Credit Cards

[haulingthescoreup]

---

score_building wrote:

---

urgent_help_needed wrote:
 ok dumb question, but is Amex Blue Cash a card that allows you to carry a balance indefinitely or is it one of Amex's cards that makes you pay it all off after 30 days?

---

it's a cc (revolver) not a charge card.

---

But if you have any sense of self-preservation whatsoever, you will PIF that thing monthly.

How would you like to be one month away from getting your cash rewards, and have them close your card because you wound up on their fecal chart, and lose all your points? And this absolutely does happen.

---

brother7 wrote:

Concerning store cards, I chose Home Depot because my future career is real estate salesperson and I thought Home Depot would be most useful for preparing houses to put on the market. It is a store card, not Visa or MC-branded. I guess I'll skip WalMart.

My current cards are a First Hawaiian Bank MC ($5000 CL, soon to be PIF) and a JCPenney charge card ($224 CL, 0 bal, still open but unused). They were opened at the same time (11/1998) so each is 10 years, 4 months old.

Concerning AAoA, my combined months on my 2 cards is 248. Here's my AAoA calculations:

• 2 current cards: AAoA = 124 = 10 yrs, 4 mths
• add 1 card: AAoA = 82 = 6 yrs, 10 mths
• add 2 cards: AAoA = 62 = 5 yrs, 2 mths
• add 3 cards: AAoA = 49 = 4 yrs, 1 mth
• add 4 cards: AAoA = 41 = 3 yrs, 5 mths
• add 5 cards: AAoA = 35= 2 yrs, 11 mths

I don't mind taking the hit to AAoA now, as I don't plan on buying a house or car for another 2-3 years. By then, the new accounts I open now will be nicely aged, I think. I'm not going to cancel my 2 existing cards, even if I stop using them, because the loss in age would be too big of a hit.

---

Home Depot sounds like a great choice for you. They typically have high CL's for store cards, as their goodies are so expensive. And Citi is a civilized bank, compared to some of the others. And a nervous thumbs-up for someone considering entering the Hawaii real estate market!

But if you have a Penney's card, isn't that already your store card? Or does Penney's have a co-branded card? (with the Visa, MC, etc logo.)

Seriously, I'd stop at two cards, leaving you at AAoA of 5 yrs, 2 months. Leave yourself an opening to get a third card in another year or so --let one suggest itself to you. Frankly, the credit markets are so screwed up at the moment that I would hate to commit to a bank that might go under in a couple of months, or be swallowed up by another one.

And as you say, hang on to the cards you have. Keep them exercised and healthy.

[urgent_help_needed]

haulingthescoreup, a couple questions:

1) Amex will really shut down your card right before you get cash rewards? wow, if true, that's borderline fraudelent bait-and-switch behavior IMHO

2) what do you mean exactly when you say Citi is a more "civilized" bank?

Thanks

[haulingthescoreup]

---

urgent_help_needed wrote:

haulingthescoreup, a couple questions:

1) Amex will really shut down your card right before you get cash rewards? wow, if true, that's borderline fraudelent bait-and-switch behavior IMHO

2) what do you mean exactly when you say Citi is a more "civilized" bank?

Thanks

---

OK, I know it's on here somewhere, and I thought it was on Credit in the News, but I can't find it. It was a news story about an AmEx cardholder with Blue Cash, or another of the AmEx cash reward cards, whose card was closed right before her cash returns were due to be posted (and credited.)

At the moment, this is the best that I can find:

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/credit_cards/amex_rewards.html

I'm going to keep looking for the other story, and I'll edit it in here when I finally dig it up.

And if anyone else knows where it is, I'd be delighted if you'd post the link here.

As for Citi being a more civilized bank: as I've posted elsewhere, a lot of store cards are (mis-)handled by some very unfriendly banks (GEMB, WFNNB, HSBC come to mind.) Citi has been circling the drain lately, but they have always had a reputation for being a conservative but fair lender. In crisis times, I'd rather have a Citi-backed card than one of the others. (Even though I do have an HSBC and a WFNNB card! Wouldn't have done it if there'd been an alternative.)


eta: here's one, but still not the one I'm thinking of: http://ficoforums.myfico.com/fico/board/message?board.id=creditcard&message.id=140722#M140722

Message Edited by haulingthescoreup on 03-17-2009 07:11 PM

[PayingTheBills]

HTSU, I remember reading the article you're referring to, so it must have been here on the forums, but I can't find it either. :shrug:

[kulin]

real - time?

I remember to receive inq alert from fico the next even the 3rd day after appy.

or maybe i remember wrong?

why 'bad enough'? they will not keep track of your credit report after you are approved.

or, at the time other new accounts  appear, if any, they will not have any reason

to pull your credit report to watch.

---

haulingthescoreup wrote:

---

Mike14 wrote:
What if you apped for them all within minutes of each other?  Would the second one see the inq from the first one?  I don't think reports update in realtime, so the second one would not see the inq generated by the first one.  Someone please correct me if I'm wrong!

---

Yes, the inqs hit real-time. I once pulled a TC report as I hung up after apping, and the inq was there. The actual new account generally takes a while to show up, although I think BofA popped up with a couple of days.

That's why anyone who is applying for PenFed plus other cards should always app PenFed first. They will most definitely see the other inqs. Bad enough when they see the other new accounts start popping up over the next week to two months.

---

[kulin]

also consider citi PPE,

good open bonus...

---

brother7 wrote:

I have 1 credit card (active) and 1 store charge card (inactive).

Both accounts are 10 years old.

I'm about to kill my AAoA by applying for more cards in the next 1-2 months because:

1. I want to transition to cashback/rewards cards, which my current credit card is not,
2. I want to add store charge cards to improve my credit mix (my current one is inactive and the store is no longer in my area), and
3. I'll soon be an independent contractor and want to separate personal and business expenses.

I don't plan on applying for any home mortgages or car loans for at least another 2-3 years.

Here's my current want list:

Credit Cards

1. Costco TrueEarnings
2. AMEX Blue Cash
3. PenFed Visa Platinum Gas Cash Reward
4. Discover More

 Store Cards

1. Home Depot Commercial Revolving Charge
2. (something useful, but I'm not sure what... maybe WalMart?)
3. (probably a gas card, just to add to the credit mix)

My scores should see a jump at end-March due to util < 10%.  Once I pay my CC off, I'll write a GW letter to my CCC asking to have some 30-day lates removed.  After all that is when I plan to apply for the above-mentioned cards.

My question is...

To maximize my chances for approval of all of the above, should I apply all at once, or space them out?  If space them out, over how long?  I kinda want to get at least 2 credit cards quickly; preferably the Costco TrueEarnings and Discover More.  I really want the PenFed Visa but I don't think I'll be able to get it with a tax lien, even if released 

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

---

[haulingthescoreup]

---

kulin wrote:

real - time?

I remember to receive inq alert from fico the next even the 3rd day after appy.

or maybe i remember wrong?

why 'bad enough'? they will not keep track of your credit report after you are approved.

or, at the time other new accounts  appear, if any, they will not have any reason

to pull your credit report to watch.

---

The inquiries hit your full reports immediately, as in the moment the inquiry is received by the credit bureau. When you get the alerts about them is a different matter. But if you have a credit monitoring service that allows daily pulls, you can see this by doing as I did, and checking the moment they pull the report.

"Bad enough" in that most lenders will soft you for at least the first month after you've been approved to make sure that they're happy with their initial decision. Many members here have stories of having been approved with a certain credit limit, only to have the CL reduced the next month or worse after they put a large balance on another card. My full reports are loaded with soft inquiries from existing creditors keeping an eye on me.

Message Edited by haulingthescoreup on 03-19-2009 04:20 AM

[keithc]

i went crazy! i app for 6 in 1 day-got4!!! oh, what a rush!! my goal is 25 credit cards!!

[kulin]

Do all American Express cards come with free credit monitoring service?

including Amex cards issued by other banks?

---

haulingthescoreup wrote:

---

kulin wrote:

real - time?

I remember to receive inq alert from fico the next even the 3rd day after appy.

or maybe i remember wrong?

why 'bad enough'? they will not keep track of your credit report after you are approved.

or, at the time other new accounts  appear, if any, they will not have any reason

to pull your credit report to watch.

---

The inquiries hit your full reports immediately, as in the moment the inquiry is received by the credit bureau. When you get the alerts about them is a different matter. But if you have a credit monitoring service that allows daily pulls, you can see this by doing as I did, and checking the moment they pull the report.

"Bad enough" in that most lenders will soft you for at least the first month after you've been approved to make sure that they're happy with their initial decision. Many members here have stories of having been approved with a certain credit limit, only to have the CL reduced the next month or worse after they put a large balance on another card. My full reports are loaded with soft inquiries from existing creditors keeping an eye on me.

Message Edited by haulingthescoreup on 03-19-2009 04:20 AM

---

[urgent_help_needed]

---

haulingthescoreup wrote:

I don't remember off the top of my head what else you have, but if your AAoA is currently 10 - 12 years, adding three cards would only drop you to around 5 years AAoA, depending on what other older accounts you have. (Sorry, you've probably run the math already, but just in case...) I would aim for a strategy involving the numbers of cards and the timing on them that keeps you from going below 5 years AAoA. I'm not sure if 5 years or 6 is one of the apparent score bucket breaks, so don't go any younger.

can you tell me more about the AAoA score bucket breaks? I'd love to get some detailed info on where the breaks are.