I want to close out my Citi and Chase credit cards. Where's a good place

[mistertrickster]

to get a new account?

And, please, no preaching about how bad credit cards are--I pay mine off completely every month.

[pipi_k]

1. Try going through

a credit union or your local (small) bank.

I have one from each, and I pay mine off each month, too.


Also, I do have a Chase credit card with a rather small credit limit, but I only use it once a year or so, just to keep it open and to add to my "available credit" score.

[zonkers]

15. self delete

[sufrommich]

2. All credit unions have credit cards. nt

[Lydia Leftcoast]

7. Yes, they do

You don't need to patronize the big banks.

[sharp_stick]

3. Instead of closing them

you may want to just barely keep them active so you don't take a credit rating hit. I know it's stupid but if you close a credit account your credit rating will drop.

If you do want to dump them all together I'd recommend that you close one first replace it with a better one from a small regional bank or credit union and then after several months do the same with the other one. Again this would help to stabilize your credit rating.

[Xithras]

4. Agreed. Don't close them if you're worried about your credit rating.

Opening a new card is going to lower your credit score. Closing a credit account will lower it even further, and for a much longer period of time. You're better off zeroing out the account, putting the cards away somewhere safe, and letting it sit there. So long as you're not using the cards, the big bank still loses.

Of course, there's a caveat if you have a credit card that charges annual fees. If this is the case, you'll have to decide yourself whether the bump in credit rating justifies the annual cost of having the card. If not, I'd still close the cards out slowly...no more than one a year.

[FarCenter]

5. If you keep credit cards make sure that they are "no annual fee" cards

Else you'll be dinged for the fee, even if you aren't using them.

What you want is a "rewards" card with no annual fee, that gives you 1% or more back as cash. That way you actually make some money off the card.

Airline miles and rewards points redeemable only for merchandise, etc., are for suckers.

Make sure you get cash back.

[uppityperson]

17. I got a couple free tickets from airline credit cards but you have to beware to cancel

before the annual fee is due. I managed to get a couple tickets to Europe by playing the game, applying for a airline card, charge something minor, pay it off, wait for miles to get credited and cancel the card. It probably reflects on my credit score, but hey, free tickets. Just make sure you pay them off before the first "free" yr is up to avoid annual fee.

[dionysus]

6. credit union.

[mistertrickster]

8. Okay . . . lots of good advice. Thanks to all. nt

[ChiciB1]

9. I Have ONE Credit Card Through My Credit Union... No Annual Fee Either

Have a checking & savings account and am an Advantage member, which means that I can earn 6.98% on my account.

I do realize that many people don't have access to a credit union, but IF you know a relative who is a member, most credit unions will let you join. I noticed a little while back that so many banks started sending out credit offers ALL OVER AGAIN! I was given a number to call to STOP receiving ANY advertisements of this sort. They were the VERY SAME offers from before, no INTEREST charged for "X" number of months, and no transfer fees if you switch to them!

THE VERY SAME PLOY, that I thought was supposed to have been stopped some time back. I NEVER got sucked into these things, however I DO know friends who did this and know people who think it's too much trouble to switch! Then IMO, it's ON THEM if they don't and actually have access to a credit union. And yes, I do realize that they are covered by the FDIC, but for now there has to be something in place so you don't lose your money.

For now this is all I know that I can do about MY money! There is one drawback though. If you roll over an IRA they are still tied to Wall Street from what my daughter has told me. She met with a representative last week to switch her pension plan from ING to something else. And the current interest you might earn on a traditional IRA is minuscule. You do have to take these factors into consideration, however I myself am willing to remove any money I have through Morgan Stanley and transfer it away from them. Kind of cutting my nose off to spite my face in a way, but I really don't have all that much to transfer. Have been using it to get by for a while now because my husband retired early and he gets SS. I just got a notice that I will be eligible to receive SS soon. This will help, but it's not easy living on SS, even if it's more than many others have.

I consider myself luckier than many, even if we don't have much annual income. We do have a home and own 5 acres of land, that we really want to sell but won't be able to right now. We've owned it since '89 and if we asked only for the money we paid for it and the taxes paid over the years, we know it won't sell for that amount. We also are paying the monthly bills for my husband's mother's home since she passed away. Can't sell that either because his brother owns 1/2 of it. He agreed to pay half the taxes but that's all since he would rather "dump" it and take the loss. We are going to "try" to ride it out for now.

So enough... just thought I would add my comment and I apologize if this got too long for some of you. I do go on and on much of the time.

[Smarmie Doofus]

10. Kick nt

[ThirdEye]

11. Credit Union or Community Bank

I'm not sure where you live but, in my opinion, you're best off with a credit union or community bank.

Our credit union, New England Federal Credit Union, is simply fantastic. I never thought I would become a "fan" of a financial institution but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't.

My wife works for a community bank in another state and it is also a great place to put your money. The key is that they are privately owned by a family that really cares about the community's development. You can see a direct line between them and the investments made in the areas that makes up their market. Oh, and they didn't get mixed up in sub-prime mortgages or derivatives.

[Shagbark Hickory]

12. There's a website you can go to to compare rewards programs.

http://www.bankrate.com/brm/rate/brm_ccsearch.asp

It's foolish IMO to use a credit card where you pay off the balance in full each month that doesn't have any kind of reward.
Currently I get 2% cash back on gas and groceries, 1 % on everything else.
There's a AMEX blue cash card that supposedly pays 5%.

[mistertrickster]

13. Yup, me too. I want cash back but no big bank name, heh. nt

[NNN0LHI]

14. Canceling a credit card can hurt your credit score

Opening new ones can hurt your credit score too.

Just so you are aware of how this scam works.

Don

[zonkers]

16. First, get twenty like minded friends together then just show up all at once to any NYC branch.