cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

Close it or Keep it--Walmart?

tag
mgs2010
Regular Contributor

Close it or Keep it--Walmart?

I opened a walmart card in November 2009....tiny 400.00 credit limit, smallest of all my lines....Should I just close it now or keep it? I already have plenty of cards..

 

Chase Freedom 14,500

Chase +1            10,000

BOA Amex            7,200

Capital One           9,500

Citi                       18,000

Kohls                      2,000

Discover                4,200

HSBC MC             4,500

 

 

 

see what I mean.....i dont know what to do....Also, if I do close it will that hurt or help my AAoA? I don't understand how aaoa works...is it the average age of active/open accounts? or all accounts?

 

my oldest account was opened 4 years ago, average age is 2 years....i'm only 22 so I don't know what to do to maximize my score. Thanks

Message 1 of 19
18 REPLIES 18
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Close it or Keep it--Walmart?

If you close it your AAoA wont drop. FICO factors in all accounts opened or closed. After closed it should remain on your report for 10 years but all accounts dont always make it some fall off earlier. But it shouldnt hurt you to close it especially with that low limit and all of your other limits that $400 shouldnt affect your utilization either. I dont see a problem with just leaving it open and using it once every couple of months but if you absolutely dont want it it shouldnt hurt you to close it.
Message 2 of 19
MarineVietVet
Moderator Emeritus

Re: Close it or Keep it--Walmart?


@mgs2010 wrote:

I opened a walmart card in November 2009....tiny 400.00 credit limit, smallest of all my lines....Should I just close it now or keep it? I already have plenty of cards..

 

Chase Freedom 14,500

Chase +1            10,000

BOA Amex            7,200

Capital One           9,500

Citi                       18,000

Kohls                      2,000

Discover                4,200

HSBC MC             4,500

 

 

 

see what I mean.....i dont know what to do....Also, if I do close it will that hurt or help my AAoA? I don't understand how aaoa works...is it the average age of active/open accounts? or all accounts?

 

my oldest account was opened 4 years ago, average age is 2 years....i'm only 22 so I don't know what to do to maximize my score. Thanks


Also, if I do close it will that hurt or help my AAoA? I don't understand how aaoa works...is it the average age of active/open accounts? or all accounts?

 

Your AAoA is the sum of the ages of every account on your report, whether open or closed, calculated in months, divided by 12. This is measured from the time each account was opened until present.

You’ll need to figure the age of each account, open or closed, on each report. If all three reports are identical, you're in luck; otherwise, you'll need to run this for each report.

So closing this card will not hurt your AAoA. It will continue to factor into your AAoA for up to 10 years.

 

I don't know what to do to maximize my score. 

 

The number one thing you can do is never. ever be late on any payments for any reason. Payment history is 35% of the total score.

 

Use of revolving credit is 30% of the score.

 

Optimal credit utilization for FICO scoring purposes seems to be:
Total revolving utilization > 0 and < 9%, the lower the better, and
Reporting a balance on less than half of your revolving TL's, and
Reporting a balance on half or less of all TL's.

 

 

From a BK years ago to:
7/09 TU-742 EQ- 779
8/09 TU-765 EQ- 783
9/09 EX pulled by lender 802

You can do the same thing with hard work.


 

Message 3 of 19
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Close it or Keep it--Walmart?

please what ever you do keep it, it may not seem like much but walmart card it not an easy card to get. there are many no matter how high there credit lines are or how clean there report is and somehow cant get one.

its what i call a true backup card, you can get cash up to $120 for some and 20 to 60 at a time for others.

lets say your bill is due and you are flat broke but have $1.00 for a candy bar, buy the candy and get $20 cash back  and pay your bill all at one time untill you get your paycheck to pay in full.i know it may sound like an odd thing to do but things do happen.

as far as the credit line it will grow, just request a cli on the web site every 4 months.

i think the reason walmart cards start out low is because who can go into a walmart and not buy something or find something you need, and with a store like that what are the odds of a person with a 5000cl on a walmart store card wont be maxed out in 3 months.

a walmart card may not be one of the best cards out there with call the perks but i must say it is a fun card to have.

ohh and one more thing you can use your walmart card in any country around the world where ever there is a walmart, now what other store card can you do that withSmiley Happy

 

 

Message 4 of 19
mgs2010
Regular Contributor

Re: Close it or Keep it--Walmart?

Thank You all for the advice! one question....Reporting a balance on less than half of your revolving TL's, and
Reporting a balance on half or less of all TL's

 

What exactly does this mean? and what exactly is a Trade Line? just a card? I only have two store cards: kohl's and walmart...not sure if thats good or bad. Thanks again, I love this forum!

Message 5 of 19
smallfry
Senior Contributor

Re: Close it or Keep it--Walmart?


@mgs2010 wrote:

I opened a walmart card in November 2009....tiny 400.00 credit limit, smallest of all my lines....Should I just close it now or keep it? I already have plenty of cards..

 

Chase Freedom 14,500

Chase +1            10,000

BOA Amex            7,200

Capital One           9,500

Citi                       18,000

Kohls                      2,000

Discover                4,200

HSBC MC             4,500

 

 

 

see what I mean.....i dont know what to do....Also, if I do close it will that hurt or help my AAoA? I don't understand how aaoa works...is it the average age of active/open accounts? or all accounts?

 

my oldest account was opened 4 years ago, average age is 2 years....i'm only 22 so I don't know what to do to maximize my score. Thanks


Keep the card and make sure to hit the luv button every 4th statement. n a few years the card will sport a respectable credit limit. AAofA is clearly explained in what goes into your credit report on this site and others. Good luck.

Message 6 of 19
marty56
Super Contributor

Re: Close it or Keep it--Walmart?

Back when I was subprime, my 300 Sams card got me through some rough times.  They gave me auto CLIs and now its at 4100.  Sams/Walmart cards are great to have and even though the rates are high, you can get discounts on gas and sometimes 0% on purchases.
1/25/2021: FICO 850 EQ 848 TU 847 EX
Message 7 of 19
MarineVietVet
Moderator Emeritus

Re: Close it or Keep it--Walmart?


@mgs2010 wrote:

Thank You all for the advice! one question....Reporting a balance on less than half of your revolving TL's, and
Reporting a balance on half or less of all TL's

 

What exactly does this mean? and what exactly is a Trade Line? just a card? I only have two store cards: kohl's and walmart...not sure if thats good or bad. Thanks again, I love this forum!


It means you try and have less than half of your revolving accounts report a balance each month to the CRA's  and also  less than half of all types of accounts report a balance. As an example I have 10 open accounts, 7 cards and 3 installment loans. For optimum scoring I need to have no more than three of my cards show a balance each month and no more than 5 total accounts show a balance. This is an ideal situation which in real life is sometimes hard to do but it's something to shoot for.

 

A trade line is any entry on your credit history.

Message 8 of 19
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Close it or Keep it--Walmart?

I closed my four month old Wallie card for the same reason - its low CL wasn't helpful for me. 

 

It may be helpful to some as a rebuilder card - but you have several cards and are past that point, so it doesn't fill that need for you.

 

They're also awkward to manage online.  There are really no great perks for this card, other than the 0% interest if you carry a balance (no benefit to that if you PIF).  Unfortunately, those 0% terms may also be a marker for Consumer Finance Co's - a FICO ding.  My GEMB Walmart card did show up as a Consumer Finance Account on my mortgage pull (and my CCT).

 

RE: your question on having one or two store accounts.  FICO doesn't care if you have store accounts.  They do care if you have bank accounts (you only need one).  Check out the guinea pig threads for info on FICO and store accounts.

 

And it's good to watch your total number of open accounts - some experts recommend no more than 10 total open accounts.  FICO can (and does) ding you for too many open accounts and it can result in your other credit accounts being closed.

 

Good luck with whatever you decide.  I don't miss my Wally card one little bit. 

Message 9 of 19
marty56
Super Contributor

Re: Close it or Keep it--Walmart?


@Anonymous wrote:

Unfortunately, those 0% terms may also be a marker for Consumer Finance Co's - a FICO ding.  My GEMB Walmart card did show up as a Consumer Finance Account on my mortgage pull (and my CCT).


I have never heard of a CFL type loan at 0%.  The loan type that should be reported would be either charge account or not reported so I would dispute the entry,

1/25/2021: FICO 850 EQ 848 TU 847 EX
Message 10 of 19
Advertiser Disclosure: The offers that appear on this site are from third party advertisers from whom FICO receives compensation.