@Bluebonnet wrote:
KennyS: I was right to give the benefit of the doubt then.
I closed them because I really shouldn't have opened them in the first place. I got caught up and carried away with apping - my mistake and wasn't a smart move. I tried for a cli with one of my cards and it was declined, so kind of woke me up and had me reevaluate my credit status. Closed the cards I shouldn't have opened in the first place. I really still think the 6 are kind of a lot, but will leave them open. Apologize if I came off in a negative way.
Myjourney: the other user is my mother. LOL. Might make sense now?
No offense taken at all... I can be sometimes too talkative and sometimes not enough! 
Best of luck to you.
@Bluebonnet wrote:
KennyS: I was right to give the benefit of the doubt then.
I closed them because I really shouldn't have opened them in the first place. I got caught up and carried away with apping - my mistake and wasn't a smart move. I tried for a cli with one of my cards and it was declined, so kind of woke me up and had me reevaluate my credit status. Closed the cards I shouldn't have opened in the first place. I really still think the 6 are kind of a lot, but will leave them open. Apologize if I came off in a negative way.
Myjourney: the other user is my mother. LOL. Might make sense now?
You'll be fine then
Just continue gardening
SP CLI's
Auto Luv
Keep UTL low
You've been given excellent advice. The threat of CLD/AA's is something to be concerned with adding the volume of TLs on a thin file. Since the hit has already occurred -the best thing to do is nurture the cards you have left.
Obviously you do not want this to repeat -opening and closing cc in less than 4 mos may raise red flags during a manual review.
Obviously you do not want this to repeat -opening and closing cc in less than 4 mos may raise red flags during a manual review.
@09Lexie wrote:
You've been given excellent advice. The threat of CLD/AA's is something to be concerned with adding the volume of TLs on a thin file. Since the hit has already occurred -the best thing to do is nurture the cards you have left.
Obviously you do not want this to repeat -opening and closing cc in less than 4 mos may raise red flags during a manual review.
I agree. Definitely don't want this to repeat. Will leave the cards I currently have open and just garden. I am confident those cards will be enough to help raise my score. In October of 2015 should still have all these accounts and hopefully all inquiries will fall off. Hopefully that will cancel out the account closures if all goes to plan.
Thank you everybody for your replies and advice!
If it helps any Bluebonnet, I still have 20 TLs showing with 15 currently open. 1 to 4 INQs on each report, most of which are about to fall off before the end of the year. So you don't really have too many with 6 or so TLs. Of what you have left, consider keeping what doesn't have an annual fee. Annual fee cards are often worth closing unless they'll build your file (like AMEX etc, or in your case, starting a credit file). You might want to put the cards you keep in "rotation" to keep them active (use 1 a couple months, then the next etc, depending on what has rewards and how the rewards are structured).
Remember, gardening means not adding hard INQs, it doesn't mean anyone's expected to close accounts they can use. Like others I think you'll be ok after the info you shared. Sounds like you have a level head and a plan. GE doesn't have annual fees, just high interest, if you use them once in a while (for even very small purchases) they'll grow with you and only help fill out your report for the future. Closing 4 was probably enough, 3 primes and 3 store plus a hidden and auto sounds like a good start to a credit file. Even with the 4 closed which will show up for some time as closed by you (not really a negative). As already said, the only negative is a closed account with a balance, but that will be fine too as long as it never shows a late. I think you're doing a better job than you think. You might be happy to know, we've seen people with 30, 40 and more hard INQs and over time, their credit only improved.
Unless you're thinking of a mortgage in 2014, I really think you're doing a great job for someone newer to the credit world. You've actually started a pretty good garden frankly. Glad you found MyFico btw
@RyVision wrote:
If it helps any Bluebonnet, I still have 20 TLs showing with 15 currently open. 1 to 4 INQs on each report, most of which are about to fall off before the end of the year. So you don't really have too many with 6 or so TLs. Of what you have left, consider keeping what doesn't have an annual fee. Annual fee cards are often worth closing unless they'll build your file (like AMEX etc, or in your case, starting a credit file). You might want to put the cards you keep in "rotation" to keep them active (use 1 a couple months, then the next etc, depending on what has rewards and how the rewards are structured).
Remember, gardening means not adding hard INQs, it doesn't mean anyone's expected to close accounts they can use. Like others I think you'll be ok after the info you shared. Sounds like you have a level head and a plan. GE doesn't have annual fees, just high interest, if you use them once in a while (for even very small purchases) they'll grow with you and only help fill out your report for the future. Closing 4 was probably enough, 3 primes and 3 store plus a hidden and auto sounds like a good start to a credit file. Even with the 4 closed which will show up for some time as closed by you (not really a negative). As already said, the only negative is a closed account with a balance, but that will be fine too as long as it never shows a late. I think you're doing a better job than you think. You might be happy to know, we've seen people with 30, 40 and more hard INQs and over time, their credit only improved.
Unless you're thinking of a mortgage in 2014, I really think you're doing a great job for someone newer to the credit world. You've actually started a pretty good garden frankly. Glad you found MyFico btw
Thank you for your encouraging reply RyVision. The highlighted comment especially made me feel a lot better because I was really worried about the inquiries. I would say I'm more of a rebuilder than starting fresh, but sometimes it feels the same. I was really nervous for awhile to open ANY credit products, so I think that's why I got so carried away once I finally decided to "jump" and was getting approvals.
I think I will be okay with what I have now. Just want to build a strong profile.
Again, thank you for the positive comment!
OK, I need to ask what exactly is a "hidden TL? I've never heard that term
Starting Score: EQ 609 EX 570 TU 656 March 2012 CH 7 BK 12/08
Hidden TL is an account that does not report to CRAs ie Bill Me Later