6 CCs with low starting cl

[fbc200384]

Hello everyone, new user and long time lurker. Finally decided to take my credit more seriously and I need some help. I have 6 CC all with 500 or less CL. I want to get rid of my total visa but it's my oldest card. I got approved recently for Cap1 platinum and discover secured. I want to let discover graduate and upgrade the cap1. So my question is do I get rid of the total visa or what should I do? I am working on getting rid of baddies and cleaning up my credit. Here are my cards:

-Total Visa 350 opened 4/19 received my first cli in 10/20 of only 50 

-Self lender visa secured 450 opened in 2019

-Schlumberger Employees CU secured 500 10/20 hoping to graduate in summer 2021

-Credit 1 300 2/21 (idk why I pulled the trigger on this one)

- discover secured 200 2/21

-Cap1 300 2/21

i will garden until next year 

[Tomatoshadow2]

I would reccomend you don't close any credit card, unless it has an annual fee you can't justify paying.

[fbc200384]

Only paying AF is Total which is billed monthly 

[GApeachy]

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@fbc200384 wrote:

Only paying AF is Total which is billed monthly 

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I'm not aware of how Total Visa does it's billing, concerning AF, but IF you do close it check that online acct. often.  I mean like several months of checking, taking SS's too, just to make sure you don't have an AF charge pop up or trailing interest pop up and potentially causing you a 30 day late.  Take a SS of it reflecting closure too.

Just always followup with all cards, open or closed, for months to cyb.  Autopay set on all cards that offer it too.

Good luck growing your cards and credit history.

[ImTheDevil]

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@GApeachy wrote:

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@fbc200384 wrote:

Only paying AF is Total which is billed monthly 

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I'm not aware of how Total Visa does it's billing, concerning AF, but IF you do close it check that online acct. often.  I mean like several months of checking, taking SS's too, just to make sure you don't have an AF charge pop up or trailing interest pop up and potentially causing you a 30 day late.  Take a SS of it reflecting closure too.

Just always followup with all cards, open or closed, for months to cyb.  Autopay set on all cards that offer it too.

Good luck growing your cards and credit history.

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All of this. I would also request a dated letter be sent to you via USPS reflecting closure upon your request. Keep it safe. That way, if something does pop up (and some subprime creditors will do this), between the screenshots and the letter, you can easily have it removed.

[M_Smart007]

+1 for Documentation ^^^^^^^^^^

[Anonymous]

OP, I would ditch your AF card(s) and just keep the non-AF cards.  You've already identified the constraint to your credit limits and growth, which is negative information on your credit report.  Continue to work on cleaning up those negative items, as doing so will strengthen your profile and make acquiring CLIs on current cards as well as acquiring new/better cards much easier.

[kittycreditmeow]

I would recommend keeping all the cards open for the sake of your credit age. Especially your oldest card.

[ImTheDevil]

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@kittycreditmeow wrote:

I would recommend keeping all the cards open for the sake of your credit age. Especially your oldest card.

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That won't matter. Closing cards doesn't affect credit age factors until the closed cards fall off the reports. Closed accounts remain for up to ten years and by the time they fall off, OP will likely have others with significant age to blunt any effect of these falling off.

[Anonymous]

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@ImTheDevil wrote:

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That won't matter. Closing cards doesn't affect credit age factors until the closed cards fall off the reports. Closed accounts remain for up to ten years and by the time they fall off, OP will likely have others with significant age to blunt any effect of these falling off.

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Agreed.  It also doesn't appear that OPs oldest card is that much older than his next older card(s), so there really isn't any reason to worry about it even a decade from now when the closed accounts would be expected to fall off.