Account mix and store cards

[Anonymous]

I  don't currently have any store cards, but plenty of other prime CC's and trades, mortgage, ets...

What I'm wondering is if a store card would improve my "mix" or would it be a waste of a hard pull and really do much of nothing for me? Also, do creditors, CCC's in particular look to see who else you have accounts with, and frown upon those that have accounts with certain companies, such as non prime accounts/cards? I don't have anything non prime and don't want to look bad either.

EQ-735

EX-740

TU-715

[Anonymous]

Having a retail card and a gas card will improve your credit mix, though probably not by much. If you don't need to apply for an auto loan or a mortgage loan anytime soon, why the heck not apply for them!

I did the same thing last month. I usually shop at J.Crew and just used my prime cards, but went ahead and applied for their credit card issued by WFNNB. Same with Sunoco, so I went ahead and got applied for their credit card issued by Citibank. My scores recently went up 20+ points for a combination of getting my utilization down from 20% to 2% and setting-up the retail card and the fuel card accounts, so I don't know how much of the bump was a result of improved mix.

I definitely think they'll improve your credit mix, though probably not substantially.

I would also recommend an overdraft line of credit if your bank offers it. I have Navy Federal's NAVChek. I never really use it, but if by some freak chance I overdraft my account, I won't have any fees and it also adds to my credit mix as well.

[Anonymous]

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jaybird201 wrote:

I would also recommend an overdraft line of credit if your bank offers it. I have Navy Federal's NAVChek. I never really use it, but if by some freak chance I overdraft my account, I won't have any fees and it also adds to my credit mix as well.

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A LOC is just another revolving account.  It doesn't contribute to credit mix any differently than a CC.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the correction Cheddar.

I thought that there were different trendline codes for credit cards, retail cards and fuel cards and a variety of these improved your mix. Is this incorrect? If not, does a line of credit like that show up using the same code as a credit card?

Message Edited by jaybird201 on 08-14-2008 10:08 AM

[Anonymous]

I estimate I added 5-10 points for picking up my first store card. It is commonly believed on this board that either one store card OR one gas card is sufficient for mix purposes.

If you have a long thin file (ie few accounts and a long average age), the score drop from lowering your age + a drop for a new inq and account may outweigh any gains. Otherwise it may prove benefitial. I also doubt a lone store card looks bad on manual review - most people have at least one store card.

[Anonymous]

jaybird201 wrote:

I thought that there were different trendline codes for credit cards, retail cards and fuel cards and a variety of these improved your mix. Is this incorrect?

No, you're right about this part.  Store cards and gas cards do contribute to credit mix.

If not, does a line of credit like that show up using the same code as a credit card?

I'm not sure if it reports with exactly the same code, but even if the accounts are coded differently, we have established that a LOC and a CC are treated the same for credit mix purposes.