[...] 5 Tips for Optimizing Credit Card Rewards – Have a credit card with a rewards program? Consider yourself lucky as many companies begin to cut back on their rewards. So, if you do have rewards, make sure you’re taking full advantage of the program and maximize your benefits. [...]

[...] 5 Tips for Optimizing Credit Card Rewards – Have a credit card with a rewards program? Consider yourself lucky as many companies begin to cut back on their rewards. So, if you do have rewards, make sure you’re taking full advantage of the program and maximize your benefits. [...]

i guess i was under the impression that each person had a fixed amount of “available credit” and if you reach that amount they start denying you for cards, so i figured i’d cancel a few and give myself some room to get my limit increased on the other card. but it doesn’t work that way, i realize now.

i have 5 cards and i won’t cancel any of them. and i will call american express and ask them about raising my limit.

thank you again!!!

I would strongly advise against cancelling your other cards for two reasons:

1. Credit History – These cards show your credit history and prove that for quite some time people have trusted you to pay your bills and be a responsible borrower. You don’t want to erase that history by cancelling the cards.

2. Available Balance – Even though you aren’t using the cards, having an overall high available balance improves your credit score. By cancelling your other cards you would be lowering your available balance. Not a good thing.

To increase your AmEx credit line I would just call them and ask. If they say they can’t, ask them when you should call back and ask again. Overtime they will increase your limit. Especially if you’re using the cards each month and paying it off.

For more on this, I would do some research at http://www.nfcc.org/

i’m paying off my credit cards, and have a little ways to go, but once i have them all paid off, i plan on only utilizing my american express blue cash card, and putting my utilities and regular purchases on that card, and paying off the balance monthly.

i have other cards open right now (currently with balances, but everything will be paid off within 6 months), and several of these cards have limits in the thousands, one of which is $10,500 and another is $5,000.

ideally i’d like to get my limit increased on my blue cash card, which is currently at $2,000, because it’s the only card i want to use. would canceling my other cards, waiting a few months, and then requesting a credit limit increase on my american express card be the way to go about getting my $2000 limit upped?

i should note that when i applied for my american express card, my credit scores were in the 670 range. now, they’re between 700 and 720.

thanks for your advice! and i love your blog. you talk about real issues that real people have and it’s really invaluable.