topic Re: Too many cards :( in Credit Cards

Too many cards :(

Shellie — Mon, 24 Mar 2014 14:28:19 GMT

I'm getting a lot of negative feedback when applying for credit because of the amount of cards. Some say it's the number of cards and some say it't the fact that they were all opened last year. I hope by this time next year when they are getting closer to 2 years that they will not be hurting my credit any more. I have 4 from shopping cart tricks, 3 in-store apps and 2 CapOnes. That shopping cart trick just gets me! I haven't taken any in months tho. I did have to apply for Care Credit last week for a procedure my son had to have. It just sucks because I can't do anything about them. The lady I just spoke with said one helps as much as 5 would as long as you're payment history is good. It's hard to know what to do honestly, you get such conflicting information from person to person.

Re: Too many cards :(

Anonymous — Mon, 24 Mar 2014 14:43:36 GMT

From the standpoint of an underwriter, this situation looks bad because it appears that a person is desperate for credit, which is a major warning sign of future problems.

For FICO scoring purposes and mortgage qualification and so on, typically three cards is considered adequate.

Re: Too many cards :(

Shellie — Mon, 24 Mar 2014 14:51:41 GMT

Well it appears to have backfired. I wasn't desperate but now I'm stuck in the situation.

Re: Too many cards :(

Burned2manybridgesB4 — Mon, 24 Mar 2014 15:14:34 GMT

@Shellie wrote:
Well it appears to have backfired. I wasn't desperate but now I'm stuck in the situation.

I've been waiting for you to type something like this.....

Sit on your hands, and use your favorites. Time to go for the CLIs, and prune the weeds...Now it gets boring, and time intensive.

Re: Too many cards :(

Shellie — Mon, 24 Mar 2014 16:05:03 GMT

You've been waiting for me to say what? That it bakcfired?

Re: Too many cards :(

Burned2manybridgesB4 — Mon, 24 Mar 2014 16:26:09 GMT

@Shellie wrote:
You've been waiting for me to say what? That it bakcfired?

No...too many cards now.

Re: Too many cards :(

Shellie — Mon, 24 Mar 2014 16:27:35 GMT

Oh. Well luckily they are all in good stnading. Guess I'll just deal. I don't what else to do.

Re: Too many cards :(

Burned2manybridgesB4 — Mon, 24 Mar 2014 16:29:15 GMT

It's really not a bad thing for the moment. Keep in mind that 35% is payment history for your scores, so every card that generates a statement helps you look dependable. I, and many others here made that same mistake. Knowing when to stop, and "restructure" is the next level.

Re: Too many cards :(

Shellie — Mon, 24 Mar 2014 16:46:51 GMT

In comparison to some on here I didn't feel like I had really gone over board. Hopefully with time all will be well.

Re: Too many cards :(

Burned2manybridgesB4 — Mon, 24 Mar 2014 16:52:06 GMT

It's not the end of the world. Don't pace yourself with others. Not everyone has the same income, or length of history, to justify all apps being equal.

The guy with the 650 score could be a long term mortgage holder with payments under the belt. The other guy that just got six cards in a row might have a nice card enhanced score...you just never know.

Re: Too many cards :(

Anonymous — Mon, 24 Mar 2014 16:54:12 GMT

@Shellie wrote:
I'm getting a lot of negative feedback when applying for credit because of the amount of cards. Some say it's the number of cards and some say it't the fact that they were all opened last year. I hope by this time next year when they are getting closer to 2 years that they will not be hurting my credit any more. I have 4 from shopping cart tricks, 3 in-store apps and 2 CapOnes. That shopping cart trick just gets me! I haven't taken any in months tho. I did have to apply for Care Credit last week for a procedure my son had to have. It just sucks because I can't do anything about them. The lady I just spoke with said one helps as much as 5 would as long as you're payment history is good. It's hard to know what to do honestly, you get such conflicting information from person to person.

I did the same thing as well. I ended up closing a few that i didnt need that was as well hurting my AAOA. so i closed a few that was most recently opened and didnt really need and saw a score increase from it.

Good Luck..

Re: Too many cards :(

red259 — Mon, 24 Mar 2014 17:18:33 GMT

@Shellie wrote:
I'm getting a lot of negative feedback when applying for credit because of the amount of cards. Some say it's the number of cards and some say it't the fact that they were all opened last year. I hope by this time next year when they are getting closer to 2 years that they will not be hurting my credit any more. I have 4 from shopping cart tricks, 3 in-store apps and 2 CapOnes. That shopping cart trick just gets me! I haven't taken any in months tho. I did have to apply for Care Credit last week for a procedure my son had to have. It just sucks because I can't do anything about them. The lady I just spoke with said one helps as much as 5 would as long as you're payment history is good. It's hard to know what to do honestly, you get such conflicting information from person to person.

Unfortunately, this is why the theory of getting too many cards quickly to build up history is not a good practice IMO. The only way to fix this is to garden and overtime as the accounts age you will be in better shape.

Re: Too many cards :(

DigitalArk — Mon, 24 Mar 2014 19:03:58 GMT

I am in the same boat with OP.

Re: Too many cards :(

SunriseEarth — Mon, 24 Mar 2014 20:10:11 GMT

@Shellie wrote:
I'm getting a lot of negative feedback when applying for credit because of the amount of cards. Some say it's the number of cards and some say it't the fact that they were all opened last year. I hope by this time next year when they are getting closer to 2 years that they will not be hurting my credit any more. I have 4 from shopping cart tricks, 3 in-store apps and 2 CapOnes. That shopping cart trick just gets me! I haven't taken any in months tho. I did have to apply for Care Credit last week for a procedure my son had to have. It just sucks because I can't do anything about them. The lady I just spoke with said one helps as much as 5 would as long as you're payment history is good. It's hard to know what to do honestly, you get such conflicting information from person to person.

My plan with my CCs is to keep using the ones that benefit me the most and SD the rest. At the two year mark, I'll close the ones in the SD (unless they've already been closed for inactivity). Merrick and VS are in the SD and will probably be on the chopping block for me. You could consider a similar option. I think it'll just take time and you'll be fine.

Re: Too many cards :(

Shellie — Mon, 24 Mar 2014 21:38:50 GMT

I saw a 1 pt boost when I opened the Care Credit. I took the JCrew, Buckle and Express for the UTL help. I actually shop at VS, ON, Stage, Maurices and Walmart. Wow I missed 3 Cards in the Original post... I know I have too many. I've never used the JCrew or Express and only used Buckle once. I would be totally fine closing all the store cards if my CapOnes had better CL's on them. I had been in the Garden since I think October? Can't remember for sure. I only had to step out for the Care Credit, it was unplanned. I will continue to Garden as planned. I clearly do not need more cards!! I just let the thrill get the best of my I suppose. I had never had any credit cards prior to rebuilding. I never applied, I never needed them. I don't "need" them now. It was all about getting my score up.

Re: Too many cards :(

Rhaeny — Tue, 25 Mar 2014 02:59:45 GMT

@Shellie wrote:
I saw a 1 pt boost when I opened the Care Credit. I took the JCrew, Buckle and Express for the UTL help. I actually shop at VS, ON, Stage, Maurices and Walmart. Wow I missed 3 Cards in the Original post... I know I have too many. I've never used the JCrew or Express and only used Buckle once. I would be totally fine closing all the store cards if my CapOnes had better CL's on them. I had been in the Garden since I think October? Can't remember for sure. I only had to step out for the Care Credit, it was unplanned. I will continue to Garden as planned. I clearly do not need more cards!! I just let the thrill get the best of my I suppose. I had never had any credit cards prior to rebuilding. I never applied, I never needed them. I don't "need" them now. It was all about getting my score up.

Ahh yes, many here have fallen in that category including me. The only thing that change that is time. In the meantime try to get CLI's on your commenity cards every 6 months or so. You may have to wait 9 months to get your first CLI with them, as that was the case for me.

Your Walmart card will really grow, actually just about any GE card will grow so you will see more progress in a while. As for the "too many new accounts issue", well yes I got that too so don't feel bad.

You are doing the right thing by gardening. This is the time that you may be able to help others by offering them advice on what NOT to do. That's what I do now since I can't app for anything for a long long time. But I've had some fantastic app sprees.

I would wait about 6 months from your last app and then go for a major CC like Chase, Barclay or even Amex depending on your scores. But truly the garden is your best friend now.

Re: Too many cards :(

Shellie — Tue, 25 Mar 2014 13:19:53 GMT

I have tried to get CLI's and Comenity wont budge. I got my Maurices card in-store at the beginning of May 2013 and they wont up it. It have a whopping $150 CL. VS was June via shopping cart trick and no CLI on that one either. I have never done an app spree. Mine are all spread out over the whole year.

Re: Too many cards :(

Shellie — Tue, 25 Mar 2014 13:36:06 GMT

I just tried all my Comenity and GE cards and no CLI's.

Re: Too many cards :(

ways2go — Tue, 25 Mar 2014 14:17:54 GMT

The bad part about GE Care card is that it's a HP for any CLI. I might be wrong, but I think it's they only GE backed card that HP for a cli.

Re: Too many cards :(

Anonymous — Tue, 25 Mar 2014 14:20:08 GMT

just curious is your utilzation high? even with a lot of cards if you keep your util low it should not be a sign of desperate for credit