Not sure which debt forum would be best for this, but here goes.
I am going to have to file Chapter 7. I have two AMEX cards that I got maybe nine months before I got into trouble. They have low limits, 1K each. I can't possibly pay off my higher debt cards, but I could pay off the $1600 on these two cards combined, so as to keep the accounts after Ch. 7.

When I say I CAN, it will not be easy, and it will be instead of other things that I need, and my BK attorney is asking why I would do that.

I stopped paying my other accounts a year ago. I have made minimum payments on these two every month, at $20 a month, which was dumb as far as efficiency goes, in that I put in about $500 without really lowering the balance, but I didn't have access to the money to pay them off until a few months ago.

I've never been late on these cards. Also I paid an extra $100 to each of them before my attorney said that, so now that's $700 I've put into them that I wouldn't have if I hadn't treated them specially. And yes, I do know that I owe the money on all the cards, but when in survival mode one thinks in terms of strategy to get through it and get past it.

At long last my question:
When I file Ch 7, and these cards have zero balance, will Amex know, even though I'm not including the cards in the estate, and will it take advantage of being paid off to simply close the accounts on me, so that I'll have wasted the money?

I know the new CC practices law says they have to look just at their own account when it comes to default interest rate, but I can't find anything on the net that covers their right to close the account.

Lastly, I do know that I can't file until at least 90 days after I pay them, because it's preferential, but I just paid them a minimum by auto payment, so I think I would have to wait in any case, and that's OK.

As to why keep them:
I won't get in trouble with that credit limit. It's good to have a card if, say, I travel somewhere. I would rather have these cards (Starwood and Blue) than a secured credit card.