When to close my sub prime credit cards?

[Anonymous]

bump

[Anonymous]

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KDM wrote:

I was under the impression that closing accounts is a bad thing.  I have a couple of accounts I'd like to close (HSBC) but I thought closing them would hurt my score and history. 

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You may take a small ding if your overall utilization rises or you have no other revolving credit.  Any hit you take to the score will be quickly offset by good payment history on existing accounts.  The damage to the score usually doesn't come until after the payment history on the account is removed and it can remain on there indefinitely but no less than ten years.  In that time you should have great history established.

Is this your oldest account?  You can always ask at anniversay for them to waive the fee and keep it open for another year while the rest of your accounts age. 

[MM1234]

I perfer to keep my cards open once Paid OFF to help my Limit Ratio. Ah! But Thats an excellent point that Brammy made ( Converting Cards ) and I forgot about that.

I did that with my Chase Bellagio Visa I got during a Vegas trip. It was a higher APR and $50 Fee I think and I wasnt gonna use it so I called and they offered to "convert" it to a Basic Chase Rewards Visa with a much lower APR and NO Fee.

So then I got to thinking..........and I called my AMEX-COSTCO card that I dont use since we moved too far from Costco and they converted that card to an AMEX BLUE with again much lower APR, NO fees and a 2x Higher Credit Limit.

After that I sat on the phone and called all my card places and asked for a Credit Increase. Some gave me $500 and a all others gave me $1000-$2000+ increase and that month I got an Alert that my scores jumped 20 POINTs. So this is a way you can still use these unwanted cards to help your score and it didnt cost me a penny. Not sure if this is off topic but figured I'd add in.

[Anonymous]

It's my HSBC card, and it's not the oldest but close to it.  It's also the lowest cl I have.  I just paid it off so I'm thinking of calling to close it out.  Should I?

[Anonymous]

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KDM wrote:

It's my HSBC card, and it's not the oldest but close to it.  It's also the lowest cl I have.  I just paid it off so I'm thinking of calling to close it out.  Should I?

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If they agree to waive the fee at the anniversay keep it another year.  If not close it.  I wouldn't close it beforehand just because you've alreay paid for the year.  HSBC can be a pain when it comes to waiving a fee so just keep it open and don't use it.  they will probably come through with a CLI in the meantime which won't hurt your utilization.  If they refuse to waive it close it and then you get to talk to a ''nice' 'Relationship manager''

[dl9346]

Thanks for all the responses. the household card is my oldest credit line since 2002 credit limit of 800 and no balance

I guess I can leave them open I called on my of orchard that I've had since 2003 with a 600 limit and they roped me in to keeping it open by waving the fee and giving me a 200 increase.

But overall my credit is looking good. I plan on keeping it this way!

[Tuscani]

Whoo hoo!

[Anonymous]

I canceled one Orchard account yesterday and will probably cancel the other one tomorrow.

[Anonymous]

Hi. 

I was discharged in Jan. 2003. I have two credit cards. One is for 1800.00 with Care Credit, a medical charge card, which is now has a CI of 2100.00.  The next card was from Wescom Credit Union whom I had paid off my car with and did not include in the BK which helped me to have a history and good credit with. This card is for 5K.   My ATM WAMU account has a credit line for $1000.00.

So I have 8K total credit. My utilization is 1800.00 of my 8k in credit. So my utilization is a little high.

I am in need of about 10 K in credit to get some things done.  I still have outstanding debt from student loans for 14K and a car debt for about 17K.  However, my father is paying off my student loan and doubling up on the payments so this is probably better to keep it on my credit than off.  My ficos are TU690, EFX697, and EXP699...yeah 699!

I have 4k in cash and am thinking that it might be better to pay down or off my Wescom card with the 1800.00 balance.  I hate to give up the cash but it will take longer for me to save the 10k then use the 4K to increase my credit.  I need a company that won't ask for check stubs as I work on commission and they always differ, sometimes double what it was, sometimes half of what it was.  But my company could vouch for my average monthly or annual income.  Any thoughts on this paying off or lowering my debt to possible get credit as well as any feedback regarding companies who are not asking for check stubs would be appreciative. I have maybe one hard inquiry.  I have heard that using multiple banks for inquiries add up to one inquiry like car shopping/inquiries as it looks like a home loan, but they are not sure vs going thru credit cards.  Thanks!

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@MM1234 wrote:
You can call in once they hit you with a fee and ask them to waive it for that year or you will close it. I did that with 1 card I have that I like for miles ( i use them alot ) and they did. The only thing is you need to remember to call them next year and so on. The extra credit limit helps your score / over all Credit Limit ratio. Even if you get a year out of them its fine. If they dont do it next year ( or say no this year ) then cancel at that time.

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I have to agree with this statemnet but with a little something to add. House hold has just come out with a near prime card as well that offers 2% cash back no annual fee and a pretty decent interest rate as well as a high limit. I would ask if they could convert to this product if possible. Their fine print says you are limited to two cards with them so if not, I would probably close oen and wait for a pre app on the newest card.

I swore off household after being under their subprime umbrella but this was an offer too good to pass up for a cash back. If you can keep them waiving the annual fee thats good byut a card stops having an effect on your score after abuot 2 years. Yo won't lose the history by closing the account but utilization on your remaining cards should be a major consideration if that will be a factor.

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I have that card! I called and tried to close my HSBC Plat MC and they said, are you sure? You don't want to use it for small purchases? I told them that I never use the card and it's just a waste of space to keep it. And the lady said, "Well how about I lock in a 2% cash back to this card. So everytime you make a purchase, you will get 2% cash back."

She sold me. lol