There used to be something on the Credit Education pages here that specifically said that having both retail cards (store or gas, no Visa/MC, etc logo) and bank cards helped your credit mix. I always read it that if you had store cards, it was good to get bank cards as well (a natural progression in credit.) But I've seen several members post that they added a retail card when all they had were bank cards (and loans, etc.) and they got a score boost. In the meantime, the Credit Education section was revised, and that particular screen has been changed.
Even more strange to me is that retail cards started out being monthly pay-in-full cards, which is why they were called charge cards, but even after they became revolving, they still seem to have this bit of magic. Meanwhile, American Express pay-every-month cards, like the Green and Gold, which really are charge cards, don't seem to do anything for your scores.
So anyway, that's the story: it appears that having a retail card helps your credit mix. Just make sure that it's not co-branded with a Visa/ MC/ Discover/ AmEx logo.
Oh, yes, credit reports still call store cards charge cards. Just to add to the confusion.
Message Edited by haulingthescoreup on 04-28-2009 11:53 AM
* Credit is a wonderful servant, but a terrible master. * Who's the boss --you or your credit?
FICO's: EQ 781 - TU 793 - EX 779 (from PSECU) - Done credit hunting; having fun with credit gardening. - EQ 590 on 5/14/2007
Starting Score: 07/2011 TU 732 EQ 717 EX 702
