Bad to good card transition

[KnightKITT]

Hello everyone,

I was wondering the best way to start replacing credit cards with new ones as your credit grows. I utilized some bad credit credit cards in the beginning and now that I have my credit fixed and a stronger score, I wanted to research the best way to get rid of a few cards that have high annual limits as well as high interest rates and replace them with a better card. My oldest card is secured so I plan on leaving that in place as well as my capital one cards, but I have 2 first premier cards and a credit one card I'd like to get rid of if possible. Any tips that worked best for not completely crashing your credit?

[Remedios]

Hi and welcome to the forums 

What kind of negatives do you have on your CR and how old are they? 

Also, if you know your fico scores that would be helpful, too. 

In a nutshell, the answer would be as soon as you can get a decent replacement, but that would depend on the above questions. 

[M_Smart007]

Closing a few cards won't "crash" your credit, unless your utilization spikes.

The other thought is , "slow and steady" don't apply for to much to fast.

Maybe ask some forum member's what cards you are looking to get?,

and post some info on your scores, utilization, Age of accounts and such.

I wished I would asked more questions early on, but NO .. I had to take a crash course.

checking pre-qual pages can help. Like Discover.

Better advice coming from other forum members. (Trust Me!)

Good Luck!

[KnightKITT]

I just cleared off 1 collection which was pay for delete and hasn't posted yet as well as cleared my credit card utilization ratio from 13% to 0% which hasn't posted yet. I have one Jefferson capital collections that's 15 months old but I'm going to buy a house this November after it's done being built so I planned on leaving that in place. Without everything posting to my credit yet I currently have a 673 from TransUnion, a 670 from equifax and a 668 from Experian which should go up once everything posts. I was looking to get new cards after my mortgage application of course.

[KnightKITT]

My oldest card is 5 years old which I'd keep, the rest about 3

[M_Smart007]

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@KnightKITT wrote:

I just cleared off 1 collection which was pay for delete and hasn't posted yet as well as cleared my credit card utilization ratio from 13% to 0% which hasn't posted yet. I have one Jefferson capital collections that's 15 months old but I'm going to buy a house this November after it's done being built so I planned on leaving that in place. Without everything posting to my credit yet I currently have a 673 from TransUnion, a 670 from equifax and a 668 from Experian which should go up once everything posts. I was looking to get new cards after my mortgage application of course.

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@KnightKITT, If you are going to apply for a mortgage, wait for keys in hand before you apply,

and apply before new mortgage hits your reports.

You should be fine!

Congrats on your future house

[Remedios]

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@KnightKITT wrote:

I just cleared off 1 collection which was pay for delete and hasn't posted yet as well as cleared my credit card utilization ratio from 13% to 0% which hasn't posted yet. I have one Jefferson capital collections that's 15 months old but I'm going to buy a house this November after it's done being built so I planned on leaving that in place. Without everything posting to my credit yet I currently have a 673 from TransUnion, a 670 from equifax and a 668 from Experian which should go up once everything posts. I was looking to get new cards after my mortgage application of course.

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Be careful with Jefferson Capital, they are prone to litigation. If you are still within SOL, I wouldn't wait too long (silver lining, they delete after payment).

At this point, I'd wait till you have the keys for your new home.

At that time you will have a better idea if you will need to do some home improvement  projects and/or buying appliances and such.

Maybe consider a card with  0% apr if you think you will need it for large purchases, and perhaps Lowe's or HD. 

If you are simply looking for rewards cards, you'll need to see what you're spending money on, and go from there. 

[KnightKITT]

Has anyone had any luck with percentages off with jcap? I read through the forums prior and tried to dispute it and wrote an email using the template on one post to ask for removal but neither worked so I may be stuck negotiating with a pay for delete.

[Remedios]

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@KnightKITT wrote:

Has anyone had any luck with percentages off with jcap? I read through the forums prior and tried to dispute it and wrote an email using the template on one post to ask for removal but neither worked so I may be stuck negotiating with a pay for delete.

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That's a conversation for rebuilding forum but in general, older the account, less you can offer.

If the account is newer (especially if still under SOL), start with 50%, and you'll be lucky if they accept 75% since they still have leverage. 

Disputing won't work with newer collections because paper trail is still fresh,  every time you dispute your scores suffer since it makes deliquency appear more recent (no re-aging, just simple update). 

Also, once they realize you are preparing for mortgage (they will see inquiries when they do SPs), they will come after you with everything they got because they know people will pay anything to avoid problems with mortgage.

Deal with it sooner rather than later, that's really in your best interest.

If you require additional help, feel free to start a thread in rebuilding forum.