Do This Before Cancelling Your Continental Card

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My buddy Jack is still holding a Continental Airlines credit card.  As you probably know, they merged with United.  At some point, United will replace that Continental card with a United card.  When that happens, he will no longer be able to get the 30,000 mile sign up bonus for a United card, because he will then be a United card holder!

I say apply for the United card today!!  Get 30,000 miles.  That’s more than enough for a free round trip ticket.  Annual fee waived the first year.  It also includes free checked bag for you and a companion.

Click on “Chip’s Favorite Credit Card Offers” at the top right side of this website for up-to-date deals, terms, and conditions on this card and more.  Email me if you have any questions about which card might be right for your situation.

If you still have the Continental card, this is what I suggest:

Apply for the United card.  When it arrives, call the number on the back of your Continental card and tell them you want to transfer the available credit line over to your United card.  Then cancel the Continental card.

As you can see from the graphic in yesterday’s post, this will help your credit score as opposed to flat out cancelling the Continental card without asking Chase to move the credit line over.

Moving the credit line over to your United card adds to that card’s available credit.  Therefore the amount you owe is a lower percentage of your available credit line.  Lower debt ratio is good!

Let’s say you owe $1,000 on your Continental card and you have a credit line of $5,000.  You have a debt to credit line of 20%.  Then you get the United card and get a credit line of another $5,000.  You still owe the $1,000 but now you have a credit line of $10,000.  Suddenly your debt ratio has been cut in half to 10%.  In yesterday’s graphic, the Amount Owed will now be lower, and your credit score benefits.

Whenever possible, I move the credit line of a card I am about to close, to another card I have with the same bank before cancelling the card.

2 COMMENTS

  1. Chip-
    You’ll be happy to know I got my new United card in the mail, got my 30k bonus United
    miles, transferred the credit line from my Continental card to my new United card, and then
    canceled the Continental. Already looking at 30k one-way award flights to Greece.
    Well done, sir. Thanks.
    -Mike Siegel
    http://www.traveltalespodcast.com

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