MW 'The card served its purpose': It's time to cancel our Chase Disney Visa credit card. What's our next card for middle age?

By Quentin Fottrell

'We'd like to move on to another credit card for the benefits'

"The card served its purpose while our kids were young." (Photo subjects are models.)

Dear Quentin,

We have a Chase Disney Visa (V) credit card. The card served its purpose while our kids were young. Now that we don't need the Disney $(DIS)$ dollars, we'd like to move on to another credit card for the benefits.

Do we close this credit card? We have other credit cards (Discover and airline credit cards) and won't need the credit. We have an offer at our current bank with zero APR and 2% to 3% cash back.

What would be your recommendation for a new card for parents entering middle age?

Older Parents

You can email The Moneyist with any financial and ethical questions at qfottrell@marketwatch.com, and follow Quentin Fottrell on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

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If you have a favorite airline, it's a no-brainer to go with the credit card offered by that company, if you pay off your card every month.

Dear Parents,

Getting a new credit card can be exciting. It can bring a lot of joy - and, if you're not careful, do a lot of damage.

I don't recommend credit cards, but there are many cards that will give you vacation points and airlines beyond the Magic Kingdom. You could get anywhere from 75,000 or more airmiles (worth around $750) by opening a new credit card. Some have airport-lounge access, while others give you more points as an annual bonus. If you have a favorite airline, it's a no-brainer to go with the credit card offered by that company - as long as you pay off your card every month. The Delta $(DAL)$ SkyMiles Reserve card offers customers first-class upgrades, if that's important to you, while the American Express $(AXP)$ Platinum card is known for its airport perks and Priority Pass Select (with enrollment).

A high annual fee is worth it if you're doing a lot of travel; otherwise, it's not worth it. The annual fee for the Chase $(JPM)$ Sapphire Reserve is $795 for new cardholders starting last June and for existing cardholders starting last October. There's another $195 fee for adding an authorized user. The annual fee is waived for eligible active-duty military personnel and their spouses. A 0% APR will be an opening offer that will usually last 12-24 months. No credit card would offer such low rates in the long term. In fact, the average APR for credit cards currently hovers at 22.8%. (The Disney Premier Visa Card has a long-term APR of 17.74% to 26.74%.)

For Disney fanatics, the Disney Visa from Chase has standard offerings. The Disney Visa is "entry-level" with no annual fee and gives 1% in Disney Rewards Dollars, says the Points Guy, which reviews cards and has affiliate relationships with credit-card issuers. New cardholders earn a $200 credit after spending $500 in the first 3 months. The Disney Premier Visa has a $49 annual fee, and new cardholders can earn a $400 credit after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months. It has a more complicated rewards structure ranging from 1% to 5%. (Again, I am not recommending any of the aforementioned cards.)

Beware of penalties

Credit-card companies commonly list costs like late payment fees, foreign-transaction fees and balance-transfer charges that may not be part of the large bold print. "Most credit cards charge a fee to transfer your balance," says the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. "So even though a 0% rate on balance transfers may sound appealing, it may not be free. Some credit-card companies charge a one-time fee of 3%-5% of the balance you're transferring. When you move your account, don't close your old account right away. Continue to make at least the minimum payment while you're waiting for the balance to transfer to the new card."

You are, however, right to start with your own bank and use other third-party cards to compare. "Start your search for a new card at your bank or credit union," the CFPB adds. "Your existing relationship may qualify you for a better offer. If you have a credit card and are happy with your service but think you're paying too much in interest and fees, then ask the issuer to match or beat the terms and rate on the new card you're considering. Next, compare the offers with others you've received at home or have seen online. Only apply for the credit you need. Applying for too many cards over a short period can lower your credit scores."

And now some tough love: If you don't pay off your balance every month, don't get another card. It's a fast track to getting into debt that can take months, even years, to pay off. I have had too many letters from people with tens of thousands of dollars in credit-card debt, and it's not pretty. Case in point: This 41-year-old man has $46,000 in credit-card debt and was considering raiding his $1.2 million IRAs to pay it off. That would have been an absolute last resort, but desperate times sometimes call for financially disastrous measures. Another woman with $12,000 in credit-card debt was considering dipping into her 401(k).

How to cancel cards

Your decision is easy. The Disney Visa card's days are over for you now. When getting rid of credit cards, it makes sense to cancel (1.) cards that have similar points that overlap or points - as with this Disney card that you don't use anymore - that are no longer relevant to your lifestyle, (2.) cards with high annual fees, unless you're planning to get rid of a card that, say, gives you bountiful travel rewards (and you see a lot of globetrotting in your future), (4.) cards with a high annual fee, and/or (5.) store cards, which can have exorbitant interest. Avoid closing the oldest cards, as closing them would most seriously temporarily impact your credit score.

"Closing a credit card, especially one you've had for a long time, may hurt your score later because it means losing your longest-running account and lowering your average age of accounts," Experian says. "This shouldn't cause immediate concern, as accounts closed in good standing stay on your credit report for 10 years and are factored into credit scores the entire time. Closed accounts with missed payments will remain on your credit report for 7 years." Ultimately, closing unused cards can reduce your total credit limit and increase your credit-utilization ratio, which in turn can lower scores. So beware of that.

You already have three credit cards. That's OK if they all serve a purpose. Take your time choosing a new one. Ideally, you want to keep your credit-card usage/limit ratio of 25% to 30%, but put those rules on hold during this cancellation period. The main credit bureaus - Equifax $(EFX)$, TransUnion (TRU) and Experian (EXPGY) - calculate their scores differently. For example, a FICO $(FICO)$ score has five categories: payment history (35%), amounts owed (30%), length of credit history (15%), new credit (10%) and credit mix (10%). In other words, FICO values consumers who stay on top of their finances.

Happy hunting. And remember, the smaller the fine print, the more important the takeaway.

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The Moneyist regrets he cannot reply to questions individually.

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-Quentin Fottrell

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December 02, 2025 07:07 ET (12:07 GMT)

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