topic Re: Question about to many cards... in Credit Cards

Question about to many cards...

Anonymous — Thu, 09 Mar 2017 06:25:51 GMT

Hi guys, I have been following this forum for a long time and decided to post and try to interact more now that I have been able to get my credit going.

I was unable to get my credit started for a long time and recently about 3 years ago I was able to get myself atleast on my credit feet. My question is this, I have 13 cards in total... I may had gone crazy due to finally getting accepted. 1 is a secured card with capital one and has had it for over a year and still cannot get an unsecured card a unsecured credit one card. And the rest are store cards. All low CL. I do not know if I should cancel some or what to do... I can passed with no problem for store cards but cannot get passed for an unsecured credit card.

Any suggestions to help an overly spread out person...

Re: Question about to many cards...

MrsCHX — Thu, 09 Mar 2017 12:48:20 GMT

I'll take your word that you're spread out. 13 cards isn't necessarily a lot.

So what cards do you have and when were they opened?

What's your FICO scores?

How many inquiries do you have on each bureau?

What negative items are on your reports?

Re: Question about to many cards...

AverageJoesCredit — Thu, 09 Mar 2017 13:14:21 GMT

Welcome to the board Definitely post your stats as suggested by MrsCHX. This will help in giving you a better place to start. 12 store cards and a secured card should have created enough history to warrant an unsecured cc by now. Also let us know what kind of baddies may be holding you down. Thanks and again welcome

Re: Question about to many cards...

Anonymous — Thu, 09 Mar 2017 13:24:40 GMT

12 store cards IMO is far too many. Heck, 3 IMO is too many. Store cards aren't a good look and could potentially hold you back from obtaining and growing real cards. As a general rule, I would never suggest anyone have more than 1/4 of their total cards be store cards. I would definitely look into closing a large portion of them down if I were you.

Re: Question about to many cards...

Anonymous — Thu, 09 Mar 2017 17:29:17 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
12 store cards IMO is far too many. Heck, 3 IMO is too many. Store cards aren't a good look and could potentially hold you back from obtaining and growing real cards. As a general rule, I would never suggest anyone have more than 1/4 of their total cards be store cards. I would definitely look into closing a large portion of them down if I were you.

I agree. I generally only open store cards for stores that I know I very frequently shop at. Excessive amounts of credit being tied up on store cards limits the amount of credit you can get elsewhere. Creditors often look at your total amount of revolving credit compared to your income. Even if you have zero credit with AMEX, for example, they may not approve you because they see you already have a ton of available credit elsewhere compared to your income. Everyone has a different variable "maximum" amount of credit they will be offered. Store cards are taken into consideration for this, despite not being a card that can be used anywhere other than the one store.

Personally, I only have 3-4 store cards and am thinking about closing down my JCP and/or Macy's card. Often it's just better to use my JetPlue Plus card for better rewards. Although, I do find very good use out of my Best Buy Card (6%+ back on everything and 12month 0% financing) and Amazon Store Card (0% Financing). You really just need to sit down and determine which store cards provide value to you, and which do not. Close the ones that give you little or no value (or less value than what a traditional credit card, which you can apply for, would provide).

Re: Question about to many cards...

joltdude — Thu, 09 Mar 2017 15:26:06 GMT

Queen (Original Poster)

Normally id be ditch the Credit One card... but not so fast....

I know I need to know what your Fico Scores are (not FAKO)... and perhaps how many inquiries you have on the various Credit Bureaus......(Hard Pulls)

I'm thinking depending on the score, might need to prune some of those store cards, get rid of the Credit One (not the Cap One)... and possibly go for another secured card with a more mainstream/prime bank that is KNOWN TO GRADUATE... If you didn't end up in this predicament, i would be like.. bypass the secured cards entirely.... but not with the present data...

Some thoughts.. check for preapprovals for an unsecured card with Cap One is an option as well... they are pretty solid but im flying blind not knowing your scores and the reason code for your denials.... Sometimes Cap One cards graduate but its still not very common or predictable..

If your not burned anyone you could try for a Secured Discover and/or Secured BOA card, and still close the Credit One....

I wish you luck and please do try to fill in the missing bits so forum folks can give more personalized ideas for you..

-J

(You want to replace some of those store cards, with some major cc's)

Re: Question about to many cards...

Anonymous — Thu, 09 Mar 2017 15:33:18 GMT

@joltdude wrote:

I'm thinking depending on the score, might need to prune some of those store cards, get rid of the Credit One (not the Cap One)... and possibly go for another secured card with a more mainstream/prime bank that is KNOWN TO GRADUATE... If you didn't end up in this predicament, i would be like.. bypass the secured cards entirely.... but not with the present data...

Oh gosh, I missed the part where OP mentioned Credit One. I'd dump that thing ASAP. Credit One is a predatory lender in my book and I see no reason anyone should ever do business with them. That being said, I'd try for the Discover IT Secured card. It has a good history of graduating to the unsecured version after the 7th statement.

Re: Question about to many cards...

MrsCHX — Thu, 09 Mar 2017 16:16:58 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
12 store cards IMO is far too many. Heck, 3 IMO is too many. Store cards aren't a good look and could potentially hold you back from obtaining and growing real cards. As a general rule, I would never suggest anyone have more than 1/4 of their total cards be store cards. I would definitely look into closing a large portion of them down if I were you.

Where on earth did this originate?

OP I have 9 store cards. Had 12 but closed Overstock, JCrew and Kohls yesterday. They no longer served a purpose for me and the limits were low. I still have Walmart ($6k), Amazon ($5k), TJ Maxx ($3.5k), AE ($3.5k), Taget ($2k), VS ($1.5k), AnnTaylor ($750), Macy's ($600), and Pier1 ($500).

With my 12 store cards I still managed, in the last 4 weeks, to be approved for Marvel ($1.5k), Barclay NFL ($1.3k), AMEX BCE ($2k) and lastly, with allllllll 12 "bad" store cards...AMEX Delta Gold for $10,000.

Your profile will determine what you are eligible for with each lender. As you build your credit and add major bank cards, your profile improves. The BAD thing about adding store cards is people adding random cards just because they can get approved. Yep, I'm guilty of it too during my rebuild. You want to add cards that will benefit you be they store or major.

RIght now, as mentioned, you need to focus on dumping Credit One. I totally missed that as well. I agree with adding a good secured card like BOA or Discover if you can.

Re: Question about to many cards...

oldman425 — Thu, 09 Mar 2017 16:42:18 GMT

IMO having a store card for a place you almost never shop at is a waste. With that said my store cards are approx. 10% of my total available credit. Every person on here can choose whatever they want when it comes to their credit, some want $100K or more in credit while others are happy with just $10K-$20K. Just do whatever you feel most comfortable with.

Re: Question about to many cards...

joltdude — Thu, 09 Mar 2017 19:00:35 GMT

@MrsCHX wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
12 store cards IMO is far too many. Heck, 3 IMO is too many. Store cards aren't a good look and could potentially hold you back from obtaining and growing real cards. As a general rule, I would never suggest anyone have more than 1/4 of their total cards be store cards. I would definitely look into closing a large portion of them down if I were you.
Where on earth did this originate?

OP I have 9 store cards. Had 12 but closed Overstock, JCrew and Kohls yesterday. They no longer served a purpose for me and the limits were low. I still have Walmart ($6k), Amazon ($5k), TJ Maxx ($3.5k), AE ($3.5k), Taget ($2k), VS ($1.5k), AnnTaylor ($750), Macy's ($600), and Pier1 ($500).

With my 12 store cards I still managed, in the last 4 weeks, to be approved for Marvel ($1.5k), Barclay NFL ($1.3k), AMEX BCE ($2k) and lastly, with allllllll 12 "bad" store cards...AMEX Delta Gold for $10,000.

Your profile will determine what you are eligible for with each lender. As you build your credit and add major bank cards, your profile improves. The BAD thing about adding store cards is people adding random cards just because they can get approved. Yep, I'm guilty of it too during my rebuild. You want to add cards that will benefit you be they store or major.

RIght now, as mentioned, you need to focus on dumping Credit One. I totally missed that as well. I agree with adding a good secured card like BOA or Discover if you can.

Really do think that when the ratio of store cards to majors is high it doesn't look as good on manual underwriting/review... Say a mortgage app... Some issuers have and do question folks with a bunch of store cards... Heard of Barclays doing it, as well as Chase and BOA. That said.. if you use them, and pay them off, thats all that really matters... But... and this is just a thought... the high inquiry counts to get these.. assuming they arent all shopping card tricks... and how its eating into your AAoA... that may be more relivant in the OPs scenereo

MrsCHX..

My question to you... Why do you still have a Merrick card? Does it have an AF? Is it a Double Your Limit and if so has it doubled yet? Just curious

-J

Re: Question about to many cards...

MrsCHX — Thu, 09 Mar 2017 20:16:16 GMT

@joltdude wrote:
Really do think that when the ratio of store cards to majors is high it doesn't look as good on manual underwriting/review... Say a mortgage app... Some issuers have and do question folks with a bunch of store cards... Heard of Barclays doing it, as well as Chase and BOA. That said.. if you use them, and pay them off, thats all that really matters... But... and this is just a thought... the high inquiry counts to get these.. assuming they arent all shopping card tricks... and how its eating into your AAoA... that may be more relivant in the OPs scenereo

Does the inquiry count decrease for majors? People who have 12 majors still have 12 INQs and the hit to AAoA, no?

Look, I'm not saying go out and get all the store cards -- of course not! People should honestly only app for a card (be it store or major) that will benefit them and their credit profile. I just think there are WAY too many attacks on store cards, especially with people who are rebuilding. People are made to feel bad and in some cases put down (not saying you did this) when they discuss store card approvals. It's frustrating and a little annoying.

MrsCHX..
My question to you... Why do you still have a Merrick card? Does it have an AF? Is it a Double Your Limit and if so has it doubled yet? Just curious
-J

Yes it has doubled. As mentioned, my 4 new majors are within the last 4 weeks. Merrick is on the chopping block at it's 2 year anniversary. As is GM BuyPower Card. Ann Taylor and Firestone may get the ax too at some point...

Re: Question about to many cards...

Anonymous — Sat, 11 Mar 2017 23:57:02 GMT

@MrsCHX wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
12 store cards IMO is far too many. Heck, 3 IMO is too many. Store cards aren't a good look and could potentially hold you back from obtaining and growing real cards. As a general rule, I would never suggest anyone have more than 1/4 of their total cards be store cards. I would definitely look into closing a large portion of them down if I were you.
Where on earth did this originate?

OP I have 9 store cards. Had 12 but closed Overstock, JCrew and Kohls yesterday. They no longer served a purpose for me and the limits were low. I still have Walmart ($6k), Amazon ($5k), TJ Maxx ($3.5k), AE ($3.5k), Taget ($2k), VS ($1.5k), AnnTaylor ($750), Macy's ($600), and Pier1 ($500).

With my 12 store cards I still managed, in the last 4 weeks, to be approved for Marvel ($1.5k), Barclay NFL ($1.3k), AMEX BCE ($2k) and lastly, with allllllll 12 "bad" store cards...AMEX Delta Gold for $10,000.

Your profile will determine what you are eligible for with each lender. As you build your credit and add major bank cards, your profile improves. The BAD thing about adding store cards is people adding random cards just because they can get approved. Yep, I'm guilty of it too during my rebuild. You want to add cards that will benefit you be they store or major.

RIght now, as mentioned, you need to focus on dumping Credit One. I totally missed that as well. I agree with adding a good secured card like BOA or Discover if you can.

Store cards simply aren't as good (useful) as major cards. They can only be used one place. And, since they can only be used at one place, the question then his how much money can one really spend at just one place. Especially if they have 12 cards that are each for just 1 place. Under manual review this does not look favorable. If you spend $100/mo at a store on average and have a store card for them that's got a $1500-$2000 limit, what's the point in having that store card? Using a 2% general spend card would more than suffice.

There are constraints to every credit profile with respect to overall credit limits. Maybe my profile can support $125k in credit limits. If I've got $30k or $40k tied in up in store cards, it's going to potentially prevent the growth of a prime card or cards at some point... that is, a card that's far more useful overall than a handful of store cards.

Re: Question about to many cards...

Anonymous — Sun, 12 Mar 2017 00:13:12 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@MrsCHX wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
12 store cards IMO is far too many. Heck, 3 IMO is too many. Store cards aren't a good look and could potentially hold you back from obtaining and growing real cards. As a general rule, I would never suggest anyone have more than 1/4 of their total cards be store cards. I would definitely look into closing a large portion of them down if I were you.
Where on earth did this originate?

OP I have 9 store cards. Had 12 but closed Overstock, JCrew and Kohls yesterday. They no longer served a purpose for me and the limits were low. I still have Walmart ($6k), Amazon ($5k), TJ Maxx ($3.5k), AE ($3.5k), Taget ($2k), VS ($1.5k), AnnTaylor ($750), Macy's ($600), and Pier1 ($500).

With my 12 store cards I still managed, in the last 4 weeks, to be approved for Marvel ($1.5k), Barclay NFL ($1.3k), AMEX BCE ($2k) and lastly, with allllllll 12 "bad" store cards...AMEX Delta Gold for $10,000.

Your profile will determine what you are eligible for with each lender. As you build your credit and add major bank cards, your profile improves. The BAD thing about adding store cards is people adding random cards just because they can get approved. Yep, I'm guilty of it too during my rebuild. You want to add cards that will benefit you be they store or major.

RIght now, as mentioned, you need to focus on dumping Credit One. I totally missed that as well. I agree with adding a good secured card like BOA or Discover if you can.
Store cards simply aren't as good (useful) as major cards. They can only be used one place. And, since they can only be used at one place, the question then his how much money can one really spend at just one place. Especially if they have 12 cards that are each for just 1 place. Under manual review this does not look favorable. If you spend $100/mo at a store on average and have a store card for them that's got a $1500-$2000 limit, what's the point in having that store card? Using a 2% general spend card would more than suffice.

There are constraints to every credit profile with respect to overall credit limits. Maybe my profile can support $125k in credit limits. If I've got $30k or $40k tied in up in store cards, it's going to potentially prevent the growth of a prime card or cards at some point... that is, a card that's far more useful overall than a handful of store cards.

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/General-Credit-Topics/Credit-Score-amp-Car-Insurance/td-p/4806481

Reason: Post #2.

The insurance posters over at MyFico reference store cards weighing unfavorably during quoting. Possible reason to trim some store card baggage.

...unless you're not looking for insurance anytime soon. Then by all means, no sweat for your deck.

Re: Question about to many cards...

MrsCHX — Sun, 12 Mar 2017 05:57:55 GMT

So still a lot of "maybe random thing A happens or maybe random thing B happens..."

MAYBE you'll have to undergo manual review for credit.
MAYBE you'll max out on overall credit (closing cards is an option)
MAYBE it's an insurance issue (personally I've had two different quotes in the last year that came back pretty decent with no references to my store cards. I'm not saying it's not a thing just as with everything else, YMMV. Your entire profile will determine your credit worthiness)
MAYBE...

Yes, there *is* benefit to having a card to one place if you shop there frequently. I saved more dollars in 2016 using my RedCard than I earned on my rewards card. Some people don't want to chase bonus categories so let's say you've got a solid card with either 1.5% or 2% cash back on everything. Still doesn't touch my 5% I get at a target on everything I buy. And I'm there 4-6 times per week. Sometimes more than once a day :-p Food, makeup, household goods, personal care, clothes, shoes, electronics...we buy a lot from Target. It's an excellent choice for me to have in my wallet.

I can use my AMEX or QS or...but I ain't getting 5%.

Again, it's better to explain pros and cons to people and hammer home the point to not grab every store card that's offered. But the belabor the point that they're "useless" is just silly. And again, ESPECIALLY with rebuilders.

I'm not sure why people who hate store cards are overwhelmingly drawn to these types of threads...By all means tell someone not to get 12 Comenity SCT cards...but the comments about AAoA (oh that's different for store vs major?) or inquiries (again, different? No.) are so tired.

Re: Question about to many cards...

Thomas_Thumb — Sun, 12 Mar 2017 15:04:03 GMT

Best to keep # of store cards low. The credit world is much bigger than Fico.

Although Fico does not look at average CL per card nor how many store cards/retail cards one has, credit based insurance scores (CBIS) absolutely look at those factors ... and they weigh # of new accounts and how new those accounts are more heavily than either Fico or VantageScore models.

CBIS scores are automated - not a manual review. Those that drive some type of motorized vehicle are required to have some type of "Auto" insurance and home owners/renters should have property insurance. A low average CL coupled with a a few new accounts and high percentage of retail/score cards can certainly drive down CBIS to a level that could result in a doubling of insurance premiums.

A prudent strategy is to shed non value add store cards, avoid applying for more store cards and focus on "bank cards" - AMEX/Visa/Mastercard/Discover where you can get generous CLIs over time with just an SP. Then keep those cards to grow your AAoA. [side note - As I recall, LexisNexis CBIS counts store/retail accounts as a negative even if the account is closed as long as it is on your credit report. BTW - LN pulls from Equifax.]

Re: Question about to many cards...

Anonymous — Mon, 13 Mar 2017 05:09:24 GMT

What cards are they are their limits? How old are they? What is FICO score?

We can help get you situated on right path but need more info.

In general start with the axing of small limit store cards. Then if you have say 3-4 Synchrony cards you would want to keep your favorites and get the limits raised high. Then in 6 months use those limits as leverage to get you in on decent starting limits with prime lenders.

Re: Question about to many cards...

K-in-Boston — Mon, 13 Mar 2017 15:07:45 GMT

The OP has disappeared it seems.

As for store cards, they can certainly serve several purposes. Underwriting is often much more lenient for those just starting or rebuilding credit, so they are a good way of demonstrating that you can handle credit when it is extended to you. For me, I do a lot of shopping at Amazon and home improvement stores (hence Lowe's card) and every few years make a large purchase at Best Buy - the instant 5% back as a statement credit (6% back in rewards on BB) saves me much more than a 2% major would, plus there is always an option to take 0% for 6-24 months, so I can apply that money to paying down higher interest debt first while taking my time to pay off a purchase I would normally just pay in full. The Target card is one of my oldest and it gets me an instant 5% off when I shop there. The Kohl's card also saves me an additional 10% on those months where the wife only gets a 20% off coupon and I get the 30%.

They certainly all serve a purpose for me, at least, and I have never received a denial stating that I had too many store cards - and I just closed another 4 or 5 in the past year that I was no longer using. I can maybe see the insurance aspect of it, but fortunately live in one of the 3 states (CA, HI, MA) that prohibit credit scores from being used in insurance pricing. I would certainly not suggest getting a ton of low-limit stores cards that you'll never use just because you could get approved, though.

Re: Question about to many cards...

joltdude — Mon, 13 Mar 2017 17:54:40 GMT

Seen a few of these drive-by postings lately... Sometimes I think its the poster doesn't want to necessarily face reality... They post it.. see a few responses and they want Alternative Facts.....and i think they are repeated posts in hopes that the outcome changes..... Sad because I think in general everyone here wants to help them out...