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Hi all. I am new to this forum and I ask that you bear with me here. I am 20 years old and live at home while I go to school full time. I am lucky enough to have parents who pay for everything except my own entertainment, car payment (they pay insurance) and credit cards. I work part time at my school making minimum wage, but I do not live outside my means by any stretch (and by this I mean spending my entire paycheck and racking up credit cards). I have a Cap One Journey card that is over a year old and has almost always had a balance on it. I pay more than the minimum payment every month. Over the past few days, I noticed my credit score has been stagnant for 6 months or so, so I decided I should apply for some credit cards in order to open up more accounts (as of now, I have 5 with the 2 new cards I was approved for. Student loan, car loan and now 3 credit cards). I also decided this would help my utilization. I applied for the discover it card and was approved for a $1k limit at 0% APR for 14 months, then 10.99%, which is the lowest the card goes. I plan on transferring the balance (just over $200) from the cap one to the discover when I get the card because I have 0% APR for 14 months on purchases and BTs. I also applied tonight for a Blue Cash Everyday AMEX and was approved with a $2k limit, 0% APR for 15 months then almost 21% after. I do not plan on using either card much, save for the holiday season when Discover offers 5% cash back at amazon and online retailers. The AMEX is probably only going to be used for gas when the 5% cash back from discover runs out in September as it gives 2% cash back all the time on gas, which I will pay as soon as the cash back posts (same goes for discover if I use that for something like gas). I am graduating college next year in June and should have a full-time job within 6 months.
TL;DR is having 3 credit cards (cap one $500, discover it $1000 and now Blue Cash Everyday AMEX $2000) too much? Did I just shoot myself in the foot? Or is this going to be enough for me to really start building my credit, as the Journey card has served its purpose and is now not viable due to its 19.8% interest rate. My TU FICO according to the discover papers was 730, and I would assume my EX FICO is upwards of 680 if I got approved for a BCE from AMEX.
No such thing as too much credit as long as you are responsible. Too much debt is another story. There are good reasons to carry debt at times but always make sure you have, and to a high degree of certainty, will continue to have the capacity to repay it.
That's about the amount I'm aiming for, but I don't have the loans to fall back on for credit history. It seems like you have a good setup going, now just to let it build!
Current: EQ FICO 0, TU FICO 0, EX FICO 0 | Starting Score: 0 (08/21/2013) Starting total revolving credit: $0 | Current total revolving credit: $1600.00 Inquiries (12 Months): EQ 3-4 TU Unsure EX Unsure | Most Recent: 8/19/2013 | Mechanically Sound Car | Fifth Third $300 U.S. Bank Harley Davidson $300 Capital One Platinum $500 2nd Capital One Platinum $500 |
To answer your concern, yes I have a balance that was built up over time due to me either buying bigger ticket items and not paying in full, or me thinking I would be able to pay it off over the course of a few months. I realize now after looking at my credit situation that I was being, for lack of a better word, a moron with my first CC. I am transferring the balance form the Cap One Journey card (at 19.8% APR... ew) to the Discover It card for the 0% APR for 14 months. Paying $100 every month will kill that balance in just over 2 months. That is my plan, and I can afford it. I will be using the AMEX and Discover for gas, but only one at a time depending on which has better rewards (after September that will be the AMEX card) and paying that balance as soon as it hits. I have already budgeted money for gas, so I am not spending any more than I normally do. Once the balance on the discover is paid (the balance transfer balance, that is) the cards will lie dormant save for a few subscriptions I have tied to the Cap One (which is about $35/month) until the holidays when Discover has great rewards.
EDIT:
Just talked to Cap One and they are going to upgrade my Journey to a Quicksilver Rewards card. 1.5% cash back on everything, plus I get 1.5% cash back on net purchases I already made due to upgrading. In a month or so I will request a CLI when the info from the discover card and AMEX card hit the agencies. They couldn't do anything about my APR, which kind of sucks but I wont be carrying a balance on it anymore after a few months.