Retail Card

[MrTom]

The retail card on my report is starting its 10 yearaging off, it was closed in good standing.

Question is, I need a retail card on my report for credit mix, what is an easy retail card to get?  I have all 3 CB reports on lockdown, so I need to unlock 1 and give it a try- I was hoping to unlock my Transunion report.

Any ideas?

[Anonymous]

I got overstock with SCT. No credit check. Was approved for $1400. Already used and waiting for my first statement. I hope to see it on my CR soon.

[Anonymous]

There are a lot of easy ones. I would narrow down by where you shop. Then go from there. 

[MrTom]

Was overstockwith the shopping card trick?  Or is there an other no credit check way?

[Anonymous]

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@MrTomwrote:

The retail card on my report is starting its 10 yearaging off, it was closed in good standing.

Question is, I need a retail card on my report for credit mix, what is an easy retail card to get?  I have all 3 CB reports on lockdown, so I need to unlock 1 and give it a try- I was hoping to unlock my Transunion report.

Any ideas?

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You do not need a retail card for credit mix. Credit mix is achieved by having a credit card, maybe a school loan, car loan, mortgage, or a personal loan. Having two or more of those is decent for a credit mix. You can have a retail card if it suits your need. But this idea you need one for credit mix is false. Most people avoid retail cards because of lack of rewards, limit of one place to use it, and high interest rates.

[Anonymous]

Most store cards probably aren't very hard to get. With your scores you'd probably qualify for most cards I'd assume. The real question is where do you shop? Kohls has a pre approval link on their site for their store card. Personally I love Kohls and I'm super happy that I got the card. They send more % off coupons once you have the credit card too, haha. They pulled Transunion.

If you're more of a Walmart person, go for Walmart. They have a thing currently where if you apply and use your Walmart card the same day, you get a $25 statement credit. Just go for whatever card suits your needs. Don't get a card just to get a card....that's what I did with Overstock and I'll be calling to cancel it because it has virtually no benefits like free shipping, etc and it's useless and I'll never shop there.

[HeavenOhio]

@Anonymous is correct. You absolutely don't need a retail card for credit mix. For credit mix purposes, a revolving card is a revolving card.

As a matter of fact, the presense of retail cards hurts the credit scores used by insurance companies when determining your rates. That said, if you run your car into a tree every six months, that's probably more significant than your credit. And if the retail card offers a nice rewards program, that's also likely to be more significant than any effect on your insurance rates.

(If you live in California, Massachusetts, or Hawaii, insurance companies aren't allowed to consider credit when determining rates.)

[MrTom]

Let me get this right...

If I have a retail card on my credit, I will pay more for car insurance?

In general, the idea of a retail card does not make no sence, your interest rate is high, or they trick you into no interest...but if you don't pay that item off you need to pay the back interest....but I thought retail factored into credit mix, I must of been mistakened.

[Anonymous]

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@MrTomwrote:

Let me get this right...

If I have a retail card on my credit, I will pay more for car insurance?

In general, the idea of a retail card does not make no sence, your interest rate is high, or they trick you into no interest...but if you don't pay that item off you need to pay the back interest....but I thought retail factored into credit mix, I must of been mistakened.

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Nope it doesn’t. A revolving card is a revolving card. On manual review too many is a small negative. It’s not needed at all for the mix. Now if a card suits your needs for retail, get it. But this idea that you need it for mix is false. 

[Anonymous]

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@HeavenOhiowrote:

@Anonymous is correct. You absolutely don't need a retail card for credit mix. For credit mix purposes, a revolving card is a revolving card.

As a matter of fact, the presense of retail cards hurts the credit scores used by insurance companies when determining your rates. That said, if you run your car into a tree every six months, that's probably more significant than your credit. And if the retail card offers a nice rewards program, that's also likely to be more significant than any effect on your insurance rates.

(If you live in California, Massachusetts, or Hawaii, insurance companies aren't allowed to consider credit when determining rates.)

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My understanding is that some risk models do consider and correlate store cards to insurance premiums...

The theory is that, in the event of an accident, those who rely on store cards are more apt to file an insurance claim than those who utilize prime cards, as prime-card holders generally self-pay immediate losses in order to prevent potential future insurance premium increases.

ETA: No bias here - I possess (and use) store cards.