Next steps in the CC game?

[Anonymous]

Apologies; this is long...

I am pretty new to this interest in preserving & improving my scores, & currently CCs are the best way to do it.  I just don't know how good my position is now, or how to better it...so any advice would be appreciated...

1. Due to homelessness 4-5 years ago, I no longer have the cards for my oldest 2 reporting accts.  Is there any way to get replacement cards if I can find out who to ask, or will they close accts?  1 is Victoria's Secret card, 1 is Fashion Bug (cheap chain, from when I was still a teen), no activity at all for...a long time.

2. 5 current CC's: a Target (store only) $1000, LLBean Visa $2500, BofA Platinum MC $4500, and now the AmEx Green...  Plus an account with MedChoice Financial, $5500 limit, I used it to fund dental work for my significant other & it is paid down to only $500 (no interest if paid off in a year, which it will be).

3. My combined CL (not including the AmEx) is, and this strikes me as odd, over 40% of my annual income.  I obviously don't charge a lot, but I charge regularly between the LLBean / BofA / soon the AmEx, and Target about 1x per 1-2 months.  I pay all balances off in full, some multiple times per month, except the dental & that will be clean by end of Jan.

I only know my EQ score and it is 747 as stated in my other post.   (Not sure how this happened either, as I paid off a debt coll. a few years ago on a Providian CC that I maxed out & had cancelled...settled a $1400 debt for about $800.)

Do I need more cards?  Fewer cards?  Do I just leave everything as-is for now?  I don't know how this game works!  

[llecs]

Your credit mix is great...I don't see how adding more cards would help your score overall if that's your goal.

[Jazzzy]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Apologies; this is long...

I am pretty new to this interest in preserving & improving my scores, & currently CCs are the best way to do it.  I just don't know how good my position is now, or how to better it...so any advice would be appreciated...

1. Due to homelessness 4-5 years ago, I no longer have the cards for my oldest 2 reporting accts.  Is there any way to get replacement cards if I can find out who to ask, or will they close accts?  1 is Victoria's Secret card, 1 is Fashion Bug (cheap chain, from when I was still a teen), no activity at all for...a long time. They may have closed your accounts, but it doesn't hurt to ask if they would reopen them with the original date. All I can do is suggest that you contact them. Sometimes the free reports from annualcreditreport.com have more account information on them (such as account numbers) and may even give you a contact phone number. If they won't reopen with the original date, I don't see any benefit for you to having these cards.

2. 5 current CC's: a Target (store only) $1000, LLBean Visa $2500, BofA Platinum MC $4500, and now the AmEx Green...  Plus an account with MedChoice Financial, $5500 limit, I used it to fund dental work for my significant other & it is paid down to only $500 (no interest if paid off in a year, which it will be). As said in a prior post, this list is good. You have major banks/issuers (BofA and AmEx)...so, you're good here.

3. My combined CL (not including the AmEx) is, and this strikes me as odd, over 40% of my annual income.  I obviously don't charge a lot, but I charge regularly between the LLBean / BofA / soon the AmEx, and Target about 1x per 1-2 months.  I pay all balances off in full, some multiple times per month, except the dental & that will be clean by end of Jan. You are handling your balances well. Remember, that for credit reporting and FICO scores, what is counted is the amount that is reported on your statement (for most credit cards). Therefore, if getting close to applying for something like a mortgage, you can pay online ahead of your statement cut date in order to have a zero balance due show on the statement. It is said that it's best to let a tiny balance show on one account that you pay off as soon as you get the statement. There are different versions of your FICO score, and apparently some models like to see a bit of usage.

I only know my EQ score and it is 747 as stated in my other post.   (Not sure how this happened either, as I paid off a debt coll. a few years ago on a Providian CC that I maxed out & had cancelled...settled a $1400 debt for about $800.) Make sure you're getting true FICO scores (and not Vantage, Plus, TransRisk, etc.) if you truly want to know your "credit score." Did you settle your Providian CC directly with Providian, or was this debt sent to a collection agency. I don't know if you'd have any luck writing a Goodwill letter to the creditor to see if they would remove the account from your reports. Providian isn't around anymore...so, that's why I wondered if it was a collection agency.

Do I need more cards?  Fewer cards?  Do I just leave everything as-is for now?  I don't know how this game works!  Looks as if you're playing the game well...especially if you were homeless 4-5 years ago. Good job!

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[Anonymous]

LynetteM - I paid $7.95 or $8.95 to get my EQ report + FICO score; it says right on the page "You FICO score of 747 summarizes the information on your Equifax Credit File as of December 12, 2009."

So...that is my real honest FICO, yes? 

[Jazzzy]

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@Anonymous wrote:

LynetteM - I paid $7.95 or $8.95 to get my EQ report + FICO score; it says right on the page "You FICO score of 747 summarizes the information on your Equifax Credit File as of December 12, 2009."

So...that is my real honest FICO, yes? 

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Yes...that is the real deal.

I asked because so many people think they have an actual FICO score in hand when they don't. Equifax does sell FICO scores, so you did good! People often monitor their credit through monitoring services...and those services are fine. People need to be cautious, however, with some of the scores they sell.