Cancelling a card you just got?

[becardi112]

I just got approved for the pnc cashbuilder card and have the premium select account with them so I get the 1.75% back which seemed appealing but the cl I was told I would get after being approved is only up to 1000 which is completely useless to me. Is it better to just cancel the card or keep it and use it once a month for minor purchases. It is my 2nd card only other being a capital one cash back platinum also with a low cl which I got to start building credit. I don't need the credit and have never carried a balance I just wanted something I could put 500-1000 dollars a month on and pay off every month for the rewards. My fico scores just under 700 and incomes about 60k with no monthly living expenses. Is there another card that is less stingy with the cl I can try?

[09Lexie]

Welcome to the forum! 1.75% is a nice reward and since this is only your second cc I would not cancel. Lenders like to see that you can handle cc's and having 1 with a low limit will not get you a 5 figure CL for your second cc. We all have to start somewhere and now that you have 2 cc's, show that you can handle multiple cc's - the next cc should be better.

Assuming your inq's are low, app again after this new card reports 3-6 mos. Freedom,Discover, Barclays and/or Amex

[sccredit]

If your only other credit card is a low limit CapOne card you should work with the PNC card to build the limit up.  People don't automatically get higher limits because they just want them, it takes time.  Have to crawl before you can walk.

[becardi112]

Ty both for the quick responses. This would be my 4th inquiry 2 of which will be 2 years old in a month so I will give this one a year or so and try something else.

[takeshi74]

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@becardi112 wrote:

the cl I was told I would get after being approved is only up to 1000 which is completely useless to me.

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@becardi112 wrote:

I just wanted something I could put 500-1000 dollars a month on and pay off every month for the rewards.

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$1,000 isn't $500 - $1,000? 

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@becardi112 wrote:

Is it better to just cancel the card or keep it and use it once a month for minor purchases. It is my 2nd card only other being a capital one cash back platinum also with a low cl which I got to start building credit.

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You can't build credit if you don't responsibly use what you have.  You aren't going to just magically get a high CL.  You need to spend the time and effort building.

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@becardi112 wrote:

Is there another card that is less stingy with the cl I can try?

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It's not that they're being stingy.  It's your credit.

[longtimelurker]

And in case it's not clear: A $1K limit doesn't limit you to $1k per month.  With most banks, you can pay throughout the month (ideally by pushing from a bank account) and get your available credit back near $1K.  Not as good as a much higher limit, but it does allow you to spend more and get rewards.

[NewtoCredit80]

Use the card for 6 months and after that apply for a Amex card. Amex is much more generous with credit limits. Once your Amex card is above 5000 you could apply for cli on your PNC card also. You can contact CapOne through facebook for a cli also.

[becardi112]

I keep my credit utilization under 30% so even at 1000 cl that is 300 a month I could actually use it for. And I don't carry a balance I just wanted to see if this was the norm and if so I have no problem waiting a year or so and applying for something else. I just didn't know if it was worth lowering the average length of credit history by having a newly added card.

[NewtoCredit80]

Your Aaoa is already lowered and even if you close the account the PNC card will report for 10 from the closing date. Keep the util between 1-9% for best scores. You would have good chance of approval in 6 months for a Amex.

[longtimelurker]

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@becardi112 wrote:

I keep my credit utilization under 30% so even at 1000 cl that is 300 a month I could actually use it for. And I don't carry a balance I just wanted to see if this was the norm and if so I have no problem waiting a year or so and applying for something else. I just didn't know if it was worth lowering the average length of credit history by having a newly added card.

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My point was you can use much more than $300 a month.  Utilization is only calculated on the balance when the statement cuts.   So, you can spend $900 the first week, pay if off, wait a few days, spend another $900 etc, so long as your final balance when the statement cuts is whatever you want.

Cancelling the card usually (i.e. nearly always) doesn't undo the impact.  You probably already have the inquiry, and the card is reported to the CRAs whether open or closed.   In rare circumstances, the issuer may agree not to do this, but you would have to check.