You are correct that keeping a credit card that's in good standing is better for your credit rating - I just spoke to a credit counselor about this, specifically.
AmEx is very good for traveling abroad. They still have the best policies out there for lost/stolen/Bad Shit Happened Here events.
More and more people are taking amex - particularly as the regs about fees are changing and it'll suddenly become no more expensive to offer amex than anything else. While the point about just about any place taking amex, unlike discover, is likely to take mastercard/visa as well, it's not really a reason to get rid of it, especially in regards to the credit rating boost.
Switching the card from one you pay a yearly fee to one that you don't pay a fee on -- I have an amex I don't pay a fee with -- is a good move, though.
Uh. *checks card* Okay, there's nothing on mine that says what kind I have, but if you go to the amex site, I think you can search for which has fees and which do not?
I do have a Visa check card. However I've found that when shopping online some places just can't process it. They claim that my address does not match my billing address, even when I copy it letter for letter off of my bank statement (including the extra numbers in the zip code).
Basically where I am right now is I'm getting rid of cards, not trying to get cards. I want to winnow it down to one for online shopping and/or emergencies, so it's either going to be one of my Visa/MC cards or the AmEx.
The cheapest route would, of course, be to have a Visa/MC that has no annual fee, and to pay off the balance every month. (Though if AmEx has a fee-free card, by all means look into that.) A low credit limit isn't necessarily going to help much; when you pay it off regularly, they tend to cheerfully raise the limit without your asking.
But if you know that you'll be tempted to charge things and _not_ pay the bill in full monthly, I'd stick with the Amex; the annual fee's probably much less than accumulated credit card interest.
(On the credit limit -- one of my cards has the option of setting an email alert when your balance gets over a certain amount; that could be a helpful option, if you can discipline yourself into putting the card away between when you hit the self-imposed limit and when you pay it off.)
The Amex Blue has no annual fee, I think. I only run into small places that don't take Amex, because the chargeback fee % is higher for Amex than it is for V/MC. I use my Amex for just about everything and pay it off monthly in order to keep track of purchases and to rack up frequent flyer miles ... That being said, there's really no reason to HAVE to keep it, but it seems like such an iconic card to have that giving it away feels almost unAmerican.
It sounds like right now the Amex card isn't really helping you any, it's costing you money and you don't use it. In that case I'd get rid of it and keep the Visa or MC card.
We've gotten rid of all the credit cards and use the Visa/debit card for everything. I've not had a problem yet having anyone accept it, I've bought lots of stuff online and even rented a car with it once. Maybe your bank can help straigten out the issues with the address not matching sometimes?
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AmEx is very good for traveling abroad. They still have the best policies out there for lost/stolen/Bad Shit Happened Here events.
More and more people are taking amex - particularly as the regs about fees are changing and it'll suddenly become no more expensive to offer amex than anything else. While the point about just about any place taking amex, unlike discover, is likely to take mastercard/visa as well, it's not really a reason to get rid of it, especially in regards to the credit rating boost.
Switching the card from one you pay a yearly fee to one that you don't pay a fee on -- I have an amex I don't pay a fee with -- is a good move, though.
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Basically where I am right now is I'm getting rid of cards, not trying to get cards. I want to winnow it down to one for online shopping and/or emergencies, so it's either going to be one of my Visa/MC cards or the AmEx.
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(The comment has been removed)
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But if you know that you'll be tempted to charge things and _not_ pay the bill in full monthly, I'd stick with the Amex; the annual fee's probably much less than accumulated credit card interest.
(On the credit limit -- one of my cards has the option of setting an email alert when your balance gets over a certain amount; that could be a helpful option, if you can discipline yourself into putting the card away between when you hit the self-imposed limit and when you pay it off.)
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We've gotten rid of all the credit cards and use the Visa/debit card for everything. I've not had a problem yet having anyone accept it, I've bought lots of stuff online and even rented a car with it once. Maybe your bank can help straigten out the issues with the address not matching sometimes?
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