Question

More info: I have another card that I have had for nearly 29 years. The AmEx is close to 26 years. AmEx wouldnt be my oldest. I just got dinged $150 for AmEx annual fee. I've had the card for over 25 years and also have a clear card. I don't use either much anymore except the clear card for a balance transfer (rarely offered). How much would it hurt my credit to close the accounts? Im curious both in terms of long term account history and debt/open credit (I have a lot of debt but a lot of open credit even without the clear card.  

Answer 1

I would never personally pay for a higher credit score. Your credit score may take a slight hit, but it isn't worth giving your hard-earned money away if you aren't getting a benefit from holding the card.  

Comments

This. If you’re not using the account, close it. Credit may take a brief hit but will be just fine.  

Answer 2

Call them first and see if they will waive the fee.  

Answer 3

Supposedly I can use reward points towards the fee, but other cards give better rewards without a fee.  

Comments

Discover card is good. No fees. Okay rewards

Answer 4

Look at doing a product transfer. It keeps the account open, but drops to a product that has no fee.  

Comments

Is this really a thing? Everytime I’ve ever tried this, they told me I had to close my current card and open a new one.  

---

@albrecht Not every card will be able to. It depends on the issuer and the specific product you have. Some cards have fee and non-fee versions. Example: Marriott Bonvoy Boundless vs Marriot Bonvoy Bold. Boundless has $95 fee, bold has 0. Boundless has better perks of course.  

---

This is the correct answer. Just did this with my Delta Amex card since it's unlikely I'll reap any benefits from the free checked bags etc this year due to current events. I first asked for the fee to be waived, and the person actually suggested downgrading as an alternative since they were not currently offering to waive the fee. No Credit check and card was there in 3 days.  

Answer 5

What is your next oldest line of credit. If there is a big distance between the two, consider keeping it. or "product transfer" as someone above mentioned (i'm not sure about the logistics here) or asking them to waive the fee. Is there a reward tied to the card that you can credit as an "offset" to the fee? Age of lines of credit can be a big impact because its something only time can fix.  

Answer 6

I would discuss the option of keeping the account open but perhaps switching card types to something with less reward. It’s worth a shot. I used the Amex blue cash preferred for almost every purchase and pay it off monthly. The cash rewards I get make it worth it, but there are some very different schools of thought on credit cards. I would do my research. That’s a very old line of credit. How old are your other lines of credit?  

Comments

One is from 91, 96, 2007, 2008, a few new ones for balance transfers.  

---

@xanthic , I don’t want to tell you what to do, but all of those are older than my oldest one and I’m sitting at 780-820 on all credit scores. I’m not saying that will be the case for everyone, but if you’re newest line of credit is from 2008, then you have substantial credit history in my opinion.  

---

@xanthic , I understand that the balance transfers will be canceled once paid off of transferred again, so with that in mind you’re still going to have good credit age.  

---

@richthofen Im 47yrs old and took out my first card at age 18. Ive had time.  

Answer 7

What’s the name of the Amex card that’s now charging you an annual fee?  

Comments

The Green Card

---

@myrilla50 Ohh. You’re kind of stuck on the Green Card. People are recommending a product transfer, but there’s not a no-fee card in the “family tree” of the Green Card. It’s worth having a conversation with them though. Also, AMEX is giving Green Card holders $10 off of their cell phone bill each month until the end of the year. That’s one way to recoup $70 or $80.  

Answer 8

Call them and see if they will waive or eliminate the fee