When do you decide to stop the apps and garden?

[Kb109]

When I start getting denied, LOL. Also if you're planning on buying a house or car in the next two years.

[Anonymous]

^ buying a car isn't a big deal if you have credit card apps. especially if they're over 6 months old... car credit is much different.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I only get cards that have some use and not for Intro offers. If I don't use a card for at least 1 time a year, I will not apply and continue gardening. But if I do have a useless card, I'll keep it allive for AAoA if no AF.

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AAoA is not a reason to keep a card open that you're not using since closing it has no impact.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

I only get cards that have some use and not for Intro offers. If I don't use a card for at least 1 time a year, I will not apply and continue gardening. But if I do have a useless card, I'll keep it allive for AAoA if no AF.

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AAoA is not a reason to keep a card open that you're not using since closing it has no impact.

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Well it does in 10 years. We have the option of closing, but rarely do we have the chance to reopen. And I have no idea what the FICO formula will be in the future. So I like to keep my options open. So if cost of keeping it open and maintaining is worth it, then I'll do it.

[Anonymous]

For us, it was easy. We had only opened credit cards in the first place to help build our score to allow us to get a non-FHA mortgage. We opened what the mortgage broker advised we open (2 major lines and a store card each) and have now stopped and are gardening.

However, after learning more, we'll probably keep the credit lines open long term. We'll also probably drop the store cards once we've closed on our mortgage. In the future, I'd also like to go to a fee-free card or at least a fee card with more benefits. (One of each of our cards is fee-free, the other isn't.) We have no problem using the cards as debit cards, paying them off as soon as the balance posts to the account so I'm sure we'll have no problems moving up to prime cards in the future should we so desire.

If we have a store card, I'd like it to be a better store card, like Amazon, Target, or Costco...something that we actually use on a regular basis. Granted, the 2 that we DID get were purposely for Comenity stores that we DO use, but they're stores we shop at only once or twice a year...not on a monthly or other regular basis.