topic Re: Too Much Open Credit Cards ? in Credit Card Applications

Too Much Open Credit Cards ?

PointsBonus — Mon, 28 Nov 2022 23:06:58 GMT

Fellow team members,

I was today to do something which I am confused by a bank.

"You are declined because you have way too many OPEN CREDIT CARDS WITH 0 BALANCE, too much open exposure, you should close some and reapply"

Seems like the complete opposite to f what I have been doing. More CC More CLI helps utilizations.

should I close my CC or was I told wrong info ?
Thank you all in advance

Re: Too Much Open Credit Cards ?

Jnbmom — Mon, 28 Nov 2022 23:09:00 GMT

@PointsBonus

What lender told you that and was that their exact words ?

Re: Too Much Open Credit Cards ?

PointsBonus — Mon, 28 Nov 2022 23:12:14 GMT

@Jnbmom

yes word for word - Truist

Re: Too Much Open Credit Cards ?

Jnbmom — Mon, 28 Nov 2022 23:14:47 GMT

@PointsBonus wrote:
@Jnbmom
yes word for word - Truist

Wow I have been denied for amount of credit I have usually by credit unions, but it has never been worded like that and honestly truist isn't the greatest bank and their products are mediocre at best .

Re: Too Much Open Credit Cards ?

FinStar — Mon, 28 Nov 2022 23:21:49 GMT

Once you get to a specific amount of unsecured exposure with all of your lenders, some banks and plenty of CUs will see you as a high risk. It also depends on what income you're reporting + other factors. Remember, unsecured credit cards aren't considered networth and some FIs get a little uneasy with some individuals' exposure. More CCs and CLIs isn't always a plus for some lenders. For instance, CUs like NASA FCU, BECU, Langley and First Tech come to mind where that particular reason for denying a CC or loan.

Which lender did you apply for?

Re: Too Much Open Credit Cards ?

FinStar — Mon, 28 Nov 2022 23:20:06 GMT

@PointsBonus wrote:
@Jnbmom
yes word for word - Truist

Yup, I can see that coming from TRUIST depending on what they're looking at (i.e. percentage of income vs unsecured exposure with all your lenders in aggregate).

Re: Too Much Open Credit Cards ?

PointsBonus — Mon, 28 Nov 2022 23:22:35 GMT

@Jnbmom .. so I am going to close 3 Truist cards I have with them. But I will hold off on the others until I see more post.

Re: Too Much Open Credit Cards ?

FinStar — Mon, 28 Nov 2022 23:27:31 GMT

@PointsBonus wrote:
@Jnbmom .. so I am going to close 3 Truist cards I have with them. But I will hold off on the others until I see more post.

Personally, I wouldn't close any of your other tradelines, unless...keyword being 'unless' you are not using or haven't used any particular card in more than 12 months and simply being used as padding. Closing 3 TRUIST CCs could help but they're not going to give you a specific amount of what you should close since algorithms could potentially still see that you may still have too much open or available exposure.

Which card were you going for? Enjoy Beyond?

Re: Too Much Open Credit Cards ?

PointsBonus — Mon, 28 Nov 2022 23:30:20 GMT

@FinStar I did not know. So ..... do I close a bunch of cards ? I am so confused lost and feel helpless.

Re: Too Much Open Credit Cards ?

PointsBonus — Mon, 28 Nov 2022 23:32:59 GMT

@FinStar Beyond became Beyond Denied and their HELOC.

I currently have a HELOC but Truist banker convinced me to apply for the loan.
Beyond Ridiculous

Re: Too Much Open Credit Cards ?

FinStar — Tue, 29 Nov 2022 01:31:32 GMT

@PointsBonus wrote:
@FinStar I did not know. So ..... do I close a bunch of cards ? I am so confused lost and feel helpless.

I wouldn't, as I mentioned upthread. How often are you even using the 3 TRUIST cards you currently have? What product are you laser-focused from TRUIST that would give you pause for doing so? Is it that critical or are there other comparable products in the market that you could try for? A metal card isn't worth closing some of your established or existing tradelines in case your going for the Beyond card. Just sayin'

Re: Too Much Open Credit Cards ?

FinStar — Mon, 28 Nov 2022 23:35:48 GMT

@PointsBonus wrote:
@FinStar Beyond became Beyond Denied and their HELOC.
I currently have a HELOC but Truist banker convinced me to apply for the loan.
Beyond Ridiculous

Their bank, their rules, though. Gotta keep that in perspective. In hindsight, another item to consider is the current economic climate. Where in the past it was a lot easier to obtain or qualify for some products, it isn't as easy these days as FIs continually adjust UW algorithms.

Re: Too Much Open Credit Cards ?

PointsBonus — Mon, 28 Nov 2022 23:45:45 GMT

@FinStar

Valid point and great advice. I will just close the Truist and leave the rest along. Forgot about trade line times. Guess Truist can have their $20,000 in exposure back ! Lol

Re: Too Much Open Credit Cards ?

FinStar — Mon, 28 Nov 2022 23:56:35 GMT

@PointsBonus wrote:
@FinStar
Valid point and great advice. I will just close the Truist and leave the rest along. Forgot about trade line times. Guess Truist can have their $20,000 in exposure back ! Lol

If you find any use for the TRUIST business card, keep that one open. Typically a bit difficult to obtain for some individuals.

Honestly, the Enjoy Beyond is nothing to write home about since I have the card. I mean, sure the SUB was decent, but for the $195 AF, I'm sure you could find better value elsewhere. I understand your fascination with metal bling, but often times some cards aren't really worth their weight -- no pun intended.

Also, you can find better HELOC options and rates with other lenders. I would shop around.

Re: Too Much Open Credit Cards ?

SUPERSQUID — Tue, 29 Nov 2022 00:58:56 GMT

@PointsBonus wrote:
@FinStar I did not know. So ..... do I close a bunch of cards ? I am so confused lost and feel helpless.

Personally I would not let it get to me. You have some very nice cards, just let this experience roll and change nothing. Truist is the loser here in my view.

Re: Too Much Open Credit Cards ?

12njoy — Tue, 29 Nov 2022 01:26:27 GMT

@FinStar wrote:
@PointsBonus wrote:
@Jnbmom
yes word for word - Truist
Yup, I can see that coming from TRUIST depending on what they're looking at (i.e. percentage of income vs unsecured exposure with all your lenders in aggregate).

That would explain why I can never get a preapproval from them, despite having four low limit cards from them already

Re: Too Much Open Credit Cards ?

12njoy — Tue, 29 Nov 2022 01:36:09 GMT

If no annual fee, I would let them sit. If you have an annual fee then I would weigh that against any specific reasons for keeping (i.e. padding, higher limit, etc.). I had four BB&T cards all of which were about 6,500 each and I closed them because I thought they should have given me more. I thought closing them and reapplying after a while would work for me. Fast forward a couple of years and I applied again, I again have four now Truist cards (2 @4,500, 1 @9k and 1@6,500). I'm pretty much right back where I was in the first place (4 inq's later). The 9k card has a AF which I pay but the rest have no AF.

Re: Too Much Open Credit Cards ?

FinStar — Tue, 29 Nov 2022 01:40:01 GMT

@12njoy wrote:
@FinStar wrote:
@PointsBonus wrote:
@Jnbmom
yes word for word - Truist
Yup, I can see that coming from TRUIST depending on what they're looking at (i.e. percentage of income vs unsecured exposure with all your lenders in aggregate).
That would explain why I can never get a preapproval from them, despite having four low limit cards from them already

Yup. Maybe one day they allow account combinations or CL reallocations. SunTrust did pre-merger, but those policies went out the window once system platforms were integrated 🤷‍♂️ I have some overlap from both BB&T + SunTrust and ended up with 7 🥴, but since the limits are pretty decent, I'm just biding my time until they can update policies. Otherwise, I can cut a few of them. Same with PNC with BBVA's acquisition as far as overlap goes.

Re: Too Much Open Credit Cards ?

Adkins — Tue, 29 Nov 2022 02:20:04 GMT

@PointsBonus wrote:
Fellow team members,
I was today to do something which I am confused by a bank.

"You are declined because you have way too many OPEN CREDIT CARDS WITH 0 BALANCE, too much open exposure, you should close some and reapply"

Seems like the complete opposite to f what I have been doing. More CC More CLI helps utilizations.

should I close my CC or was I told wrong info ?
Thank you all in advance

I had the representative from Langley tell me this when I applied for one of their cards. Needless to say I didn't get their card and I haven't closed any of mine. 🤷

Re: Too Much Open Credit Cards ?

PointsBonus — Tue, 29 Nov 2022 02:39:57 GMT

Closed all 3 Truist. Closing them was interesting. So I called the 800 number from the Truist App, and after pressing the correct buttons, the representative was very nice and was able to CLOSE the Legacy SunTrust one, but she had to transfer me to BB&T to close the other 2 BB&T Visa. She informed me that the credit cards are still under two different systems. Glad I closed them, imagine having issues wit the cards ?

** And updated my signatures **