topic Re: Should I close Target Red Card? in Credit Cards

Should I close Target Red Card?

mgs2010 — Tue, 08 Mar 2022 14:59:27 GMT

Hey Everyone!

I haven't posted on here in a LONG time. Long story short, over a decade ago I filed ch7 bk and never burned Target. They were my first card I was approved for right after my discharge. Started with a $300 limit; currently sits at $600 limit. Little to no growth as you can see. My scores are currently in the lower 800s - I have a very nice portfolio of prime cards with very high limits. I just don't think I have a use for this tiny limit redcard anymore, though I fear that closing it out will hurt my score. I never carry balances - my overall utilization is 1% which is just the statement balances that get PIF every month...I'm just at a loss that this account will not grow with me.

Any tips on how to make some headway with this account? I don't necessarily want to give it up since it's been with me since my bankruptcy discharge so she and I go WAY back but it's annoying that every other card I have aquired over the years has grown with me except this one.

I appreciate your input!

Re: Should I close Target Red Card?

Red1Blue — Tue, 08 Mar 2022 15:10:22 GMT

If there is no AF I would leave the card. When you use this card at Target you get 5% off. If you want to close the card you can do that too. At this point I am not sure if it is going to make much difference either way.

Re: Should I close Target Red Card?

dragontears — Tue, 08 Mar 2022 15:14:09 GMT

@mgs2010 wrote:
Hey Everyone!

I haven't posted on here in a LONG time. Long story short, over a decade ago I filed ch7 bk and never burned Target. They were my first card I was approved for right after my discharge. Started with a $300 limit; currently sits at $600 limit. Little to no growth as you can see. My scores are currently in the lower 800s - I have a very nice portfolio of prime cards with very high limits. I just don't think I have a use for this tiny limit redcard anymore, though I fear that closing it out will hurt my score. I never carry balances - my overall utilization is 1% which is just the statement balances that get PIF every month...I'm just at a loss that this account will not grow with me.

Any tips on how to make some headway with this account? I don't necessarily want to give it up since it's been with me since my bankruptcy discharge so she and I go WAY back but it's annoying that every other card I have aquired over the years has grown with me except this one.

I appreciate your input!

It shouldn't affect your scores if you close it.

You don't have to answer but nowhere in your post do you mention if you have use for the card. So is the limit too low for what you want to buy at Target or are you just offended that the card isn't "growing" the way you think it should?

Re: Should I close Target Red Card?

pinkandgrey — Tue, 08 Mar 2022 15:14:48 GMT

I suppose it depends. Do you still use the card? If you shop at Target a lot and use that card, then no harm in keeping it and just keep trying for those CLIs. If you find yourself not using the card due to its low limit, then I would absolutely close it. The good history behind it will stay on your report for several years. By the time it falls off your reports, it won't matter much anyway.

For me personally, I close cards immediately if I find myself not using or wanting to use them. I just prefer the simplicity over caring too much about a number/score that fluctuates constantly anyway.

Good luck to you!

Re: Should I close Target Red Card?

GApeachy — Tue, 08 Mar 2022 15:57:24 GMT

@mgs2010 wrote:
Any tips on how to make some headway with this account?

Wondering (just wondering) if you were to try a purchase well above your Target cl and see if perhaps they'd approve/ bump cl up to cover said purchase. Not encouraging frivolous spending but when there's actually some big ticket item (TV, computer, camera) you'd be needing/wanting later on to experiment with. If so, I'd hold off on closing the card and perhaps trying that route first just to see if TD Bank would, going by current scores, etc, bump it on up.

Another thought is if your profile of cards with such low utl. discourages TDBank from extending anymore credit that could potentially be underutilized. As of late, it appears cli's have been extended to rather active accts. though not necessarily large amts. but just a good bit of activity on a monthly basis. +/- a month or two.

Re: Should I close Target Red Card?

Brian_Earl_Spilner — Tue, 08 Mar 2022 15:52:56 GMT

TD Bank will raise the limit when they feel like it. There's no way around it. There's a theory here to update your income every month then let a balance post to trigger an increase. It hasn't been proven one way or the other.

Re: Should I close Target Red Card?

MileHigh96 — Tue, 08 Mar 2022 16:41:56 GMT

@mgs2010 wrote:
Hey Everyone!

I haven't posted on here in a LONG time. Long story short, over a decade ago I filed ch7 bk and never burned Target. They were my first card I was approved for right after my discharge. Started with a $300 limit; currently sits at $600 limit. Little to no growth as you can see. My scores are currently in the lower 800s - I have a very nice portfolio of prime cards with very high limits. I just don't think I have a use for this tiny limit redcard anymore, though I fear that closing it out will hurt my score. I never carry balances - my overall utilization is 1% which is just the statement balances that get PIF every month...I'm just at a loss that this account will not grow with me.

Any tips on how to make some headway with this account? I don't necessarily want to give it up since it's been with me since my bankruptcy discharge so she and I go WAY back but it's annoying that every other card I have aquired over the years has grown with me except this one.

I appreciate your input!

When was the last time you tried a manual CLI?

Re: Should I close Target Red Card?

mgs2010 — Tue, 08 Mar 2022 16:53:34 GMT

Does Target even do manual CLI? It's been many years since I have called them to ask but If I remember correctly, they said something like they do not review customer initiated requests for limit increases.

I use the card monthly for small purchases because my rule of thumb is to never go beyond 6% util on any account ever...so this $600 limit makes it rather difficult to do any real shopping on. I guess it doesn't hurt to keep it around, but it would sure be nice it Target would recognize the effort that I've put into literally rebuilding my credit from absolute trash to over 800s today.

Re: Should I close Target Red Card?

OmarGB9 — Tue, 08 Mar 2022 17:01:52 GMT

@MileHigh96 wrote:
@mgs2010 wrote:
Hey Everyone!

I haven't posted on here in a LONG time. Long story short, over a decade ago I filed ch7 bk and never burned Target. They were my first card I was approved for right after my discharge. Started with a $300 limit; currently sits at $600 limit. Little to no growth as you can see. My scores are currently in the lower 800s - I have a very nice portfolio of prime cards with very high limits. I just don't think I have a use for this tiny limit redcard anymore, though I fear that closing it out will hurt my score. I never carry balances - my overall utilization is 1% which is just the statement balances that get PIF every month...I'm just at a loss that this account will not grow with me.

Any tips on how to make some headway with this account? I don't necessarily want to give it up since it's been with me since my bankruptcy discharge so she and I go WAY back but it's annoying that every other card I have aquired over the years has grown with me except this one.

I appreciate your input!
When was the last time you tried a manual CLI?

TD Bank doesn't do user initiated requests.

@mgs2010 wrote:
Does Target even do manual CLI? It's been many years since I have called them to ask but If I remember correctly, they said something like they do not review customer initiated requests for limit increases.

I use the card monthly for small purchases because my rule of thumb is to never go beyond 6% util on any account ever...so this $600 limit makes it rather difficult to do any real shopping on. I guess it doesn't hurt to keep it around, but it would sure be nice it Target would recognize the effort that I've put into literally rebuilding my credit from absolute trash to over 800s today.

So, when you say you never go over 6%, do you mean you just flat out don't spend past that at any point in a cycle, or you mean you don't want to let a balance over 6% *post*? Because there's a big difference between the two. You can really spend as much as you want and just pay down the card to 6% or less before the cycle closes.

Re: Should I close Target Red Card?

Drifter73 — Tue, 08 Mar 2022 17:02:25 GMT

@mgs2010 wrote:
Does Target even do manual CLI? It's been many years since I have called them to ask but If I remember correctly, they said something like they do not review customer initiated requests for limit increases.

I use the card monthly for small purchases because my rule of thumb is to never go beyond 6% util on any account ever...so this $600 limit makes it rather difficult to do any real shopping on. I guess it doesn't hurt to keep it around, but it would sure be nice it Target would recognize the effort that I've put into literally rebuilding my credit from absolute trash to over 800s today.

The only real benefit I've found for my RedCard, is that they sell groceries. So it's basically just being used as a 5%cb emergency or convenient grocery spend card and the random last minute quick gift card for someone.

Other than that, I really don't use it, so I suppose it's now a "just in case" card that I put a few bucks on every few months to keep it open.

You may not need a just in case grocery card, so my methodology may not apply to your situation.

Re: Should I close Target Red Card?

AverageJoesCredit — Tue, 08 Mar 2022 17:03:37 GMT

@mgs2010 wrote:
Does Target even do manual CLI? It's been many years since I have called them to ask but If I remember correctly, they said something like they do not review customer initiated requests for limit increases.

I use the card monthly for small purchases because my rule of thumb is to never go beyond 6% util on any account ever...so this $600 limit makes it rather difficult to do any real shopping on. I guess it doesn't hurt to keep it around, but it would sure be nice it Target would recognize the effort that I've put into literally rebuilding my credit from absolute trash to over 800s today.

Imo micromanaging a credit card to not go over a certain percentage is overkill. If you are pif the charges before the statement cuts there really is no reason to cut yourself from utilizing your credit line. If you have a 10000 card, it's not written you must use only 3000 or the heavens will fall lol. Honestly, just use your cc, pay it on time, update your income periodically and you might get better results. Just my take on things

Re: Should I close Target Red Card?

dragontears — Tue, 08 Mar 2022 17:04:41 GMT

@mgs2010 wrote:
Does Target even do manual CLI? It's been many years since I have called them to ask but If I remember correctly, they said something like they do not review customer initiated requests for limit increases.

I use the card monthly for small purchases because my rule of thumb is to never go beyond 6% util on any account ever...so this $600 limit makes it rather difficult to do any real shopping on. I guess it doesn't hurt to keep it around, but it would sure be nice it Target would recognize the effort that I've put into literally rebuilding my credit from absolute trash to over 800s today.

Last I heard there is no customer initiated CLI option.

If you really want to "grow" the card you need to use it, spending $36/month doesn't show a need for a higher CL. Your scores are not going to suddenly drop into the 500s if you let balances >6% report.

When I reached the 800s, I decided that it was time to make credit work for me instead of working for credit. So I started letting all of my balances report and even when I let a card report >80% utilization my scores still stayed in the 770-780 range.

No lender really cares how well you rebuilt, they care about making money. If you are not making them money they don't care about you.

Re: Should I close Target Red Card?

mgs2010 — Tue, 08 Mar 2022 17:22:41 GMT

That's a good point - I guess I should stop obessing over cc util so much because at my current scores, it doesn't make a whole lot of difference. The scale doesn't go beyond excellent! I'll try using the card some more and paying it down before the cycle date rather than limiting myself to tiny transactions hoping for luv from Target.

Re: Should I close Target Red Card?

Aim_High — Tue, 08 Mar 2022 18:45:19 GMT

@mgs2010 wrote:
That's a good point - I guess I should stop obessing over cc util so much because at my current scores, it doesn't make a whole lot of difference. The scale doesn't go beyond excellent! I'll try using the card some more and paying it down before the cycle date rather than limiting myself to tiny transactions hoping for luv from Target.

If you value and use the card, this is probably your best course of action @mgs2010. Except for a few outliers like NFCU who will give you an increase regardless of usage, most lenders want to see some regular usage of your existing credit limit to give you more. Never spending more than 6% (and in particular 6% of $600 is only $36) makes it appear the current limit is sufficient. Yes, if you don't want more than 6% to report, paying it down early should give you the same results. (While the total usage won't be reported to the CRB that month, the lender is well aware of how much spend you're putting on the card each cycle.)

Re: Should I close Target Red Card?

mgs2010 — Tue, 08 Mar 2022 23:09:08 GMT

Funny that you mention the comparison between NFCU cli & Target because NFCU is kinda how my expectations have been set for cli. Synchrony is real easy as well. USAA too. I opened cards with all 3 in the past decade and they all grant very generous limits & soft pull cli at the push of a button. I guess Target is a different flavor and I'll have to utilize the account some more rather than limit myself to 6%

Thanks to all who chimed in as I honestly had no idea that reported util matters more than overall util at any given moment.

so the "high balance" figure on a revolving trade line doesn't mean anything? I guess I always feared that if the high balance is greater than 10% or so it would hurt your score IN ADDITION to the actual reported util. I hope that makes sense. Anyone know about that??

Re: Should I close Target Red Card?

AverageJoesCredit — Tue, 08 Mar 2022 23:26:26 GMT

@mgs2010 wrote:
Funny that you mention the comparison between NFCU cli & Target because NFCU is kinda how my expectations have been set for cli. Synchrony is real easy as well. USAA too. I opened cards with all 3 in the past decade and they all grant very generous limits & soft pull cli at the push of a button. I guess Target is a different flavor and I'll have to utilize the account some more rather than limit myself to 6%

Thanks to all who chimed in as I honestly had no idea that reported util matters more than overall util at any given moment.

so the "high balance" figure on a revolving trade line doesn't mean anything? I guess I always feared that if the high balance is greater than 10% or so it would hurt your score IN ADDITION to the actual reported util. I hope that makes sense. Anyone know about that??

No, only reported spend matters in regards to affecting your utilization. Even then, letting something report isn't the devil despite what Momma says Remember your lender can see your actual usage despite what you let report.

Re: Should I close Target Red Card?

FinStar — Wed, 09 Mar 2022 00:00:19 GMT

@mgs2010 wrote:
Funny that you mention the comparison between NFCU cli & Target because NFCU is kinda how my expectations have been set for cli. Synchrony is real easy as well. USAA too. I opened cards with all 3 in the past decade and they all grant very generous limits & soft pull cli at the push of a button. I guess Target is a different flavor and I'll have to utilize the account some more rather than limit myself to 6%

Thanks to all who chimed in as I honestly had no idea that reported util matters more than overall util at any given moment.

so the "high balance" figure on a revolving trade line doesn't mean anything? I guess I always feared that if the high balance is greater than 10% or so it would hurt your score IN ADDITION to the actual reported util. I hope that makes sense. Anyone know about that??

While it's a good practice to periodically examine your reports and its data to stay on top of your scores, etc., don't overcomplicate things.

The "High Balance" metric simply displays the highest balance reported for any specific tradeline at any given point. It doesn't mean you're always at that level. Some lenders use that value for their own analytics, but the metric that is actually weighed for your scores is the reported utilization (i.e. your account balances) whether in aggregate and by each specific tradeline.

So, specific to your Target CC (if you are concerned about the ideal utilization thresholds), as long as a balance of less than 10% reports periodically you should be ok. And as others have mentioned, if you're only spending about $30 per month on the card, then there's really no incentive for them to increase your limit.

Re: Should I close Target Red Card?

dragontears — Wed, 09 Mar 2022 00:15:03 GMT

@mgs2010 wrote:
Funny that you mention the comparison between NFCU cli & Target because NFCU is kinda how my expectations have been set for cli. Synchrony is real easy as well. USAA too. I opened cards with all 3 in the past decade and they all grant very generous limits & soft pull cli at the push of a button. I guess Target is a different flavor and I'll have to utilize the account some more rather than limit myself to 6%

Thanks to all who chimed in as I honestly had no idea that reported util matters more than overall util at any given moment.

so the "high balance" figure on a revolving trade line doesn't mean anything? I guess I always feared that if the high balance is greater than 10% or so it would hurt your score IN ADDITION to the actual reported util. I hope that makes sense. Anyone know about that??

To specify address the "highest balance" questions.

Is it a score factor?

No, it is not a scoring factor as others have said.

Does it "mean" something?

A definitive maybe. No one really knows but some (including me) have a theory that it is possible that a CC lender could use that information to "see" that you are capable of making and paying large amounts. But that is just a theory and I can point to no lenders that I know are doing this.