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Is There a Big Difference Between Closing @ 18 mos. v. 24 mos.?

tag
creditreformer
Frequent Contributor

Is There a Big Difference Between Closing @ 18 mos. v. 24 mos.?

When I started rebuilding in early 07, I had

2 first premiers

2 orchards

While I didn’t really want 4 of those stellar subprimes (fortunately they lowered the fees), I NEEDED them b/c I couldn’t get anything else and b/c I traveled A LOT and having just 1 orchard and 1 fp wasn’t enough to let me put a flight/hotel on.

Today I have these subprimes

1 first premier- 250 cl

1 orchard (consolidated 2 into 1- still stuck w/lowly 600 cl b/c orchard hates me)

I also have these ccs

BA 99/500 (still secured- should graduate in early 09)

Cap 1 (1.1k cl)

Hooters (500 cl)

Target red

I plan to close the first premier and orchard in early 09, the 2 yr anniv of each.  However, is there really any tangible benefit (beyond 6 more mos. of + reporting on that tl) to keeping the fp (w/its glamorous $7/mo. fee) open?  I already paid the orchard AF through early 09, so plan to keep that open.

Is there some kind of ‘magic’ fico wise to keeping ccs open for @ least 2 yrs or is it ok fico wise to close them @ 18 mos.?  Is it better to 'spread out' closing ccs?  and yes, i've read the 'close ccs the right way' thread.

btw, ficos have gone from 'totally miserable' to 'nearing 700s' (<40 pts away on EQ yay) since starting rebuilding.


Message Edited by creditreformer on 09-23-2008 12:37 PM
Message 1 of 3
2 REPLIES 2
smallfry
Senior Contributor

Re: Is There a Big Difference Between Closing @ 18 mos. v. 24 mos.?

I have heard that it is better to keep the cards open for 24 months rather than 12 or 18. I can't quantify how much it will help or hurt if you choose either action but since they aren't costing you anything just leave them open.

Please don't take offense to my next statement. Since the other cards are fairly low limits anyway you will likely only get approved for similar limits if you chose to apply for other cards. Given that and the iffy credit climate I think if I were you I would use what you have intelligently leave everything open and wait for the storm clouds to blow over. Good luck.
Message 2 of 3
creditreformer
Frequent Contributor

Re: Is There a Big Difference Between Closing @ 18 mos. v. 24 mos.?

I closed 1 fp @ 12 mos and actually saw my ficos rise a decent chunk.  I calculated wrong- the remaining fp already has 20 mos. positive reporting history.  I’m not really sure waiting another 4 mos.- which in the case of fp, WOULD cost me something ($28- not a ton, but also, not all that useful of a cc) is going to give me a huge fico boost, esp. when I closed 1 fp @ 12 mos. and ficos rose.

As for the current cls, yes, they are low right now.  However, by early 09 (before I close orchard), BA will graduate/unsecure to @ least 1k (if they don’t beat my cap 1 1.1k cl), hooters should give me a CLI, and possibly cap 1 will give me another CLI.  So while today’s cls aren’t all that impressive, I think I’d look a lot better in early 09 if lenders see ‘oh look, all ccs (but target red) have 4 digit CLs’.

As for future apps, I don’t plan on going app happy anytime soon.  If anything, I plan on letting my ccs and reports ‘garden’ and keep on, keeping on w/low utilization and flawless history.  By early 09, my ficos should be in the 700s and I think I’ll get my foot in the door w/’better’ lenders if I choose to app then.  My ‘down the road cc goals’ are chase, usaa, and citi…but as I said, I’m not going app happy anytime soon.

@ this point, I’m thinking it’s prob better to close the last fp now w/20 mos. great history and then, 4 mos. from now, close the orchard.  orchard will stay open b/c i already paid the AF.  closing FP now would save me $28...again, not a huge $ amount, but really, i don't use that cc and its whopping $250 isn't overly crucial to my utilization %s.  I’m not sure what the fico impact will be of closing 2 ccs @ the same time, so it makes sense to close them a bit apart.



Message Edited by creditreformer on 09-23-2008 02:12 PM
Message 3 of 3
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