How Does OPENING and CLOSING Credit Cards Affect Your Credit Score?

[@PrinceofTravel]

Want to level up your travel game? Join us at the Prince of Travel Signature Event Vancouver 2023! Get your tickets now: princeoftravel.com/events/vancouver-2023

[@scottnglsh]

This dude is the most slept on youtube channel. Definitely gonna be 100k + subscribers soon!

[@PrinceofTravel]

Yo I appreciate that!

[@cpa7061]

They hit 100k subs 🎉

[@mikeb0918z01]

As long as I am 760+, it's all good. You don't get better rates being higher than that. I'm typically between 780-800.

[@franzpolicarpio6642]

Same my score runs around 811 to 839 it fluctuates. 🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️ doesn’t mean much these days. You just get the lowest rates.

[@freetshirt_250]

👕

[@LadyLuckx3]

So helpful!! Exactly the info I was looking for. Great vid.

[@bronzremix]

Am I the only one who when hearing his voice am reminded of that kid you were to school with who was smarter then the rest of us.

[@luvkpop7400]

Thank you for the advice on keeping the oldest card, didn’t know about its importance.

[@hunglongdee2587]

I have never understood credit score and how it worked when people explained to me. But your video explained everything in 15 min and very easy to understand. You got my sub!!!!

[@alexseip8233]

Just came across your channel today and love all your comparisons and videos highlighting the pros and cons of each credit card. I've had the WestJet Elite Rewards Mastercard holder for years but haven't focused on using any of its benefits for a really long time now. So today I wanted to research a little bit and see what I've been missing out on and to think about renewal time and if I want to choose something else. So your channel has been awesome, and to boot your videos are well shot and entertaining. Cheers.

[@beforeicroakt9271]

I just got rid of mine, I didn't find the amount you spend vs. yearly fee to be that worth it minus the sign up bonus. Definitely seems like ^ has some better options!

[@itstonyholiday]

You're a legend Ricky. Perfect explanation, easy to understand 🙌

[@allthingsunrelated2919]

Really great information PoT! I’ve used bonus points for two flights on a Sapphire, paid for a flight with Capital One points, and now I’m working on my bonus points for my new AMEX Platinum that I recently received. I plan on doing a video myself for US military folk in regards to SCRA. When applied, caps APR and waives annual fees for US military by law. Keep up the good work and I thoroughly enjoy watching your videos!

[@andrecunningham]

Ijust watched all your videos and i just want to say thank you for all your knowlege! Please keep making videos like these to help people like myself make good credit card decisions!!

[@torreysirdevan9472]

Thanks so much for this man. Really appreciate your knowledge and the work you guys put into these vids. It doesn't go unnoticed 🙏🙏

[@lindsayrambo9366]

I am new to the points game. I’ve really enjoyed your content. I have a question though. How long is credit card churning sustainable? I thought I read where most cards will only let you get the welcome bonus once.

[@brumasbusiness]

I don't know how come people give thumbs down, it's just ridiculous.

[@H4WKGAMING]

hey Ricky, are there any plans to update the product switching guide on your website? I'm curious to know what the latest best practices are for each issuer, or how things have changed over time :)

[@PrinceofTravel]

Looking to update this in the coming weeks 💪🏼

[@ll_distribution]

Great tips Ricky well done even if the bureaus say they won't knock under 20-30% "recommended" if you aim to Keep utilisation lower then 8.8% even aim for 3-5% if possible by getting in the habit if paying what ever extra UT% before the statement posting to insure triple A file. Another tip is to watch which day you apply in relation with your other cards I tend to vary CCs dates posting around the month to get a full real 21 days revolver. Amex is best at posting reg monthly which is favorable for good payers and you'll be rewarded faster too. FICO forum explains also that new cards get a hike in history at 3 6 12 months and at 2 yrs that bonus is over so as your hard inquiry. Cheers!

[@docpok7414]

Great info even 3 years after, but...the sound you used when the arrows appear is the same as my MacBook unplugging, very annoying!

[@niasuh786]

Best explanation so far !

[@benohana5817]

Another great video by the Prince of Travel himself! I definitely learned some new tips and tricks really liked how you illustrated the components of the credit card pie graph(i.e. what goes into your credit score), speaking about canceling cards, downgrading, and product switching as well. Bottom Line I definitely see myself like grabbing like 2 cards a year, and I probably won't be the canceling type just because of the downgrading options available to increase account longevity etc. For credit scores, I'd check like once or twice a year.

[@PrinceofTravel]

That's a nice and simple way to play the game 👍🏼

[@maxwelltan6717]

Great video. Confirmed my knowledge to credit score is correct. I manage both me and my wife’s credit cards and recently got her credit score to 835 while I’m just a bit under 800. She has perfect payment history without even knowing it because I’m paying her credit cards and managing her credit score like a god 😂. We receive annoying pre-approval offers from all five major Canadian banks monthly, with some LOC credit limit as high as $50k😮. Even risk-adverse banks like TD and Scotiabank pre-approved us for something and keeps sending offers steadily. One day TD sent me a gigantic brochure inviting me to accept their pre-approval. I laughed so hard and shredded that “amazing offer”

[@march966]

Love your channel just subcribed How do credit cards like amex that dont have limit affect your credit since no fixed limit

[@mscl17]

does this also apply to charge cards like Amex plat cards?

[@markcluff7104]

Plus can you explain how a person can check their business credit in Canada?

[@williamauger4754]

Amazing channel, glad I found it!!

[@robunderdown]

fantastic informative and in layman's terms. Thank you!!

[@princessmeganelsa1901]

I always PAY credit bill in Full each monthly early the Better!! 🙃🙃

[@soobinhyun2]

Nice video :) but when I cancel the card, should I cancel after a year mark or before? I am planning to cancel my aeroplan reserve after a year and get cobalt

[@soobinhyun2]

Someone told me I can get my annual fee reversed if I cancel the card within 30days. He also told me if I cancel before a year mark, I could get blacklisted by Amex due to the T&C

[@PrinceofTravel]

@@soobinhyun2 With American Express, cancelling after the annual fee posts but within 30 days (to get it reversed) *may* be the best move, because it looks more like you've organically changed your mind about keeping the card. There's no definitive proof of this though, just some of the "street wisdom" of the game.

[@soobinhyun2]

@@PrinceofTravel Thank you 🙏

[@vladimirad]

What happens when you have a premium card through a bank that doesn’t have a downgrade option? E.g. BMO VI. BMO doesn’t have a free Visa in their portfolio.

[@devilsmustang2137]

Hi I ended up closing my credit card account credit one card btw because I got it when I needed to build up my credit, also they were charging me a monthly fee, I felt it necessary to save on the long run. I called to try to waive fee but they were very rude and didn’t seem to care. I now have others with 0 annual fee. I kinda had to do what I felt was best for me in the long run.

[@davidd.234]

Credit one is a company to stay away from. To bad should have done secured. Ard through your own bank. If that was an option at the time

[@anpc86]

Does downgrading lose rewards balance? I got the RBC avion infinite and thinking to downgrade and focus on other cards

[@PrinceofTravel]

It depends on the bank/awards program. With RBC specifically, if you downgrade an Avion to an ION or ION+, you will lose the ability to transfer to partners like British Airways, Cathay Pacific, and American Airlines.

[@anpc86]

@@PrinceofTravel I was thinking of downgrade and later upgrade and use the points when it makes sense , as I want to follow the advice of getting Amex cobalt and funnel spending there and not sure why have Avion infinite at $120 as the backup card. But maybe I’ll see for a year how it goes, maybe get that simplii cash in a year and then downgrade maybe I’ll have chance to spend the points Great channel, great team. I had friend back in high school that would have loved this channel, was always into credit cards, welcome bonus and using Amex where he could.

[@josephtaylor3857]

Great video, learned a lot. Q: what impact, if any, does accepting an unsolicited upgrade to an existing credit card have on one's credit rating eg. If Amex proactively offers an upgrade from an existing Green card to a Cobalt or Gold card?

[@CertifiedDyme]

No impact unless your limit is increased. Increasing your limit reduces your overall utilization percentage

[@seanc1898]

Thanks for the great and detailed info 👍

[@karthikn-kp4jf]

Very useful buddy 😃

[@ellieparkinson4549]

still learning. so much is counter-intuitive (eg: never use credit = bad credit risk). My husband had one card and had it for ca. 30 years. Then I got a different card and we used that one extensively (with him using a supplementary card on my new one). This meant he hardly used his card at all so (foolishly as we now learn) he cancelled it. Two or three years after that he wanted to get a new card and even though everything we have is joint and we have an excellent history with the bank he was unable to get a new card. We finally had to have an employee at the bank pull a few strings and vouch for us. The card he wanted was a no-fee card, nothing exotic.My question is, what happened to his credit history with the card he cancelled, which he had for nearly 30 years? You mention credit history is kept for 7 years. Does it get wiped out if you only have one card? We always pay on time - may have missed by a day or two once or twice in that time if we were in a difft time zone but always got interest reversed.

[@EDWARDLEUNGG]

super helpful, thanks ricky!!!!

[@PrinceofTravel]

My pleasure

[@mattobadia]

What if you cancel a card that you no longer use whatsoever? Since utilization is at 0% and no payments are being made, does that have any effect at all other than shortening your credit history?

[@philkhk]

Question about downgrade and upgrade. Isn't the new Credit card offer apply to new application only? Would they still give you the sign up bonus by upgrading a new credit card (not applying)? For Example, from a RBC Visa Rewards+ to the RBC Infiniti Avion. I dropped the Avion 2 yrs ago, can I request to upgrade my Rewards+ and still able to earn the new sign up offer on the Avion? Sometimes it is just better to have a fewer CC in the wallet.

[@PrinceofTravel]

Some issuers do, like RBC, TD, and CIBC. In your example, yes indeed RBC has been known to grant the welcome bonus when upgrading from Rewards+ to Avion before.

[@sassaidi]

Great video, thank you!

[@markcluff7104]

Prince, can you talk about getting business credit cards in Canada that don’t hit your personal credit. I’m not talking about when you get it. But over time it doesn’t hit your personal score.

[@yeeloong6376]

for amex cards such as the cobalt or any amex cards for that matter , is there anyway to avoid taking a hit to your credit score if you've had them for a long time. (for the cobalt, i've had them for close to 4 years)

[@ashfiabrar4394]

I want to cancel my Mastercard because I only want to focus on cards that are from the bank I bank with. To make managing my cards easier for me. Is this a good idea?

[@PrinceofTravel]

It’s not a good idea to restrict yourself to one bank if you’re looking to optimize your credit card strategy. If you value simplicity more than maximizing your perks and earnings, it could work for you.

[@ashfiabrar4394]

@@PrinceofTravel thank you for your advice!

[@PrinceofTravel]

Our pleasure

[@selinapena3276]

Thanks for the knowledge

[@briannguyen1134]

if I have two RBC Credit Cards. Can I "product switch from 2 card into 1 card"?

[@ViniDSQC]

AMAZING INFO! THANKS MAN

[@tigerbear3038]

Does average age of accounts include closed accounts ?

[@brumasbusiness]

I have two credit cards, One is a TD that has been with me for ages and it help me buy my house (credit was good). The other one is a mastercard I have for 2 years that give me PC Points that basically give cash back on groceries. Both have good credit. Now my questions are: What is healthy number of credit cards (at the moment I have 2)? and What is normally the life cycle of a credit card that I applied just to get a good promotion? If I'll be planing to travel more should I switch the 2nd credit card to a more aeroplan friendly? YOU SHOULD DO A VIDEO ABOUT DOWNGRADE AND UPGRADE A CREDIT CARD. So I have TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card for years, basically the points I get is from usage (I usually use between 3k and 5k). By what you saying I can downgrade to for example the TD Aeroplan Visa Platinum Card and Then later upgrade to the infinity when they they get a good promotion. Do we have to wait some time in between downgrade and upgrade or I can just upgrade and a couple of days after I downgrade it?

[@user-pe2bz4my5n]

Best credit repair service👆 *credit master fix* 👆I can say, as they did fix my poor credit.

[@KD-mz5xv]

great info thank you

[@theteacherandbeyond]

I really should switch over my other devices to the same account since I watched this on a different device... but another great video Ricky!! Maybe I'll watch it again just to help your views a bit more ;) Cheers!!

[@PrinceofTravel]

That would be much appreciated 😃

[@crippledgenius]

Great video ive been churning a long time I open accounts once every 12-16 months. I don't really care about my score, if I needed a boost I can always prepay statement balances. It's all a game you have to play to win

[@matthewJ142]

Never close your oldest account and close newer ones that suck

[@jindalabhinav]

Hey what happens if I have an old card and its credit limit was increased recently? How does that action impact credit?

[@PrinceofTravel]

You might show lower utilization rates because your credit limit is now higher, which would increase your score over time.

[@Steve-wr5xt]

Is having too much credit cards bad for getting new application arppoved? I heard that if total credit limit is above your income, bank won't approve new application even if credit score is above 800. Maybe it is worth considering closing some credit cards to reduce total credit limit if that is true.

[@michaelreid8857]

What you say is true. However, you will probably be told this (or figure it out yourself) if it becomes an issue. If that happens, look to closing both any low limit cards as well as any worthless cards.

[@PrinceofTravel]

I replied to someone else above - That is indeed a possibility, it's known as the Total Debt Service (TDS) ratio. If your total credit limits are very high compared to your stated income, it could be a risk - but if your credit limits are too low, then you'd also be at risk of potentially racking up a high utilization every month depending on your bills. That's why it's best to keep your limits within a reasonable range using credit limit increase/decrease requests - might be a good topic for a future video

[@CovertVisionSmartGlassk]

Hi I have a student credit card with 0 annual fee and recently i got a new AMEX Cobalt card Can you tell me if it is a good idea to pay the balance for my student credit card and just keep it sonce it was my first and oldest credit card ?

[@apinkfanchannel5620]

If I upgrade from CIBC Dividend visa to CIBC Prenium Visa without any preapproval, does that affect my credit score? And how does that work?

[@mikeh9437]

There's a lot of talk about two applications in one day will only result in one hard pull of your credit report. Is this if it's with the same issuer or could one be Amex and one RBC, etc. Also, with regards to utilization. If I have a limit of $12k and I'm using $9-10k per month should I be paying this down to say $2k before my statement date? Thanks!

[@tommyk922]

If the credit report is pulled, generally, depending on the FI, it is valid for 30 days, some may go up to 60 days, so if you applied multiple credit products within the same FI, one 1 report is needed. Best rule of thumb is to have less than 30% of the credit limit for utilization for your overall credit being granted. This will improve on your score.

[@crippledgenius]

Yeah I do any apps I want on the same day never had a problem

[@olliejohn2076]

Do you lose your points when you close your account?

[@xBAU5]

Hey Ricky, you mentioned keeping your oldest card open for the age of the account. My question is. Let's say you have an older card that you only keep for its age, but never use it. so the balance is always 0. Does that mess up your utilization on your other cards? because it's always at 0. Or should you be still running charges on it? Or are all 3 cards utilization independent of one another

[@GoldLuxify]

Following!

[@adamwang6715]

If no one answered, I'm pretty sure utilization is dependent on TOTAL credit limit (incl. all cards). For example, you have 3 cards, each w/ a $500 credit limit. Suppose you use one card for $250/mo to be carried over into the next month. This would be $250/$1,500 (total limit) = 17% utilization. If you were to use that same balance across 3 cards, (e.g. Card 1 - $100/mo, Card 2 - $150/mo, Card 3 - $0/mo), that utilization % would still be the same.

[@davidd.234]

@@adamwang6715 utilization is calculated on balance over entire credit availability and how much of the specif card you used

[@adrianv2]

Good info

[@sebastianbrooks4074]

Here’s an interesting question: when are credit card companies going to start letting us use credit cards as soon as we are approved for them with things such as Apple Pay before we get the credit card in the mail?

[@kyleoliva2411]

Amex platinum does that.

[@BANlKS]

my Aeroplan infinite privilege let me do that

[@ruddylelouche9089]

Hello Ricky! I have had a CIBC Visa Infinite for years (and paid the 120$ annual fee for years), and CIBC allowed me to apply for a new one to get the welcome bonus and the buddy pass (and the 1st year free). However, I won't keep the two indefinitely. They said I should keep only the new one. Then that would jeopardize my credit duration, won't it? What should I do? Can I "merge" the two without affecting my credit score? Or should I "downgrade" the first one? and if so, how? Thanks in advance!

[@tommyk922]

You cannot merge credit card limits. Remember that the oldest credit card has some weight on your score and credit history.

[@ruddylelouche9089]

@@tommyk922 If so, what should I do? Is there a way to ask the bank to keep my anteriority on that CC (it is a new one for the welcome bonus, but the same card)?

[@tommyk922]

@@ruddylelouche9089 I am not sure about CIBC, but some FI can switch credit card products in between in the past, so maybe you want to ask to switch into a no fee card. If you don’t want to close out the older one, assuming is it the longest opened one?

[@crippledgenius]

You can merge limits with cibc I'd keep your oldest card as a no fee and use it once a year

[@ruddylelouche9089]

@@crippledgenius Thank you! THat's what I'll do when back in Quebec (I am presently in France).

[@luanchung8337]

Good job

[@dragonboy718]

Mine is 835, opening cards for bonuses all the time

[@1drummer172]

My scores are continually between 780-810. I ensure that all my cards are used at least once every 3 months. I pay my balances down at least a day before before the statements close each month so that my utilization is between 1%-3%.

[@PrinceofTravel]

Good work, keep it up!

[@mikeh9437]

@@PrinceofTravel I was going to ask about this. I have a couple cards with $10k and $12k limits that I've been using up to $8k-$10k per month and paying them as soon as the statement posts. Is paying them off prior to the statement a better way to go?

[@davidd.234]

@@mikeh9437 if your using over 30% then paying it down before would be better as the high balance to limit ratio do give give the banks the jitters about whether you'll pay it back or default.

[@bronzremix]

Downgrading off of a fee card to a non-fee card is a great thing to help but dumb question: If one was to do a Balance transfer would that mitigate the history to the new card? Or could a balance transfer occur and the account be left open but unused by the creditee?

[@HowardLinca]

Hey Ricky, I love what you are doing and thanks for sharing all the knowledge! I have a quick question - Since my Amex Aeroplan card promotion is no longer valid, I called to speak to an Amex CS agent earlier requesting to replace/apply to the Cobalt card. However, the agent told me that they can't replace my existing card. For that being said, if I apply for Cobalt card, I will have two cards in hand, unless I cancel one of it. If I cancel the previous one, will it affect my credit score(I don't want to pay a double fee for both cards)? Thanks!!!

[@Zeppelin9113]

people that have 10 credit cards, inquiry has left the chat.

[@arianasherry3289]

Nice

[@matthewJ142]

More like how is it going to affect your overall account history.

[@Pulpswo]

Hot damn I'll have so many credit cards...

[@RatherBeCancelledThanHandled]

Based

[@Justinxdai]

wow ur score is so high

[@PrinceofTravel]

Playing the credit card game will help with that 😉

[@obesia1873]

This guy is husband material

[@hcamry]

Please don’t use those sound effects , I’m listening to you and I’m thinking my phone is low battery or thinking my windows is having issues

[@dylanwhittaker3457]

this is a fantastic video thank you