topic Re: To Close Orchard or Not? in Credit Cards

To Close Orchard or Not?

creditreformer — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 23:33:13 GMT

Recap: Started rebuilding in ’07. Have some baddies- tax lien (comes off in 2013), 2 hsbc chargeoffs (come off in 9/10), + some student loan lates (working on getting deleted b/c they weren’t late). No new baddies since 2003-2004. Ficos are in mid-high 600s. AAOA is 2-9 years depending on the report.

Here are ccs I have:

Date acquired/cl

3/07- orchard- 800. Only 1 CLI in nearly 3 years. AF= 79, but last year, they lowered it by 50%.

’08-’09 (most acquired in 08, so coming up on the 2 yr mark)-

BA 99/500- 500- won’t unsecure b/c of the tax lien from 2003

Best buy mc- 650

Cap 1- 1100

Cap 1 #2- 1100

Hooters- 700

Target- 200

CCS I will get in 2010- USAA secured (app is on its way to me- I will put the max $1.5k down), NFCU secured (if I can’t get the unsecured).

Other tradelines:

First premier- 2 accts, all positive, closed in 2009 (2 yr mark)

Orchard- all positive, closed in 2009 (consolidated w/the 1 I’m now discussing)

Auto loan- positive, but going to drop off totally in 2010-2011

So…should I close the orchard cc or suck it up + pay them another $79 (or try to get it 1/2ed or waived) AF?

Re: To Close Orchard or Not?

Anonymous — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 00:13:10 GMT

creditreformer wrote:
So…should I close the orchard cc or suck it up + pay them another $79 (or try to get it 1/2ed or waived) AF?

For me the deciding factor, well 2 really, would be how the loss of the credit line is going to effect my utilization and the dreaded AF.

If they will cut or lower the AF again, and you can live with the results, I would run a small payment through it each month and let it just keep building good on-time payment history for you.

IMHO

Re: To Close Orchard or Not?

creditreformer — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 00:22:22 GMT

Utilization is always kept low, so it’s not really an issue. Also, I’m getting the usaa secured for 1.5k, so that covers the loss of the orchard CL (and adds 700). Going to pay orchard off in a few days + then call to see if they’ll cli + kill the AF for me. If not, I can’t see the benefit to keeping it open.

Message Edited by creditreformer on 02-23-2010 04:22 PM

Re: To Close Orchard or Not?

Jazzzy — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 00:29:30 GMT

@creditreformer wrote:
Utilization is always kept low, so it’s not really an issue. Also, I’m getting the usaa secured for 1.5k, so that covers the loss of the orchard CL (and adds 700). Going to pay orchard off in a few days + then call to see if they’ll cli + kill the AF for me. If not, I can’t see the benefit to keeping it open.

I agree. At some point you simply outgrow the high-fee cards. It will still help your AAoA for the next 10 years. It did its job.

Re: To Close Orchard or Not?

haulingthescoreup — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 01:24:43 GMT

I think of rebuilder cards as training wheels. Very useful while you're trying to figure how it all works, and you can use a confidence booster/ safety net. Once you're able to ride your bike without assistance, it's time to take them off.

Re: To Close Orchard or Not?

Anonymous — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 06:01:50 GMT

There comes a point where the possibility of a few FICO points does not outweigh the loss of cold, hard cash. No matter how bad your FICO score is, cash talks.