and recover quickly.

I have a card I almost never use. It was my first card and I just let it stay active.

Get your kids their own cards so they are establishing their own credit.

quote:

Originally posted by TXJIM:
I will 2nd the "who cares" sentiment above. It just doesn't matter. Do what is right financially for you and don't worry about it. Your current credit score could drop 75 points and you would still qualify for the best rates anyone has to offer.

This here. You have excellent credit.

quote:

Any hit your credit takes will be small and recover quickly.

Agreed. It will go down some because you simultaneously opened a new account (this always does for some reason) and closed an old one (which reduced your available credit). As you use the new card responsibly it will go back up.