How can I cancel a Macy's card?

Should my friend cancel her credit card?

• I have a good friend who has a very high credit score (She doesn't have any debt, has never missed a payement and doesn't plan on it, etc). She has three credit cards, one that she almost never uses ($5 per month just so they don't close the acct), one that she uses infrequently (cash back rewards), and one that she uses almost all the time (delta mileage rewards). She got the delta card about 6 months ago because she travels a decent amount, both for work and vacation, and felt that she could get more bang for her buck with an airline mileage card than with a cash back card. She specifically chose delta because her roommate had the card and liked it, and at the time delta seemed to offer the best deal. However, since she's gotten the card she's realized that her company usually books with US airways. I told her to just cancel her Delta card before the end of the year (to avoid having to pay the yearly fee), and get a US Airways dividend mileage card. How significantly will it hurt her credit to cancel the delta card, if at all? I've tried pretty hard to find out for her, but everyone seems to say that it "might" hurt your credit, or it "will a little bit". No one seems to say conclusively if it will, and how much. Would it be possible for her to call up delta and say that she is considering cancelling the card because she doesn't want to pay the yearly fee, but she would reconsider if they waived the fee? Has anyone had success doing that? Thanks for your help.

• Answer:

  Typically the only time they would waive the fee is during the first year. After that they won't. But instead of canceling the card she should look over their cash back cards and make a list of two or three no fee cards that she likes , then she should call Amex and tell them that the Delta does not fit her needs and ask if they will 'convert' the card to her first choice of the cash back cards. It's always best to have two or three cards in mind when asking about converting just in case the first pick card doesn't qualify for the conversion. If they will convert the card then the Delta will be closed and the new card will have the same 6 month history as the Delta card. When converting cards she won't have to 'apply' for the card, they would just convert the old to the new. Then she might go to Barclay/Juniper for the US Airways card. She might also check out the free sites I've listed in the source box to find a card that could be a better replacement travel card then the US Airways. As for the dismissal of travel cards by one of the posters, one reason why so many people prefer travel rewards cards over cash back cards is that the perks of the travel cards outweighs a cash back card, especially if a person is a frequent flyer.