Credit Tips: Combining Credit Cards

Posted On: March 1, 2006

Author: Raphael
Posted: Mon Feb 02, 2004 1:28 pm
Post subject: Combining Credit Cards

If you are able to combine two credit cards with separate limits ($14,500 and $13,000) into one card with a $27,500 limit becuase of a bank merger (duh, Bank One and Chase) will this hurt your credit rating, or is it ok? Or does it matter at all?

The rewards program on one card is far better than the other card, so I see no reason (if the merger goes through) to not combine them.

Author: Polonius
Posted: Sun Feb 08, 2004 1:14 am
Post subject: Combining Credit Cards

My experience with mergers is that combining the accounts isn’t an option. I now have 6 Chase credit cards because of buyouts–all are separate, have different names, and different terms. I have four Citibank cards. 2 of them are from Citibank’s buyout of Mellon Bank some years ago. The balance transfer offers I get from them are terrible–interest rates of 9.99% with a 3% fee; credit limits are $3,000 and $4,000. My regular Citibank AAdvantage MasterCard and Driver’s Edge MasterCard have limits of 35,700 and 9,500 respectively–and the balance transfer offers are at 5.9% with no fee these days. Why does the SAME bank think my credit is terrible for two cards and excellent for two others? I have no idea. I’d much rather combine them all, but that isn’t an option. I can’t even link the former-Mellon cards to my Citibank checking accounts.

As for making a difference (if it is possible to combine)–yes, it can make a difference since it affects how your credit score is calculated. The scores take into account the number of cards and the percentage of each credit limit used, as well as the overall percentage for the total available credit. If you’re using $10,500 credit on the $14,500 card and nothing on the $13,000 card, you’ll have a lower credit score than if you were using $10,500 on the combined $27,500 card. Generally, utilization over 40% on any card will lower your score a bit, I think. (I’ve seen 30% quoted as the best number–but some say under 40% or under 50% is OK–over 50% and especially over 75% is worse.) In some circumstances, combining makes no difference at all; in others, it does. Lots of different credit scores and situations out there!

Author: Ira
Posted: Sun Feb 08, 2004 4:51 am
Post subject: Combining Credit Cards

I guess it depends on your situation and on how quickly the issuing bank can combine the different back office systems servicing cards that they acquire vs cards that they issue from the git go. I hve been able to combine multiple cards into one at Chase, Citibank, and MBNA in order to take full advantage of choice offers of one sort or another. MBNA is the best at this as they will proactively offer to do this.

On the flip side of the coin, I do my regular banking at Citibank and when I asked them to combine my Sunoco and Exxon-Mobil MasterCards, both of which they bought from 3rd parties, they couldn’t do it. I can do a direct transfer of funds from my checking account to my regular CitiBank cards but I cannot do so with the Sunoco or Exxon-Mobil cards because each card is still operating on it’s own back office system.