On Saturday, September 9, 2006, an era in American shopping history came to an end as Federated Department Stores Incorporated completes the last step in its purchase of May Department Stores, with the roll out of the bright red star at many old Hecht’s stores in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area. This sad and noteworthy event, leaves hundreds of Hecht’s carrying charge card customers very upset with some vowing to replace those store visits and frequent purchases with internet shopping and most importantly, serves as yet another reminder of why major credit cards are the best fixtures for your wallet and in some cases your credit report.

A recent Washington Times article, quotes many of those loyal Hecht’s customers as saying they will never shop at Macy’s because "Hecht’s has always been around," and its closure, "its like someone in the family that’s dying."

For the convenience of these loyal Hecht’s card carrying customers, Federated has sent letters and new bright red Macys store cards to replace the old blue Hecht’s ones. According to some consumers many will never be used but analysts predict the opposite. So for those who choose not to use them who have vowed never to shop Macy’s what should they do with them? The immediate thought is to close them. But wait a minute, not so fast? Should they close them or not?

This is a huge concern that plagues the minds of many who are now just beginning to understand the negative effect that abruptly closing credit card accounts with or without outstanding balances can have on credit scores. It reduces the ratio of outstanding balances to available credit, which has a negative impact on scores as well as reduces the average age of open accounts which is another factor used to calculate your credit score. So may be its not so good to close the account, but it will just sit out there on your credit report unutilized. This alone should make any one think twice about opening a store charge account in this day and age especially when mergers are becoming so commonplace.

Another unanswered question about those charge cards is just how will this switch over affect your credit report in terms of listed accounts. Will Federated convert the name of all open accounts, will a new entry be created all together, or will two -- both the old and the new appear on your report with separate histories? Questions such as these may have been answered during the transition phase for those affected customers; however, for the average Joe without a card and multiple mailings announcing the change these questions or too big to ignore. Furthermore, the lack of use of the new charge cards by customers who have decided not to patronize the new stores, makes an even greater case for forgoing the store cards and sticking with the likes of Mastercard, Visa and Discover who are accepted by most and unaffected by mergers in the retail industry.

While some consumers may be a little reluctant to give up those store cards with the higher annual percentage rates (APRs) as they struggle to hold on to advantages including the many Customer Appreciation Sales which give them between 10% to 20% off of prices and advance notice of sales. While very tempting and a huge costs savings for the frequent shopper, too much uncertainty makes its safer over the long term to carry a major credit card with perks such as cash back bonus awards, free air line miles, and 0% or low balance transfer offers which are sure to add up to more than the average customer saves from Customer Appreciation Sales.

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