PumpkinSmasher

Here is my situation...my United Mileage Plus personal card anniversary just hit, which means an annual fee.

I currently have 2 other cards with Chase...the Sapphire Preferred and the United Mileage Plus Business Card (just opened today -- actually had to move $5K of credit from the United personal card). I do not have any other Chase history.

I have around 8 total credit cards and a credit score of around 810.

I don't really need the UMP personal card anymore, but it is the oldest Chase card I have...so there are a few scenarios here to consider but as somewhat of a novice with points, I'm hoping someone can inform me of what the best decision may be.

- I downgrade the card to no AF version. History stays open, additional credit with Chase could then be used for future applications, but then I can't churn this in the future and I also have an additional card with Chase that could be preventative of future applications.

- I cancel the card, but I lose that line of credit with Chase (it would not affect my utilization ratio), I don't have this line of credit to transfer over to future cards, but I could reapply theoretically in a couple of years. However, I could always downgrade my Sapphire Preferred card in the future if I wanted to keep a line of credit with Chase and I believe I could then use that to my advantage and pick up additional UR based on some other posts I've seen?

As a sidenote, I did call to cancel and was not offered any kind of bonus as well, in case you were wondering. I told them I'd think about the downgrade and would call back.

I know people's answers may vary here as to what is best, but keep in mind that I'm not looking to take out a mortgage anytime soon or anything. Is it easy to get available credit back from Chase after you've closed an account? I'm just curious what others think might be the best route given my circumstances.

bribro

I'd probably transfer the CL to CSP, then cancel the MPE. Might want to HUCA for a retention bonus though, they're pretty common with MPE.

satman40

Once you cancel your united card you will need to wait 2 years to get the new sign up bonus.

PumpkinSmasher

Will they allow a transfer to CSP and then for me to cancel MPE? In my first attempt to cancel, although I didn't go all the way, they weren't willing to offer anything for the cancellation of the MPE. I don't know if they would've transferred me to someone in the retention department or not. I've read that sometimes they will sometimes they don't. But even then, waiving of the fee seems rare based on what I've read though they will often offer something.

bribro

Yes.

HUCA. I usually do it at least three times before throwing in the towel.

PumpkinSmasher

Good to know, I'll have to give that a worl. Thanks!

Kenny Lok

Can I get a clarification on reapplying for the same credit card?

I downgraded my Chase Sapphire Preferred to a Chase Sapphire card. Does that mean that I can't reapply and get the CSP bonus after waiting 2 years and to get it, I actually need to cancel this card?

PumpkinSmasher

Update...so as a side note, at Bribro's suggestion, I did call back a second time and this time the rep offered me a $100 statement credit to keep the account open. Was not expecting that...but I guess that wipes out the annual fee. Does anyone know if you can just not pay the annual fee and have the statement credit wipe that out? Anyway, I guess this is thread is sort of moot at this juncture. Thanks again and I'll post in the retention thread as well.

bribro

Congrats! The AF is charged to your card, so I'm not sure what you're asking... as long as your statement hasn't cycled the statement credit will wipe out the AF. It's all fungible.

I suppose you could theoretically accept the $100 statement credit, and still cancel your card within 60 days of the AF posting to get your $95 credited back (and thus "profiting" $100), but that's playing with fire. Not worth screwing Chase over like that given their history of shutting people down.

PumpkinSmasher

Thanks, it was great advice! And sorry for the confusion, I just wondered if the statement credit would wipe out the AF as opposed to me having to pay it and then use the statement credit. I just didn't want to see any kind of nonpayment notice on the account.

bribro

If it's on the same statement, yes, the statement credit will wipe out the AF. I suggest checking your online statement to make sure.

wise2u

sometimes they delay the statement credit to make sure you pay the AF first. If it doesn't show up on the online accounting, go ahead and pay the AF. If you don't want to use the following statement credit on charges, you can request a check.

whoknew89

Hello Fellow Flyers,

I'm seeking a bit of advice on how I should go about my current situation, I'm nearing the end of my first year after my first app-o-rama and I'm having trouble deciding on if I should keep or cancel some of the cards that I received.

Nearly all these cards are Chase branded and I'll keep cards from other institutions out of this thread.

Back in Oct 2013 I applied for a Ink Plus, Southwest Plus Business and Southwest Plus Personal card. With the three cards I earned 150,000 points total (100K in southwest points) and used some of the Ink Plus points to transfer to Southwest to earn the companion pass. I was very pleased with how well this worked and the only card not to get instantly approved was the Southwest Business, but after a quick phone call it was on its way.

After meeting the spending requirement on all cards I stopped using the Southwest cards, the Ink Plus I've been using to pay for my cellphone and internet bill along with the occasional gas purchase when none of my other cards have good rolling categories for fuel.

My question is now that the annual fees are coming up I want to know if I should cancel, downgrade (if possible) any of the cards. As mentioned I have not put a dime on the Southwest cards since earning the bonus.

The Ink Plus card earns me about 15,200 points per year and that easily outweighs the annual fee but the Ink Cash wouldn't have an annual fee and would allow me to earn just as many points.

Would you keep the Southwest cards if you weren't using them? I'll still get the 3000 * 2 southwest points for paying the annual fee but at 1.4 cents per point that hardly outweighs the fee.

Should I try and downgrade or cancel the Ink Plus?

Thank you for your advice and hopefully clarification, I feel deciding what to cancel is one of the hardest parts of the credit card game.

garykung

If I were you, I would cancel all WN cards regardless and keep the Ink Plus Card.

1. WN cards are churnable for every 2 years (See Wiki):

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/south...ts-offers.html

So you are closing so that you can get a new bonus again.

2. WN cards are useless in term of traveling with WN.

2. Ink Plus offers more reward options.

whoknew89

@garykung, this is the exact conclusion I decided on. Also going to spend a bit more time maximizing gift cards at Staples this year!

Thanks!