Hi everyone
I just wanted to check your thoughts on cancelling my Westpac Black Altitude CC after receiving the sign up bonus.
I am currently using CCs which have better earn rates (e.g. StG Amplify, AMEX) and not really using the Westpac one anymore.
Also I have in mind applying for another CC soon and was thinking of “increasing” my credit report in a ore positive way.
Is my thinking correct ? I dont want to have 4-5 CC in my wallet, while I essentially only use 1-2.
Many thanks!
You can do a credit check for free with one of the many available options online. If your credit is decently good, that shouldn’t stop you from getting approved for new cards. I think the bigger motivation to cancel would be the annual fee coming due and or if you are looking at getting a mortgage in the future. If you are not getting value from the card, then do not pay the fee and cancel it! Similarly, this is a good way to lower your credit limit. There isn’t anything wrong with ‘holding’ on to cards though. For example I hold on to a Suncorp credit card because it comes with my home loan fee free and so might as well!
I always keep 1 card as my main card to continue earning points with between “churn” cards. I bank ANZ so I have an ANZ Qantas FF Black for convenience - plus it has pretty good earn rates/limits etc… Other than that I always cancel the card as soon as the bonus points hit my FF account. With some banks (eg: NAB) they’ll give you a pro-rata refund on the annual fee even! So the sooner you cancel the card the larger that amount will be. It’s important to keep track of your previous cards - not only which ones you’ve had, but also when you cancelled them - so you can manage your “blackout/lockout” periods for bonus points eligibility. Then you can space out your card applications so you can try and have a steady flow over a 12-18month timeframe to cover the bonus lockout periods. I always go for the lowest credit limit too so that it impacts my overall credit position as least as possible. Having said all that though, I’ve not found churning cards to have affected my credit rating at all, and have never been denied one yet after points hacking for close to 7yrs now.
Many thanks for you inputs; very helpful! Especially to manage lockout periods early on.
Cheers
I might also add that it’s not just credit cards that are a great way to earn big chunks of points… health insurance, phone/SIM card deals, BP fuels, other shopping loyalty programs, other banking products (I got 300,000 Qantas FF Points both times ANZ ran their Mortgage promotion in the last few years) and just recently signed up for the NAB Personal Loan for 110,000 bonus Qantas points. Sometimes even buying FF points can be a reasonable option when there are deals with bonus 50% points for whatever you spend. You should do the maths and decide though, and always read the fine print/PDS so you don’t get caught out, and never overcommit or spend for the sake of spending just simply to get a points bonus. That’s how you get into trouble. Best of luck! 
You should cancel the card once the points are in. That way, one year later, you can apply for the very same card again, and get the same number of bonus points.