@Gerald56 wrote:
4 of the cards as far as i'm concerned are worthless..$250 each and we will probably never use them. if she killed them now before they start to age i would think that would be a good thing.. i'm not sure what she should do.. since she has no real credit history it seems having all those cards screw that up
If she doesn't use the 4 cards at all within around a year, the issuer will close them anyway. Then, she could possibly have the notation "closed by grantor" on her reports. Whether that notation matters or not is subjective, have to take into account her overall profile. No credit, no TL's, no length of credit history and a BK derogatory, she can't apply for much of anything, so closing those accounts only takes her backwards.
You're not really getting the fact that the damage is already done. She has new credit now, store cards or not, it's still new and available credit. It's not a bad number of store cards as long as she does not apply for more store cards.
Take her to your local credit union (or even check with your local bank) - look into a secured card, or even a joint card for both of you - those lenders can tell you if she can qualify, and for which product if she is qualified - this may or may not be guaranteed, you won't know until you ask.
Put her on any good card of your own as authorized user as long as you keep that card in good standing, always PIF and keep utility low. If you have no good cards of your own, or your own credit is not pristine, do not put her as authorized user, since yours will affect hers and vice versa.
With regular (or even occasional) use of the store cards, with a secured card or joint card, in 6 months, her scores will improve and she will be in better shape to apply for the next tier of credit cards - but I would suggest only applying for one at that time, depending on her evaluating her reports and scores prior.
If you have stable, good income, and you share a deposit account, some cc issuers allow HHI on applications (Chase, Discover, Citi). Do NOT use this option/do not apply unless or until your combined income can support a prime card and both your reports are in good shape with good scores - this means possibly months or a year or more of good credit use prior to applying for those prime cards.
Her credit can and will improve, but no more applying for store cards - at least use the current store cards to build her score, lay low for six months, evaluate her credit reports and scores and see where she's at in that point in time.
Starting Score: ~470 preBK(8/2010)