Need help to reduce my credit cards - Need suggestion on which one to close

[54R4NG]

Hello All,

I have the following active CC (paid and ltf), need inputs to decide which one to close:

Paid:
1. AMEX MRCC (main driver, mostly doing 20K+ transactions/month).
2. Airtel Axis (Only for Airtel BB and ISP recharge) - annual fee deducted in recent statement. (Planning to close).
3. SBI Cashback (Used for nearly every online transaction - FK/Amazon/FirstCry/Zomato/Swiggy/etc.)

LTF:
1. ICICI APAY (mostly not useful due to SBI cashback) - Oldest card, cannot close as it will hit CIBIL adversly.
2. OneCard Metal (Federal)
3. Indusind Legend (Planning to close)
4. ICICI Rubyx (Planning to close)
5. IDFC Wealth
6. Tata Neu Infinity (used for all UPI spends + utilities).
7. HDFC Regalia (getting FYF upgrade to DCP). - Should not close as this will pave the way to Infinia.

Thank you!

 

[akshayhs]

No use of closing ltf cards unless you're having excess credit to income ratio

 

[Aditya Jha]

Hello All,

I have the following active CC (paid and ltf), need inputs to decide which one to close:

Paid:
1. AMEX MRCC (main driver, mostly doing 20K+ transactions/month).
2. Airtel Axis (Only for Airtel BB and ISP recharge) - annual fee deducted in recent statement. (Planning to close).
3. SBI Cashback (Used for nearly every online transaction - FK/Amazon/FirstCry/Zomato/Swiggy/etc.)

LTF:
1. ICICI APAY (mostly not useful due to SBI cashback) - Oldest card, cannot close as it will hit CIBIL adversly.
2. OneCard Metal (Federal)
3. Indusind Legend (Planning to close)
4. ICICI Rubyx (Planning to close)
5. IDFC Wealth
6. Tata Neu Infinity (used for all UPI spends + utilities).
7. HDFC Regalia (getting FYF upgrade to DCP). - Should not close as this will pave the way to Infinia.

Thank you

You can close airtel axis, as you have tata neu infinity for utility.

 

[Saiv]

close icci apay it won’t affect cibil report, definitely not adversely, i closed so many cards literally so many including my oldest cards never dropped for that reason. In my experience cibil scores only drops, when there are so many enquiries/late payments & so many new accounts in a short period of time. Cibil score drops has nothing to do with Card closures(Again taking it from my personal experience)
Close indusind legend card, icici rubyx, if possible One Card(not recommended). Close Airtel as you have Tata Neu.

 

[SunnyM]

Just my opinion. Don't close any card. You have a great collection from my prospective.

 

[54R4NG]

close icci apay it won’t affect cibil report, definitely not adversely, i closed so many cards literally so many including my oldest cards never dropped for that reason. In my experience cibil scores only drops, when there are so many enquiries/late payments & so many new accounts in a short period of time. Cibil score drops has nothing to do with Card closures(Again taking it from my personal experience)
Close indusind legend card, icici rubyx, if possible One Card(not recommended). Close Airtel as you have Tata Neu.

in my opinion, closing your oldest credit card affects your credit age which directly impacts your credit score.
currently my CIBIL is 803 and Experian is at 836, I do not want to risk to drop cibil below 800 as it may impact my near term HL requirements.

 

[shrewdoc]

ICICI card provides great offers and discounts periodically as well as in almost all the sales. APay won't work there. You need to have a core gemstone card for that.

You can close Legend and One Card (after own research)

 

[MOhit __]

In the last 3 months, I have closed 6 of my 26 cards.
Do not close any more cards as you already have fewer cards ✌️

 

[Card_Crafter]

Keeping atleast one card from each bank always becomes handy while doing online transactions. You have only 10 cards, I won't recommend closing any card.

 

[54R4NG]

Thank you all for your valuable feedback.
I will only go ahead and close my Airtel Axis and instead will get a Axis Core card (getting Neo as LTF).
will keep rest of them, IndusInd helped me get free timesprime twice 😆

 

[praveensudhakaran]

My Cards

1) Axis rewards(OG citi rewards) - paid (Oldest card)
2) Axis IOCL - Paid
3) Axis MyZone - LTF
4) Axis Atlas - paid
5) Amex MRCC - paid
6) AU Lit - LTF
7) HDFC Regalia Gold - FYF
8) HDFC Neu Infinity - LTF
9) ICICI APAY - LTF
10) ICICI Sapphiro - LTF(DUAL CARD)
11) IDFC wealth - LTF
12) IndusInd Legend - LTF
13) Kotak League - LTF

HDFC's are my daily driver now. Amex for 4×1500 Apay vouchers and Apay for Amazon purchases.

Planning to close the paid cards, and keep one card per bank for the occassional offers.

Suggestions on the cards to close and cards to be added are welcome

 

[helloworld]

Hello All,

I have the following active CC (paid and ltf), need inputs to decide which one to close:

Paid:
1. AMEX MRCC (main driver, mostly doing 20K+ transactions/month).
2. Airtel Axis (Only for Airtel BB and ISP recharge) - annual fee deducted in recent statement. (Planning to close).
3. SBI Cashback (Used for nearly every online transaction - FK/Amazon/FirstCry/Zomato/Swiggy/etc.)

LTF:
1. ICICI APAY (mostly not useful due to SBI cashback) - Oldest card, cannot close as it will hit CIBIL adversly.
2. OneCard Metal (Federal)
3. Indusind Legend (Planning to close)
4. ICICI Rubyx (Planning to close)
5. IDFC Wealth
6. Tata Neu Infinity (used for all UPI spends + utilities).
7. HDFC Regalia (getting FYF upgrade to DCP). - Should not close as this will pave the way to Infinia.

Thank you!

only, idfc wealth, icici apy, indus leged (if not tied to select account).

mrcc too unless redemption for marriott, else you'll get high rate with sbi cashback. But helps for odd categories where sbi cashback not provided.

Did you know, airtel card provides > 5% if spent 2L on utilities, food, grocery purchases.

- https://www.technofino.in/community...k-credit-card-maximizing-your-cashback.31701/

Not sure how beneficial or important UPI spends but comapred to Infinity airtel provides high rate for other spends.

in my opinion, closing your oldest credit card affects your credit age which directly impacts your credit score.
currently my CIBIL is 803 and Experian is at 836, I do not want to risk to drop cibil below 800 as it may impact my near term HL requirements.

closing card wont reduce the credit history immediately, because your other cards contribute the score and only applicable to somone who closes all cards, not one of many.

my family member closed the first card, and its been 2+ years on/off applying and closing cards, with current card having only 4 months history but cibil still showing age of credit is 2y..m only, not 4 months.

more over 780+ and 800+ will have same interest rates in Homeloan, that is based on income, credit history (payment record) based primarly, and reducing cards will definitely limit the credit exposure for homeloan.

 

[arthurmorgan]

I have below. Need suggestion on what to close, getting difficult to manage

• ICICI apay
• IDFc first select
• ICICI rubyx Amex / mastercard
• Kotak league legend ( this isn’t LTF )
• ICICI coral rupay
• Tata neu infinity ( just got )

 

[helloworld]

I have below. Need suggestion on what to close, getting difficult to manage

• ICICI apay
• IDFc first select
• ICICI rubyx Amex / mastercard
• Kotak league legend ( this isn’t LTF )
• ICICI coral rupay
• Tata neu infinity ( just got )

Answer as much as possible using this thread, help better suggestions and can simplify your card wallet.

Thread 'Guide to Choosing the Right Credit Card - Basic Requirements'

Sep 28, 2024

How to Choose the Right Credit Card for You

Simply looking at your CIBIL score or listing your existing cards won't help determine the most suitable credit card for you. To make an informed choice, you need to consider various factors.

Key Steps to Select a Credit Card:​

1. Identify Your Spending Categories
   Look at your monthly or annual expenses and categorize them. This will help determine which card gives the best rewards for your spending pattern.
   
   Example:
   • Amazon: ₹5,000
   • BigBasket: ₹5,000...

• helloworld
• Replies: 14
• Forum: Suggest me a Credit Card

• 
• 
• 

On paper, I can say; close:
- First Select
- League
- Coral Rupay

 

[DeadFella]

Hello All,

I have the following active CC (paid and ltf), need inputs to decide which one to close:

Paid:
1. AMEX MRCC (main driver, mostly doing 20K+ transactions/month).
2. Airtel Axis (Only for Airtel BB and ISP recharge) - annual fee deducted in recent statement. (Planning to close).
3. SBI Cashback (Used for nearly every online transaction - FK/Amazon/FirstCry/Zomato/Swiggy/etc.)

LTF:
1. ICICI APAY (mostly not useful due to SBI cashback) - Oldest card, cannot close as it will hit CIBIL adversly.
2. OneCard Metal (Federal)
3. Indusind Legend (Planning to close)
4. ICICI Rubyx (Planning to close)
5. IDFC Wealth
6. Tata Neu Infinity (used for all UPI spends + utilities).
7. HDFC Regalia (getting FYF upgrade to DCP). - Should not close as this will pave the way to Infinia.

Thank you!

Should not close any LTF cards. Simply keep them in collection without using. Airtel axis can be closed as you are already holding SBI cashback.

 

[cardio_guycardio_guy is verified member.]

Thank you all for your valuable feedback.
I will only go ahead and close my Airtel Axis and instead will get a Axis Core card (getting Neo as LTF).
will keep rest of them, IndusInd helped me get free timesprime twice 😆

Do you still keep IDFC First Wealth ? Any unique use, or just keeping it?

 

[cardio_guycardio_guy is verified member.]

Should not close any LTF cards. Simply keep them in collection without using. Airtel axis can be closed as you are already holding SBI cashback.

Some doubts on keeping many LTF cards:

1. Will there be a problem of excessive credit exposure if we just keep many LTF cards unused?
2. Will the banks automatically close unused LTF cards if kept idle for more than a year?
3. Will it be difficult for us to other better/premium cards due to over-leverage?

 

[DeadFella]

Some doubts on keeping many LTF cards:

1. Will there be a problem of excessive credit exposure if we just keep many LTF cards unused?
2. Will the banks automatically close unused LTF cards if kept idle for more than a year?
3. Will it be difficult for us to other better/premium cards due to over-leverage?

Holding 30+ cards total, most of them are LTF and unused since many years. Few banks like Indusind, Yes,icici etc gives reminder every year to keep card active, by clicking on a confirmation link. It doesn't affect approvals of other cards if cibil is well maintained and no defaults in payments. More credit limits and less overall utilisation is positive for cibil score improvement.

 

[helloworld]

Some doubts on keeping many LTF cards:

1. Will there be a problem of excessive credit exposure if we just keep many LTF cards unused?
2. Will the banks automatically close unused LTF cards if kept idle for more than a year?
3. Will it be difficult for us to other better/premium cards due to over-leverage?

My perspective as opposed to @DeadFella , you have to decide which route you want to take 😉

1.

• Certain banks like HSBC, SBI, CITI, and YES offer lower credit limits if your credit report indicates high credit exposure. This is why some users might have a low limit despite maintaining proper financial behavior. For instance, I have a low limit on my HSBC card, which is ironically my most-used card.
• On the other hand, banks such as AU and IDFC may offer higher limits but often come with fewer rewards or benefits, making those limits less practical for many users.

Takeaway: The differences become apparent in situations like:

• Seeking a credit limit enhancement (LE) on preferred cards.
• Applying for personal loans or other forms of credit, where existing exposure affects approvals.
• Example: I was once asked to reduce my overdraft amount to qualify for a higher loan amount.

Note: If you are financially strong and can directly negotiate with your Relationship Manager (RM) without meeting specific criteria, this might not concern you. However, for those in tighter financial situations, these nuances make a big difference—especially when you need LE on a specific card but only receive offers on less useful ones.

2.

• Some banks notify you via a simple URL click for approvals, eliminating the need for extensive manual processes.
• Problem: Occasionally used cards might be forgotten, leading to missed payments and negatively impacting your CIBIL score.

3.

• Without regular or increased usage, it becomes difficult to qualify for limit upgrades.
• This can be frustrating, particularly when the need arises for a higher limit on a favorite card where "everything counts."

---

Imagine having a ₹10L debt with a ₹1L income and asking for an additional ₹5L loan. As a banker, would you approve it? Likely not. Measures like reducing existing exposure or showing improved financial capacity would be required to minimize the risk of default.

While digital systems dominate most aspects of lending, unsecured loans and credit limit enhancements often involve manual verifications. This can impact approvals if the report doesn’t align with their criteria. Understanding these processes and planning accordingly can make a significant difference in managing financial constraints.

 

[cardio_guycardio_guy is verified member.]

Thanks @DeadFella and @helloworld for sharing the views. Appreciate much.

As for me personally, I am not a card enthusiast, card influencer, or card collector.
I am just a common man who carry a few credit cards to meet my regular expenses.
Apart from that, I am not aiming to collect 25-30-50 cards and that's not my whole point.

As of now I am having these cards, out of which I may close one or two soon.
Also, I don't travel much and stay in hotels so reward points, hotel vouchers and airmiles don't excite me much.
To cover my daily needs just 4-5 cards are more than sufficient.

Some 5-10% cashbacks or discounts on purchases and some lifestyle benefits is all what I look for.
With my lifestyle and expense keeps evolving, so do the cards as well.