Credit Card Portfolio organization

[user5387]

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@saving_grace16 wrote:

I would LOVE to have fewer cards, with much higher limits.  Most of those store cards are ones I opened in college when I had basically no idea what I was doing when it came to credit.  

In the last couple years, I have began to realize that if I could  - I wouldn't have applied for all those cards back in the day.  How do you suggest building more depth in my credit line up?  WIll closing those smaller store cards help?

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Once you have a lot of CCs, keeping them open will not hurt you for FICO scoring purposes, assuming that they have $0 balances reporting, and assuming that you have the skill to manage them and avoid late payments and fraudulent use issues and so on.

In the context of a manual review, or when applying for new credit, it's possible that lots of small CLs will hurt you, because individual lenders may have additional criteria that don't apply when a FICO score is calculated.  In other words, lenders often use additional criteria beyond a FICO score.

I think I would approach this gradually.  For example, you could make a list of three or four store cards that you're absolutely sure you will never use, and close those.

At the same time, I'd look at the network cards (Cap1, Citi, Discover, Wells Fargo) and see what you can do to get soft pull CLIs, PCs, combine limits, and so on.

Also, if you have any derogatories, I would do whatever you can to address them.

Finally, I would try to optimze your utilization, by letting only one CC report a small balance.  There are many threads on this topic that you can read.

[saving_grace16]

Thank you for the great suggestions.  Sounds like for the most part I am on track, since all CCs are at $0 balances except for the Gap that I use on a regular basis.  

In my experience, it's been terrible trying to get a CLI with Cap1 - even though the SP they did yielded a 788 EQ, I was denied because I hadn't carried a balance on the card within the last 3 months?  Well of course - I paid it off!  Since the limit is so low - I think I will ditch it, even though it's a quicksilver. 

Also, no derogatories on my report - just lots of cards with $0 balances.

Any other suggestions are welcome as well! 

[TiggerDat]

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@saving_grace16 wrote:

I've been reading a lot of threads lately that I must say have been pretty helpful!   

I am currently in a place where I've been able to pay down all of my cards (yay!) and am looking to reorganize my credit portfolio (let's just say I didn't understand credit during my college years nearly as well as I do now - and have a lot of cards to ditch!)  My credit score has gone up exponentially over the last few months!

Here's my rundown - 

Ones I want to keep:

US Cash Rewards - 4.5k (cli in process to hopefuly upgrade to Cash+)

GAP Visa - 4.2k 

FNBO College Edition - 2.7k (oldest card in portfolio)

These are the ones I want to toss - 

VS Store card - 2k

Macys store - 1.4k

Jcrew - 1.3k 

Wells Fargo - 2.3k

Macy AmEx - 1.8k

Nordstrom - 2k

Limited - 1.1k

Banana Republic - 1k

Helzberg - 1.2k

Amazon - 400 

Citibank - 2.6k 

Cap1 - 500

Discover - 1k 

As you can I see I have waaay more accounts open than I would like to have open.  I am planning to close all the ones I don't plan on using, listed above.  Any recommendatons for or against that?  Also - are there any types of cards that I might be missing that I could add to my keep pile  that I would need to apply for?

Also - with the exception of my Gap card,  and combining two of my US Bank cards to get that limit on the Cash Rewards, it's been hard for me to break that 4k-5k mark on credit limits.  Does this have to do with how many accounts I have open?  Can anyone shed any light on this?

Thanks everyone - I look forward to your thoughts!

Fico Scores - 720 EX/765 TU/788 EQ, AAoA  4yr 10mo

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My advice is to first contact the Executive office over at Capital One and ask them for a limit of $10,000.  If they ask if you accept a lower limit say yes $5,000 or a little more.  This will help get the limit you want and they will only do a soft pull for it.  You could try online first with them to see what happens, I just got an increase on my account from $3,500 to $5,500, which is the highest increase they have given to me to date without the EO.  (Oh wait, it was the only increase they gave me without the EO!)  I don't think I would close any card that is older than 2 or 3 years and I actually wouldn't close too many too quickly.  I would just close 1 or 2 if you really feel that you must close something.  I would also call every creditor you have right now and ask for a SP CLI, if it is not a SP, don't  do it or at least don't do it for now.  This might also help you decide who and which card you want to close. 

I would then ask about PC or otherwise upgrading your current cards.  I would not close the Discover card.  It can be one of the cards that is really good later!  You can ask if there are any offers to change to an IT card or increase your CL.  They will tell you if there are any CLI options without a soft pull.  If they need to do a hard pull to give you a CLI, then even if it is declined you could then speak to a specialist and still get a nice CLI.  I had a $1000 limit with them and at the 8th month I pulled the trigger for a HP CLI and had to speak with a specialist.  They raised my limit on the manual review to $5000 and basically was told I could only get that limit since that is what I asked for.  I actually thought they would counter offer with $2500 or $3000, but I think in reality I could have gotten more.  (Darn, should have considered that before I asked!)  If they ask why you want a higher limit with them just tell them you want to make it your card of choice.  I told them I try to avoid having more than 10% of a balance used or reporting, also. 

The thing to also consider is which cards will benefit you in the future also.  Nordstrom and Macy's can be great places to get clothes for business type jobs.  So you might want to keep them open, even if you don't ask for CLIs.  Use them occassionally if nothing else to avoid them being closed. 

If you are determined to close accounts, then simply close the ones first which have no rewards what-so-ever.

[user5387]

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@saving_grace16 wrote:

Thank you for the great suggestions.  Sounds like for the most part I am on track, since all CCs are at $0 balances except for the Gap that I use on a regular basis.  

In my experience, it's been terrible trying to get a CLI with Cap1 - even though the SP they did yielded a 788 EQ, I was denied because I hadn't carried a balance on the card within the last 3 months?  Well of course - I paid it off!  Since the limit is so low - I think I will ditch it, even though it's a quicksilver. 

Also, no derogatories on my report - just lots of cards with $0 balances.

Any other suggestions are welcome as well! 

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I don't know if you can get anywhere with Cap1, but some have had success going through the EO.

For network cards that you want to close, you could first ask yourself what would make the card attractive (CLI, PC, etc.) and then ask the CC company for that.  If they say yes, then you've got yourself a useful card.  If no, then you could consider closing it.

[saving_grace16]

I will try the EO at Cap1, and see if I can get anywhere!  Is anyone able to PM me their contact information? Thansk in advance! 

[saving_grace16]

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@bernhardtra wrote:

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@saving_grace16 wrote:

I've been reading a lot of threads lately that I must say have been pretty helpful!   

I am currently in a place where I've been able to pay down all of my cards (yay!) and am looking to reorganize my credit portfolio (let's just say I didn't understand credit during my college years nearly as well as I do now - and have a lot of cards to ditch!)  My credit score has gone up exponentially over the last few months!

Here's my rundown - 

Ones I want to keep:

US Cash Rewards - 4.5k (cli in process to hopefuly upgrade to Cash+)

GAP Visa - 4.2k 

FNBO College Edition - 2.7k (oldest card in portfolio)

These are the ones I want to toss - 

VS Store card - 2k

Macys store - 1.4k

Jcrew - 1.3k 

Wells Fargo - 2.3k

Macy AmEx - 1.8k

Nordstrom - 2k

Limited - 1.1k

Banana Republic - 1k

Helzberg - 1.2k

Amazon - 400 

Citibank - 2.6k 

Cap1 - 500

Discover - 1k 

As you can I see I have waaay more accounts open than I would like to have open.  I am planning to close all the ones I don't plan on using, listed above.  Any recommendatons for or against that?  Also - are there any types of cards that I might be missing that I could add to my keep pile  that I would need to apply for?

Also - with the exception of my Gap card,  and combining two of my US Bank cards to get that limit on the Cash Rewards, it's been hard for me to break that 4k-5k mark on credit limits.  Does this have to do with how many accounts I have open?  Can anyone shed any light on this?

Thanks everyone - I look forward to your thoughts!

Fico Scores - 720 EX/765 TU/788 EQ, AAoA  4yr 10mo

---

My advice is to first contact the Executive office over at Capital One and ask them for a limit of $10,000.  If they ask if you accept a lower limit say yes $5,000 or a little more.  This will help get the limit you want and they will only do a soft pull for it.  You could try online first with them to see what happens, I just got an increase on my account from $3,500 to $5,500, which is the highest increase they have given to me to date without the EO.  (Oh wait, it was the only increase they gave me without the EO!)  I don't think I would close any card that is older than 2 or 3 years and I actually wouldn't close too many too quickly.  I would just close 1 or 2 if you really feel that you must close something.  I would also call every creditor you have right now and ask for a SP CLI, if it is not a SP, don't  do it or at least don't do it for now.  This might also help you decide who and which card you want to close. 

I would then ask about PC or otherwise upgrading your current cards.  I would not close the Discover card.  It can be one of the cards that is really good later!  You can ask if there are any offers to change to an IT card or increase your CL.  They will tell you if there are any CLI options without a soft pull.  If they need to do a hard pull to give you a CLI, then even if it is declined you could then speak to a specialist and still get a nice CLI.  I had a $1000 limit with them and at the 8th month I pulled the trigger for a HP CLI and had to speak with a specialist.  They raised my limit on the manual review to $5000 and basically was told I could only get that limit since that is what I asked for.  I actually thought they would counter offer with $2500 or $3000, but I think in reality I could have gotten more.  (Darn, should have considered that before I asked!)  If they ask why you want a higher limit with them just tell them you want to make it your card of choice.  I told them I try to avoid having more than 10% of a balance used or reporting, also. 

The thing to also consider is which cards will benefit you in the future also.  Nordstrom and Macy's can be great places to get clothes for business type jobs.  So you might want to keep them open, even if you don't ask for CLIs.  Use them occassionally if nothing else to avoid them being closed. 

If you are determined to close accounts, then simply close the ones first which have no rewards what-so-ever.

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Thank you, bernhardtra.  Do you think asking for a CLI from Cap1 for 10k is too high considering my current limit is only at 500?  I feel like pulling a 788 EQ does warrant a much higher CL than I currently have with them, but not sure if I would be approved for 10k, since I haven't been able to break 5k yet - likely because of the amount of accoutns I have open.  Also, that $500 limit was given right after graduating from gradschool - wasn't in the best financial situation then, but have completely turned things around with a steady job, aggressively paid down CC debt, and have increased scores by 100+ points since then. 

How hard has it been for others to get a CLI with Discover?  Right now, I just get a "Please call our customer service line for more help with your inquiry" when I click on the request limit increase button.  Not sure what that means - or if it means I am unable to get a SP and would need to ask for HP for a CLI.  I guess I will call in to be sure!  

[TiggerDat]

My score is just under 700 and I have cards which are $7500 and $8500, with less history.  It doesn't hurt to ask especially with a lower limit offer too.  I would certainly EO this.

[saving_grace16]

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@saving_grace16 wrote:

I've been reading a lot of threads lately that I must say have been pretty helpful!   

I am currently in a place where I've been able to pay down all of my cards (yay!) and am looking to reorganize my credit portfolio (let's just say I didn't understand credit during my college years nearly as well as I do now - and have a lot of cards to ditch!)  My credit score has gone up exponentially over the last few months!

Here's my rundown - 

Ones I want to keep:

US Cash Rewards - 4.5k (cli in process to hopefuly upgrade to Cash+)

GAP Visa - 4.2k 

FNBO College Edition - 2.7k (oldest card in portfolio)

These are the ones I want to toss - 

VS Store card - 2k

Macys store - 1.4k

Jcrew - 1.3k CLOSED

Wells Fargo - 2.3k CLOSED

Macy AmEx - 1.8k

Nordstrom - 2k

Limited - 1.1k CLOSED

Banana Republic - 1k CLOSED

Helzberg - 1.2k CLOSED

Amazon - 400 

Citibank - 2.6k 

Cap1 - 500

Discover - 1k 

As you can I see I have waaay more accounts open than I would like to have open.  I am planning to close all the ones I don't plan on using, listed above.  Any recommendatons for or against that?  Also - are there any types of cards that I might be missing that I could add to my keep pile  that I would need to apply for?

Also - with the exception of my Gap card,  and combining two of my US Bank cards to get that limit on the Cash Rewards, it's been hard for me to break that 4k-5k mark on credit limits.  Does this have to do with how many accounts I have open?  Can anyone shed any light on this?

Thanks everyone - I look forward to your thoughts!

Fico Scores - 720 EX/765 TU/788 EQ, AAoA  4yr 10mo

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This week, I was able to close the following in red! 

Also this week, I was able to upgrade the following + get some great SP CLI's! 

@Anonymous Platinum Preferred @ 1.2k  to Citi ThankYou Preferred @ 2.6k!

@discover Open Roads @ 1k to DiscoverIt @ 3k!

US Bank Cash rewards from 4.5k to 6k!

I plan to close the Amazon once a zero balance shows (just paid off), as well as Cap1, and Macy's Cards very soon.  I just have a question for you all - how would closing my VS and Nordstrom store cards affect my AAoA?  I ask this because those two cards are my second and third oldest cards.  I will still have my oldest card open, but I just didn't want to mess up my AAoA.  However, i would like to close those cards since I never use them anymore. 

Thoughts?

[user5387]

Closing cards has no immediate effect on AAoA.

[longtimelurker]

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@user5387 wrote:

Closing cards has no immediate effect on AAoA.

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Right, so keeping a card just because it is the oldest isn't really needed either.

AAoA in FICO (though not in Credit Karma) is based on open AND closed accounts that are on your report.   Closed accounts generally cease to report after 10 years (although it can be sooner) so you lose nothing for those 10 years.  And by then, hopefully, your credit situation is different (and better).

So with your US Bank CLI, are you going to ask to PC to Cash Plus?