Well, I think you should write back and say you've received some incentive to from other card companies (ie - lower rates, rewards, etc), and ask Discover why you should stay with them. The fact that they are writing you, and not just closing your account, means they value you as a customer. Find out how much they value you.

While Alex raises a good general point, I would be shocked if Discover actually answered such a letter. On the other hand, it wouldn't hurt to call them and politely ask much the same question of the customer service representative. Something like, "I haven't actively been using the card, but would certainly consider it if more closely met my needs. I'm looking for features like ____ , what might you be able to offer me?" You have nothing to lose but a few minutes of your time. Who knows, You might be pleasantly surprised. And if they don't want to offer you anything...well, that's useful information as well.

Meantime, the points I made above--keeping your credit score high and keeping the door open for future promotions--would be sufficient for me to want to keep it open unless some other factor gave me reason to close it.

I sympathize with Dr. Rice's concerns about credit card company tactics, but as Mike's answer suggests, it doesn't follow that three extra cards are necessarily a sign of trouble. If they are, then I'm in bad shape! ;)

Before I would advice anyone specifically on this, I would want to know why you need four credit cards, what the balances were, and more about your situation including your current credit score.

While there may be some impact on credit score for closing down that card, it may not matter if your score is already stellar.

But what's more troubling is the use of three other cards. Credit cards lead to more personal financial trouble that anything else I have seen. They prey on consumers and make fortunes off of their willingness to buy now and pay later. If you don't have a balance on any of the cards, why so many? If you do have a balance, instead of worrying about your forth card, worry about paying them off.

1) Closing credit card accounts adversely effects your credit score.
2) Discover is trying to bully you into using their service. I don't believe that they can or want to close your account simply because you haven't used it.
3) Discover is a predatory lending company. They don't care about your financial health. their customer service SUCKS. All they care about is the amount of money that they can scam from you.
4) I'm a new user to blogging and don't know how to use it very well. I wish I could direct you to my new blog about the fight I've been having with Discover Card for the last 3 years. Try this link. http://survivaloflargeworld.blogspot.com/

Alex,
I would consider all of the factors regarding this account - interest rate, annual fee (if there is one), etc. and if everything is competitive, or a bargain, go ahead and make a purchase to keep it.

I have to admit that I have a Discover Card and have always liked their service when I have an issue. Even though they are still not accepted everywhere, they seem to be more responsive than other card providers.

I agree. Make a 10$ purchase, and pay it off.

I would make a purchase to keep it open.

Two elements used to compute your credit score are (1) the "utilization" of your credit lines (both per line and overall), and (2) the average and oldest lines reporting on your account. Both of these elements can only be harmed by closing the Discovercard.

Besides, it's quite possible that they might offer you an attractive promotion in the future--provided you keep the line open.

I disagree with Douglas. They do not "Prey" on consumers. The consumer pulls out the credit card and uses it. Yes they may offer you a free t-shirt or some cash incentive, but that doesnt mean you have to use the credit card. The consumer needs to realize that they have a contract with credit card companies. If you pay your bills on time, you dont overleverage yourself, you wont have a problem. The problem is, consumers dont realize this. If you put 10,000$ on a credit card, you assume a risk that they could raise your APR. So if you choose to do that, you should have a means of getting around any fee increases.

Lets look at it from the credit card companies perspective. They loan you money which is not secured. If you default, after 90-180 (I believe) days, they have to write that debt off as a loss and sell it for pennies on the dollar. So for example, we have 5 people who all have 10,000$ on their credit card. The APR is 20%. If all people pay on time, the company makes 10,000$ per year. From interest. But 1 person defaults and doesnt pay. This means they lost 10,000$ (maybe could recover 100$ from the debt sale). Well now they are making 8,000$ off the remaining 4 people, which means they have a 2,000$ loss. What should they do? Raise the APR. This is why our rates are staggered on credit ratings. People who dont default are less of a risk, people who do default or look like they could default, are a higher risk.

Its all math, they arent "Preying" on the consumer. They have the right to make a reasonable profit on their loans. The fees are another issue. The fees are used (Late payment, over limit) to offset the loss on defaulted accounts. As the account ages in default, these fees accrue and allow the company to write off a larger number as a loss for tax purposes. They would loose significant profits if they could not do this.

I would also argue that Credit Cards DO NOT lead to financial trouble. Peoples spending habits lead to financial trouble. People have simply overleveraged themselves calculating their maximum credit utilization by what minimum payment they can afford will have problems.