topic Re: Credit Card Portfolio organization in Credit Cards

Credit Card Portfolio organization

Anonymous — Wed, 26 Feb 2014 01:48:29 GMT

I've been reading a lot of threads lately that I must say have been pretty helpful!

I am currently in a place where I've been able to pay down all of my cards (yay!) and am looking to reorganize my credit portfolio (let's just say I didn't understand credit during my college years nearly as well as I do now - and have a lot of cards to ditch!) My credit score has gone up exponentially over the last few months!

Here's my rundown -

Ones I want to keep:

US Cash Rewards - 4.5k (cli in process to hopefuly upgrade to Cash+)

GAP Visa - 4.2k

FNBO College Edition - 2.7k (oldest card in portfolio)

These are the ones I want to toss -

VS Store card - 2k

Macys store - 1.4k

Jcrew - 1.3k

Wells Fargo - 2.3k

Macy AmEx - 1.8k

Nordstrom - 2k

Limited - 1.1k

Banana Republic - 1k

Helzberg - 1.2k

Amazon - 400

Citibank - 2.6k

Cap1 - 500

Discover - 1k

As you can I see I have waaay more accounts open than I would like to have open. I am planning to close all the ones I don't plan on using, listed above. Any recommendatons for or against that? Also - are there any types of cards that I might be missing that I could add to my keep pile that I would need to apply for?

Also - with the exception of my Gap card, and combining two of my US Bank cards to get that limit on the Cash Rewards, it's been hard for me to break that 4k-5k mark on credit limits. Does this have to do with how many accounts I have open? Can anyone shed any light on this?

Thanks everyone - I look forward to your thoughts!

Fico Scores - 720 EX/765 TU/788 EQ, AAoA 4yr 10mo

Re: Credit Card Portfolio organization

Anonymous — Wed, 26 Feb 2014 01:54:46 GMT

For some of the non-store cards that you are planning to close, e.g. Discover, I think I'd first see if you can get soft pull CLIs on them, or PC them.

If not, then maybe go ahead and close them.

Re: Credit Card Portfolio organization

grinlikechelsea — Wed, 26 Feb 2014 01:54:51 GMT

What I personally recommend is keeping the cards you don't like open until they get closed for being inactive. That way you keep your available credit high to pad your utilization. I also would see if you can get a CLI on the Discover; it is a good card to have.

Re: Credit Card Portfolio organization

Anonymous — Wed, 26 Feb 2014 01:57:13 GMT

Thanks for the suggestion. I just did that with the Citibank card today - SP CLI from 1.2k to 2.6k. Not sure if I want a PC to another Citi card though. Any suggestions of a good citi card?

Re: Credit Card Portfolio organization

grinlikechelsea — Wed, 26 Feb 2014 02:00:04 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Thanks for the suggestion. I just did that with the Citibank card today - SP CLI from 1.2k to 2.6k. Not sure if I want a PC to another Citi card though. Any suggestions of a good citi card?

Citi is tough with PC'ing cards sometimes. Which Citi card do you have currently?

Re: Credit Card Portfolio organization

Anonymous — Wed, 26 Feb 2014 02:04:10 GMT

I have the Citi Platinum Select. I originally got it to consolidate some CC debt back in the day. When I talked to a rep over phone, she didn't seem sure what I could upgrade to - just that I could upgrade. Made me hesitent.

This is why I am seeing if it might be in my best interest to look for a completely different type of card (AMEX Blue Cash or Travel preferred, Chase Sapphire, Barclays Arrival, etc...) to help with my credit card portfolio organization.

Re: Credit Card Portfolio organization

grinlikechelsea — Wed, 26 Feb 2014 02:09:49 GMT

Well it depends on what your objective is. Do you want travel rewards, cash back, low APR, etc? Once you have an idea of the kind of card you want, then it becomes much easier to find a card that will suit you the best.

One Citi card that looks appealing is the Citi Dividend. If they let you go co-branded, the Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select is good if you fly with American Airlines.

Re: Credit Card Portfolio organization

Anonymous — Wed, 26 Feb 2014 02:14:38 GMT

I am hoping the cash rewards will be able to upgrade to Cash+ soon. If not, then I'd be in the market for a good cash rewards card. I like the GAP visa since I use the rewards on clothes quite a bit. Only keeping the FNBO open to keep credit history long, since it's oldest card (has some rewards to it) It would be great to have a travel rewards card.

Thanks for the suggestions!

Re: Credit Card Portfolio organization

Anonymous — Wed, 26 Feb 2014 02:17:48 GMT

Another comment that comes to mind has to do with breadth vs. depth.

You said that you have trouble getting bigger CLs. One possible reason might be that if you keep adding low-CL cards, not only do you hurt your score by the hard pulls, new TLs, and lowered AAoA, but you may appear to be unstable and risky in the eyes of creditors.

In my experience it's better to have a few high-CL cards, rather than a lot of low-CL ones. This requires a lot of discipline, and not applying for the latest cards that come along.

My credit is such that I can go out and get nearly any CC that I want. But I wouldn't have use for most of them, and they won't get me anywhere in the long run. So I try to think through carefully what I'm after, and only occasionally add a new CC.

Re: Credit Card Portfolio organization

Anonymous — Wed, 26 Feb 2014 02:22:55 GMT

I would LOVE to have fewer cards, with much higher limits. Most of those store cards are ones I opened in college when I had basically no idea what I was doing when it came to credit.

In the last couple years, I have began to realize that if I could - I wouldn't have applied for all those cards back in the day. How do you suggest building more depth in my credit line up? WIll closing those smaller store cards help?

Re: Credit Card Portfolio organization

Anonymous — Wed, 26 Feb 2014 02:46:06 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I would LOVE to have fewer cards, with much higher limits. Most of those store cards are ones I opened in college when I had basically no idea what I was doing when it came to credit.

In the last couple years, I have began to realize that if I could - I wouldn't have applied for all those cards back in the day. How do you suggest building more depth in my credit line up? WIll closing those smaller store cards help?

Once you have a lot of CCs, keeping them open will not hurt you for FICO scoring purposes, assuming that they have $0 balances reporting, and assuming that you have the skill to manage them and avoid late payments and fraudulent use issues and so on.

In the context of a manual review, or when applying for new credit, it's possible that lots of small CLs will hurt you, because individual lenders may have additional criteria that don't apply when a FICO score is calculated. In other words, lenders often use additional criteria beyond a FICO score.

I think I would approach this gradually. For example, you could make a list of three or four store cards that you're absolutely sure you will never use, and close those.

At the same time, I'd look at the network cards (Cap1, Citi, Discover, Wells Fargo) and see what you can do to get soft pull CLIs, PCs, combine limits, and so on.

Also, if you have any derogatories, I would do whatever you can to address them.

Finally, I would try to optimze your utilization, by letting only one CC report a small balance. There are many threads on this topic that you can read.

Re: Credit Card Portfolio organization

Anonymous — Wed, 26 Feb 2014 02:54:50 GMT

Thank you for the great suggestions. Sounds like for the most part I am on track, since all CCs are at $0 balances except for the Gap that I use on a regular basis.

In my experience, it's been terrible trying to get a CLI with Cap1 - even though the SP they did yielded a 788 EQ, I was denied because I hadn't carried a balance on the card within the last 3 months? Well of course - I paid it off! Since the limit is so low - I think I will ditch it, even though it's a quicksilver.

Also, no derogatories on my report - just lots of cards with $0 balances.

Any other suggestions are welcome as well!

Re: Credit Card Portfolio organization

TiggerDat — Wed, 26 Feb 2014 02:59:22 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I've been reading a lot of threads lately that I must say have been pretty helpful!

I am currently in a place where I've been able to pay down all of my cards (yay!) and am looking to reorganize my credit portfolio (let's just say I didn't understand credit during my college years nearly as well as I do now - and have a lot of cards to ditch!) My credit score has gone up exponentially over the last few months!

Here's my rundown -

Ones I want to keep:

US Cash Rewards - 4.5k (cli in process to hopefuly upgrade to Cash+)
GAP Visa - 4.2k
FNBO College Edition - 2.7k (oldest card in portfolio)

These are the ones I want to toss -

VS Store card - 2k
Macys store - 1.4k
Jcrew - 1.3k
Wells Fargo - 2.3k
Macy AmEx - 1.8k
Nordstrom - 2k
Limited - 1.1k
Banana Republic - 1k
Helzberg - 1.2k
Amazon - 400
Citibank - 2.6k
Cap1 - 500
Discover - 1k

As you can I see I have waaay more accounts open than I would like to have open. I am planning to close all the ones I don't plan on using, listed above. Any recommendatons for or against that? Also - are there any types of cards that I might be missing that I could add to my keep pile that I would need to apply for?

Also - with the exception of my Gap card, and combining two of my US Bank cards to get that limit on the Cash Rewards, it's been hard for me to break that 4k-5k mark on credit limits. Does this have to do with how many accounts I have open? Can anyone shed any light on this?

Thanks everyone - I look forward to your thoughts!

Fico Scores - 720 EX/765 TU/788 EQ, AAoA 4yr 10mo

My advice is to first contact the Executive office over at Capital One and ask them for a limit of $10,000. If they ask if you accept a lower limit say yes $5,000 or a little more. This will help get the limit you want and they will only do a soft pull for it. You could try online first with them to see what happens, I just got an increase on my account from $3,500 to $5,500, which is the highest increase they have given to me to date without the EO. (Oh wait, it was the only increase they gave me without the EO!) I don't think I would close any card that is older than 2 or 3 years and I actually wouldn't close too many too quickly. I would just close 1 or 2 if you really feel that you must close something. I would also call every creditor you have right now and ask for a SP CLI, if it is not a SP, don't do it or at least don't do it for now. This might also help you decide who and which card you want to close.

I would then ask about PC or otherwise upgrading your current cards. I would not close the Discover card. It can be one of the cards that is really good later! You can ask if there are any offers to change to an IT card or increase your CL. They will tell you if there are any CLI options without a soft pull. If they need to do a hard pull to give you a CLI, then even if it is declined you could then speak to a specialist and still get a nice CLI. I had a $1000 limit with them and at the 8th month I pulled the trigger for a HP CLI and had to speak with a specialist. They raised my limit on the manual review to $5000 and basically was told I could only get that limit since that is what I asked for. I actually thought they would counter offer with $2500 or $3000, but I think in reality I could have gotten more. (Darn, should have considered that before I asked!) If they ask why you want a higher limit with them just tell them you want to make it your card of choice. I told them I try to avoid having more than 10% of a balance used or reporting, also.

The thing to also consider is which cards will benefit you in the future also. Nordstrom and Macy's can be great places to get clothes for business type jobs. So you might want to keep them open, even if you don't ask for CLIs. Use them occassionally if nothing else to avoid them being closed.

If you are determined to close accounts, then simply close the ones first which have no rewards what-so-ever.

Re: Credit Card Portfolio organization

Anonymous — Wed, 26 Feb 2014 03:02:02 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Thank you for the great suggestions. Sounds like for the most part I am on track, since all CCs are at $0 balances except for the Gap that I use on a regular basis.

In my experience, it's been terrible trying to get a CLI with Cap1 - even though the SP they did yielded a 788 EQ, I was denied because I hadn't carried a balance on the card within the last 3 months? Well of course - I paid it off! Since the limit is so low - I think I will ditch it, even though it's a quicksilver.

Also, no derogatories on my report - just lots of cards with $0 balances.

Any other suggestions are welcome as well!

I don't know if you can get anywhere with Cap1, but some have had success going through the EO.

For network cards that you want to close, you could first ask yourself what would make the card attractive (CLI, PC, etc.) and then ask the CC company for that. If they say yes, then you've got yourself a useful card. If no, then you could consider closing it.

Re: Credit Card Portfolio organization

Anonymous — Wed, 26 Feb 2014 03:17:45 GMT

I will try the EO at Cap1, and see if I can get anywhere! Is anyone able to PM me their contact information? Thansk in advance!

Re: Credit Card Portfolio organization

Anonymous — Wed, 26 Feb 2014 03:32:32 GMT

@bernhardtra wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
I've been reading a lot of threads lately that I must say have been pretty helpful!

I am currently in a place where I've been able to pay down all of my cards (yay!) and am looking to reorganize my credit portfolio (let's just say I didn't understand credit during my college years nearly as well as I do now - and have a lot of cards to ditch!) My credit score has gone up exponentially over the last few months!

Here's my rundown -

Ones I want to keep:

US Cash Rewards - 4.5k (cli in process to hopefuly upgrade to Cash+)
GAP Visa - 4.2k
FNBO College Edition - 2.7k (oldest card in portfolio)

These are the ones I want to toss -

VS Store card - 2k
Macys store - 1.4k
Jcrew - 1.3k
Wells Fargo - 2.3k
Macy AmEx - 1.8k
Nordstrom - 2k
Limited - 1.1k
Banana Republic - 1k
Helzberg - 1.2k
Amazon - 400
Citibank - 2.6k
Cap1 - 500
Discover - 1k

As you can I see I have waaay more accounts open than I would like to have open. I am planning to close all the ones I don't plan on using, listed above. Any recommendatons for or against that? Also - are there any types of cards that I might be missing that I could add to my keep pile that I would need to apply for?

Also - with the exception of my Gap card, and combining two of my US Bank cards to get that limit on the Cash Rewards, it's been hard for me to break that 4k-5k mark on credit limits. Does this have to do with how many accounts I have open? Can anyone shed any light on this?

Thanks everyone - I look forward to your thoughts!

Fico Scores - 720 EX/765 TU/788 EQ, AAoA 4yr 10mo
My advice is to first contact the Executive office over at Capital One and ask them for a limit of $10,000. If they ask if you accept a lower limit say yes $5,000 or a little more. This will help get the limit you want and they will only do a soft pull for it. You could try online first with them to see what happens, I just got an increase on my account from $3,500 to $5,500, which is the highest increase they have given to me to date without the EO. (Oh wait, it was the only increase they gave me without the EO!) I don't think I would close any card that is older than 2 or 3 years and I actually wouldn't close too many too quickly. I would just close 1 or 2 if you really feel that you must close something. I would also call every creditor you have right now and ask for a SP CLI, if it is not a SP, don't do it or at least don't do it for now. This might also help you decide who and which card you want to close.

I would then ask about PC or otherwise upgrading your current cards. I would not close the Discover card. It can be one of the cards that is really good later! You can ask if there are any offers to change to an IT card or increase your CL. They will tell you if there are any CLI options without a soft pull. If they need to do a hard pull to give you a CLI, then even if it is declined you could then speak to a specialist and still get a nice CLI. I had a $1000 limit with them and at the 8th month I pulled the trigger for a HP CLI and had to speak with a specialist. They raised my limit on the manual review to $5000 and basically was told I could only get that limit since that is what I asked for. I actually thought they would counter offer with $2500 or $3000, but I think in reality I could have gotten more. (Darn, should have considered that before I asked!) If they ask why you want a higher limit with them just tell them you want to make it your card of choice. I told them I try to avoid having more than 10% of a balance used or reporting, also.

The thing to also consider is which cards will benefit you in the future also. Nordstrom and Macy's can be great places to get clothes for business type jobs. So you might want to keep them open, even if you don't ask for CLIs. Use them occassionally if nothing else to avoid them being closed.

If you are determined to close accounts, then simply close the ones first which have no rewards what-so-ever.

Thank you, bernhardtra. Do you think asking for a CLI from Cap1 for 10k is too high considering my current limit is only at 500? I feel like pulling a 788 EQ does warrant a much higher CL than I currently have with them, but not sure if I would be approved for 10k, since I haven't been able to break 5k yet - likely because of the amount of accoutns I have open. Also, that $500 limit was given right after graduating from gradschool - wasn't in the best financial situation then, but have completely turned things around with a steady job, aggressively paid down CC debt, and have increased scores by 100+ points since then.

How hard has it been for others to get a CLI with Discover? Right now, I just get a "Please call our customer service line for more help with your inquiry" when I click on the request limit increase button. Not sure what that means - or if it means I am unable to get a SP and would need to ask for HP for a CLI. I guess I will call in to be sure!

Re: Credit Card Portfolio organization

TiggerDat — Wed, 26 Feb 2014 13:31:55 GMT

My score is just under 700 and I have cards which are $7500 and $8500, with less history. It doesn't hurt to ask especially with a lower limit offer too. I would certainly EO this.

Re: Credit Card Portfolio organization - UPDATE!

Anonymous — Sat, 01 Mar 2014 20:10:15 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I've been reading a lot of threads lately that I must say have been pretty helpful!

I am currently in a place where I've been able to pay down all of my cards (yay!) and am looking to reorganize my credit portfolio (let's just say I didn't understand credit during my college years nearly as well as I do now - and have a lot of cards to ditch!) My credit score has gone up exponentially over the last few months!

Here's my rundown -

Ones I want to keep:

US Cash Rewards - 4.5k (cli in process to hopefuly upgrade to Cash+)
GAP Visa - 4.2k
FNBO College Edition - 2.7k (oldest card in portfolio)

These are the ones I want to toss -

VS Store card - 2k
Macys store - 1.4k
Jcrew - 1.3k CLOSED
Wells Fargo - 2.3k CLOSED
Macy AmEx - 1.8k
Nordstrom - 2k
Limited - 1.1k CLOSED
Banana Republic - 1k CLOSED
Helzberg - 1.2k CLOSED
Amazon - 400
Citibank - 2.6k
Cap1 - 500
Discover - 1k

As you can I see I have waaay more accounts open than I would like to have open. I am planning to close all the ones I don't plan on using, listed above. Any recommendatons for or against that? Also - are there any types of cards that I might be missing that I could add to my keep pile that I would need to apply for?

Also - with the exception of my Gap card, and combining two of my US Bank cards to get that limit on the Cash Rewards, it's been hard for me to break that 4k-5k mark on credit limits. Does this have to do with how many accounts I have open? Can anyone shed any light on this?

Thanks everyone - I look forward to your thoughts!

Fico Scores - 720 EX/765 TU/788 EQ, AAoA 4yr 10mo

This week, I was able to close the following in red!

Also this week, I was able to upgrade the following + get some great SP CLI's!

@Anonymous Platinum Preferred @ 1.2k to Citi ThankYou Preferred @ 2.6k!

@Anonymous Open Roads @ 1k to DiscoverIt @ 3k!

US Bank Cash rewards from 4.5k to 6k!

I plan to close the Amazon once a zero balance shows (just paid off), as well as Cap1, and Macy's Cards very soon. I just have a question for you all - how would closing my VS and Nordstrom store cards affect my AAoA? I ask this because those two cards are my second and third oldest cards. I will still have my oldest card open, but I just didn't want to mess up my AAoA. However, i would like to close those cards since I never use them anymore.

Thoughts?

Re: Credit Card Portfolio organization - UPDATE!

Anonymous — Sun, 02 Mar 2014 02:22:56 GMT

Closing cards has no immediate effect on AAoA.

Re: Credit Card Portfolio organization - UPDATE!

Anonymous — Sun, 02 Mar 2014 02:41:29 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Closing cards has no immediate effect on AAoA.

Right, so keeping a card just because it is the oldest isn't really needed either.

AAoA in FICO (though not in Credit Karma) is based on open AND closed accounts that are on your report. Closed accounts generally cease to report after 10 years (although it can be sooner) so you lose nothing for those 10 years. And by then, hopefully, your credit situation is different (and better).

So with your US Bank CLI, are you going to ask to PC to Cash Plus?