New to Credit(Student)

[dtran14]

Hi everyone, my name is Dennis and I am 19 years old. I just joined this website to start building credit and receiving tips from everyone who probably has a better understanding and background of credit.

Basically with my background and history with credit, I got my first "Secured Card" through Wells Fargo with a limit of $300 and kinda hit that limit a lot and went over it I'm not sure if that will affect me a lot. The good news is I never missed a payment but always paid the min. Now my other question is I stopped using my checking's account for a while and it was in the negatives for a few months does that affect my credit or only credit cards do? Well long story short I did close my secured card line because I feel like I was not ready yet but now I have a Bank of America Visa, Barclaycard, Chase Visa, and am waiting on a Discover It approval, is it bad that I opened so many accounts and what should be my max at spending these cards and should I always pay full or is minimum okay? 

Hoping to hear from everyone soon. Thanks in advance. 

[enharu]

Problems with checking accounts are usually reported to checksystems (or whatever how you spell that). Some lenders do pull that as well for credit apps so it might affect you. It also depends on whether Wells Fargo even reported that in the first place.
 
Since you already opened those accounts, don't worry about it.
Your max spending should be whatever you can afford to repay.
You should always pay in full if possible. Those interest fees are almost equivalent to daylight robberies. If you cannot, do pay the minimum at the very least.
However, do not drag high balances while paying only minimum payments for an extended period of time. That usually puts you at risk for adverse action.
 

[dtran14]

Thanks for the response! When I was checking my credit report it says I have many inquiries for credit cards how do I know which cards to apply for? 

[creditnocash]

tbh if you have many inq and got approved for those cards i would wait and garden for a year +

now just turning 22 i was in the same spot as you are. 

at 18/19 i was denied for just about every card due too not long enough or no credit established. now i have over 20k in credit available. 

if you make your payments on those cards and use them too your benefit, it will only greater your prosperity in the future. 

[09Lexie]

PM sent

[dtran14]

I have a barclay card that I was going to use for a purchase of a macbook pro but my dad went ahead and just got one for me should I close the account or leave it? I don't know if I'll be touching it. $1700 is a big limit(for me atleast).

[Kels]

If you don't trust yourself with the card, cut it up and trash it but leave the account open. Don't apply for any more credit cards. Be careful and responsible with the ones that you already opened. Learn from the mistakes that you made in the past, keep your balances low, pay on time and you will be fine.

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@dtran14 wrote:

I have a barclay card that I was going to use for a purchase of a macbook pro but my dad went ahead and just got one for me should I close the account or leave it? I don't know if I'll be touching it. $1700 is a big limit(for me atleast).

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[parakleet]

I will echo what the others have stated above - it sounds like you have plenty enough credit cards at the moment and the best and the smart thing you can do right now is to garden those cards. And use them responsibly. Don't worry about how much you should be using them to better your score. Use them according to how much you can afford to use them for. Don't pay interest if you don't have to. Good luck. 

[dtran14]

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@Kels wrote:

If you don't trust yourself with the card, cut it up and trash it but leave the account open. Don't apply for any more credit cards. Be careful and responsible with the ones that you already opened. Learn from the mistakes that you made in the past, keep your balances low, pay on time and you will be fine.

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@dtran14 wrote:

I have a barclay card that I was going to use for a purchase of a macbook pro but my dad went ahead and just got one for me should I close the account or leave it? I don't know if I'll be touching it. $1700 is a big limit(for me atleast).

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wouldn't leaving the account open and not spending it bad too? :/

[SnackTrader]

No. Not using it is fine.

I'll expand: the card will continue to report as positive tradeline as long as the balance remains paid on time. If there is no balance, it will report as paid with $0 balance. So overall, whether you use the card and pay on time, or don't use the card, it looks the same on your credit report.

Now, if you don't use the card for several months, the issuer may close it for inactivity. But that gains you a few more months history than if you just closed it yourself. How long it takes for the account to be closed varies by lender.

Also, you seem to be very confused on credit, so keep asking questions! The worst thing you could do is get into trouble with money this early in your life since you have such big plans ahead. Also, read around the forums over the next few weeks. Read ALL the stickies, and read as many threads as you can. Knowledge is power!