But why close them? I don't really get why anybody would close the IHG card. You can't buy a night at a Holiday Inn for $49 in most places. Keeping the card gets you a room at any available IHG property for 1 night for $49. I plan to use mine that has a posted rate of ~$300-400/night. The only reason I can see closing the Southwest card is to reapply for it again and get the bonus points and work towards the companion pass.

and what do you mean by transfer the balance? if you're carrying a balance and paying interest, optimizing cards should be low on the list of issues you're dealing with. If you're talking about transferring credit lines you can do that without issue, just tell them to allocate the credit line to your CSR.

as it should, it has a higher AF, it should carry better rewards