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Orchard Bank Must Be Desperate

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Underh20
Frequent Contributor

Orchard Bank Must Be Desperate

After 15 years stationed overseas I decided to re-establish my credit history and two years ago got a decent Chase card.  Chase has been good.  Then, a year ago, I got an orchard Bank Card with no AF and an under 9% APR.  Only problem is that the Orchard card had a measely $750 limit and just using it at Amazon for $100 puts your credit utilization at about 14%.  Needless to say, I only used it once ever couple of months.  At that time I wasn't on the forum here and didn't know that Orchard not only never grew with you, but was also relatively dyslexic.

 

Today I just discovered that sometime within the last 48 hours Orchard CLD'd me to $300.  A $300 credit card is a joke.  A semi-decent meal puts you at over 10% credit utilization.  Cancelling the card will cause my AAoA to drop from .6 years to .4 so I don't see much harm in closing it.  I'm going to cut up the card and send it to HSBC Group Chairman of the Board [edited!]Smiley Happy

 

(Posting of personal information, including full names, is prohibited by our TOS.  Please refrain from posting such information in the FICO Forums.  Thanks for your cooperation. - Scamp, Mod)

Message Edited by Scamp on 06-28-2009 09:30 AM
Message 1 of 6
5 REPLIES 5
cw81
Frequent Contributor

Re: Orchard Bank Must Be Desperate


Underh20 wrote:

Today I just discovered that sometime within the last 48 hours Orchard CLD'd me to $300A $300 credit card is a jokeA semi-decent meal puts you at over 10% credit utilizationCancelling the card will cause my AAoA to drop from .6 years to .4 so I don't see much harm in closing itI'm going to cut up the card and send it to HSBC Group Chairman of the Board [edited] Smiley Happy


 

Sorry about the  CLD  but  I wanted to point out closing your account will not  drop your  AAoA it will  decrease the amount of credit available for  your util calculations  . Opening a new account  drops your  AAoA as your closed account will remain on your report for about 10 years after  closure.  I would suggest a CU  to replace that Tradeline  good luck with your  rebuilding

 

 

 

Message Edited by Scamp on 06-28-2009 09:31 AM
Message 2 of 6
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Orchard Bank Must Be Desperate

Fact: Know your products- HSBC/Orchard are rebuilder cards.

 

They are credit cards that benefit people by siomply starting/re-starting them with a credit line and Payment history.

 

That's it. CL, APR, FEES are not really a concern cause they are builder rebuilder cards, stepping stones for people to get real credit lines started again. People who get issued them are simply happy to say they have  credit card in their wallet and for the most part Utilization is the least of their concern as they are simply trying to establish a viable payment history.

 


Now if you have been "stationed" overseas I am assuming with US Military.


If by chance you are still AD or retired (where the government is paying you a check) or if you have a DOD affiliation you should immediately look into membership in Navy Federal Credit Union.

 

They will more than likely be able to meet your neds and let your credit lines grow, and your FICO improve.

 

Message 3 of 6
Underh20
Frequent Contributor

Re: Orchard Bank Must Be Desperate

I'm not worried about credit utilization or replacing the TL.  I'm currently at under 0.15% with total available credit slightly over $50k on my US-based accounts only.  Now that I know that dropping Orchard Bank will not mess with my AAoA, dropping them is a done deal.

 

Regarding NFCU, I might join again next year, but it depends.  I really have no need for another checking account and I seriously doubt NFCU can compare with USAA who has been very, very good to me.  True NFCU has better rates on CD's, but not as good as Alliant's and I just joined Alliant a couple of months ago and am quite pleased with everything other than the corny design on their Visa card.

 

When I applied for Orchard last year it was only because at the time I only had two TLs and thought that was a little too thin.  Although I had an idea that they were rebuilders, I thought that since it was under the HSBC umbrella that they would allow for growth.  I was wrong. 

 

Funny how HSBC USA has such a crappy, subprime reputation in just about everything yet HSBC in Hong Kong and other parts of Asia is noted as being a pretty much elite-level bank.  Unfortunately I didn't know that at the time, but now I know.   

Message 4 of 6
creditwherecreditisdue
Senior Contributor

Re: Orchard Bank Must Be Desperate


@Anonymous wrote:

Fact: Know your products- HSBC/Orchard are rebuilder cards.

 

They are credit cards that benefit people by siomply starting/re-starting them with a credit line and Payment history.

 

That's it. CL, APR, FEES are not really a concern cause they are builder rebuilder cards, stepping stones for people to get real credit lines started again. People who get issued them are simply happy to say they have  credit card in their wallet and for the most part Utilization is the least of their concern as they are simply trying to establish a viable payment history.


Fact: This is not necessarily true - see my post elsewhere.

Message 5 of 6
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Orchard Bank Must Be Desperate

Many of us close Orchard accounts because it is recreational for us to do so. They really are the worst.
Message 6 of 6
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