I still have my very first credit card. I got this card my very first semester in college as I had no credit but really needed it. I jokingly signed up for capital one as at the time they had these really funny viking commercials. I was approved for a measly $500, but in college that was as if I was a millionaire! Best part was after 3 months of payments they increased it to $1000, then $2000. But WHY do I keep my oldest card? Simple.
It is my oldest line of credit. And being the oldest line of credit it has been the corner stone to which I have built my points empire. When credit card companies look to give you credit they look at a couple of factors. An average factor is whether or not you have old credit, or what the age of your credit is.
Banks like to see really old credit as that shows that you are trustworthy enough to pay it back and on time. So the older the credit the more they are likely to lend you and the better cards you can get.
Now the first card I was approved for was horrible for points, it actually didn't earn any.
But you don't need to cancel your oldest line of credit! You can upgrade the card!
And upgrading is simple and easy. sometimes the bank will upgrade you automatically, but most times you have to request it. So after about a year and a half, and I had a job under my belt, I called up Capital One and asked if I could get upgraded. They allowed me to get a quicksilver card, but keep my current account with them so as to keep my credit line open.
Now that I have other avenues of credit, I have downgraded this card to a no annual fee card and I use it sparingly so that the company wont close the account, to keep my oldest line old.