DO I need more CCs?

[Anonymous]

In my other thread I asked if I should wait to get new CCs and then someone asked if I "need" a CC. So that's what this thread is for. I understand the importance of CCs is to dilute negatives. Here's my situation:

Negatives

Ex husband's student loan with a few lates - won't fall off until 2012

Signature loan with many many lates - won't fall off until 2011

 -- 24 lates combined total on the above --

A Collection and Repo will both be off in the next 6 months so I'll ignore those.

Current CCs

Sears opened in 1996 - $350 limit

Express opened in 2000 - $300 limit

Cap One opened in 2005 - $5000 limit

No negatives on any of the above.

Basically I just want to make sure I'm going to get the max score that I can get in the future. Can I achieve 800 with those 3 credit cards?? I've got installment loans with no negative info.

How best can I plan for my future NOW?

[haulingthescoreup]

I think you'll have better luck if you have more than just those three, but at the same time, I wouldn't do anything other than research (as you are doing) until the collection and repo are gone.

How bad are the lates on the SL and sig loan? (All 30's or 60's, or are there any 90's or worse?)

You do have clean installment loans, so there's a check mark for that category.

You have Sears (presumably store) and Express, so the retail/gas category is checked off.

You have one bank card with a good CL. That's where you will probably want to expand, if for no other reason than to protect yourself from the whims of one lender.

I'd say aim for two more excellent cards, which is why I think you should wait for the collection and repo to go. The cards will depend on your needs and preferences for rewards, no fee, high CL, low APR's, some combo of these, and also whether you have a "history" with any of them (the collection, etc.)

When I was waiting for my app spree, I started a list of cards I was interested in on Notepad and kept in on my desktop. I kept adding and deleting as I went along, noting what was attractive or not about each one. In the end, I think that I only got one of the cards that was originally on the list, lol, but it was helpful in keeping me focused on my goals and knowing what to do when the time finally came. HTH

[Anonymous]

HTSU - This is EXCELLENT advice! I will definitely wait until the repo (on EX) and collection (on TU) are gone. The 24 lates are mostly 30 days but do have some 60 and 90 days. I have a spreadsheet at work that shows when they are all due to fall off and will be keeping track. The good news is that I haven't had any lates in 4 years.

Good idea also on keeping a list of credit cards - I've been reading and reading and think "oh I want that one and this one" but then I forget why or which ones! Silly me.

Thanks so much for your feedback!

S