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Establishing history with cc lenders

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Duncanrr
Valued Contributor

Establishing history with cc lenders

Not sure how best to ask this question, I'm thinking of adding Citi card to my list after I leave the garden. Is it a good idea to spread out my history with various cc lenders or should I make one of my lenders a primary lender? Currently I have Wells Fargo, Capital One, Amex, Chase and GECRB (Walmart discover). Should I focus my charges one one particular lender or just spread it around?


Starting Score: EQ 551 TU 548 CK 607on 6/8/12, EX 542(AMEX pull 3/4/12)
Current Score: EQ 808 TU --- EX --- CK 804(FAKO-EX 821, EQ 823, TU 803)
Goal Score: 750

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Message 1 of 9
8 REPLIES 8
jsucool76
Super Contributor

Re: Establishing history with cc lenders

I would think it best to keep a positive history with multiple lenders, this way if something goes south with one of them you know you didn't have everything with just them. A fall back option if you will...or a plan B kinda Smiley Tongue 

Message 2 of 9
jamie123
Valued Contributor

Re: Establishing history with cc lenders


@jsucool76 wrote:

I would think it best to keep a positive history with multiple lenders, this way if something goes south with one of them you know you didn't have everything with just them. A fall back option if you will...or a plan B kinda Smiley Tongue 


+1 Good advice here!  ^^^^^^^^

 

You never know what might happen. Someone could steal your account numbers and run up or crash that account. You could have a dispute with a charge that goes south and many other bad things could happen that destroys your relationship with a particular lender. It is always good to have a plan "B" instead of having to start from scratch.

 


Starting Score: EQ 653 6/21/12
Current Score: EQ 817 3/10/20 - EX 820 3/13/20 - TU 825 3/03/20
Message 3 of 9
jsucool76
Super Contributor

Re: Establishing history with cc lenders


@jamie123 wrote:

@jsucool76 wrote:

I would think it best to keep a positive history with multiple lenders, this way if something goes south with one of them you know you didn't have everything with just them. A fall back option if you will...or a plan B kinda Smiley Tongue 


+1 Good advice here!  ^^^^^^^^

 

You never know what might happen. Someone could steal your account numbers and run up or crash that account. You could have a dispute with a charge that goes south and many other bad things could happen that destroys your relationship with a particular lender. It is always good to have a plan "B" instead of having to start from scratch.

 


+1

 

If you happen to do a big portion of your banking (checking/savings/MMA,CDs stuff like that) with one of the lenders who has given you a card, I would focus most of your relationship on them, this way if you ever want anything they won't give you, you can bring into the fact that you've had a long relationship with them, plus you've got fat deposit accounts with them. 

Message 4 of 9
Weights
Regular Contributor

Re: Establishing history with cc lenders

I agree with the others on here as well to. The reasons stated above are precisiely why my visa, mastercard, etc are with different issuers. 

Message 5 of 9
jsucool76
Super Contributor

Re: Establishing history with cc lenders


@Weights wrote:

I agree with the others on here as well to. The reasons stated above are precisiely why my visa, mastercard, etc are with different issuers. 


What do you mean by that?

 

Visa MC, Discover and AMEX have nothing to do with the lenders. Each one just offers cards from different people (and with the exception of amex and discover who own their own processing networks) most lenders offer visa and MC, and some even offer amex cards. Cap1 offers visa and MC, BoA offers Visa and amex, USAA offers amex, visa, and MC, citi offers visa and MC. 

 

Processing network has nothing to do with the issuer, it is just who they use on that card to process. 

Message 6 of 9
Weights
Regular Contributor

Re: Establishing history with cc lenders

perhaps my choice of words wasn't the best. I meant that I have a visa credit card with one lender, a mastercard with a different lender. since discover issues their own credit cards unlike the other, i have one with them. it also allows me a variety in case one retailer doesn't accept the others; ie, sam's clubs aceepts mastercard and discover, but not visa. it's rare today for a merchant to accept visa, but not mastercard and vice versa, but it does happen now and then.

Message 7 of 9
jsucool76
Super Contributor

Re: Establishing history with cc lenders


@Weights wrote:

perhaps my choice of words wasn't the best. I meant that I have a visa credit card with one lender, a mastercard with a different lender. since discover issues their own credit cards unlike the other, i have one with them. it also allows me a variety in case one retailer doesn't accept the others; ie, sam's clubs aceepts mastercard and discover, but not visa. it's rare today for a merchant to accept visa, but not mastercard and vice versa, but it does happen now and then.


Oh!

 

lol. Sorry I just wanted to make sure you didn't recieve any bad information somewhere. Bad information can be one's downfall while building credit. (For instance I read a post the other day where someones CPA told them checking their own credit was bad for their score). 

 

Yes, most people do have cards on various networks. I know sam's club doesn't accept Visa CCs, but I think they take visa debit, and I know the DMV here only took mastercard, nothing else (which pissed me off since I had no mastercard at the time). 

Message 8 of 9
SwampSystems
Frequent Contributor

Re: Establishing history with cc lenders


@Duncanrr wrote:
Not sure how best to ask this question, I'm thinking of adding Citi card to my list after I leave the garden. Is it a good idea to spread out my history with various cc lenders or should I make one of my lenders a primary lender? Currently I have Wells Fargo, Capital One, Amex, Chase and GECRB (Walmart discover). Should I focus my charges one one particular lender or just spread it around?

To further clarify, it is a "good idea" to spread your business across multiple creditors simply to have more options and flexibility in the future. While it is true that businesses sometimes do respect their long-time customers, the fact is that unless you have $100,000 or more in deposits/investments with a financial institution, they don't really care if you've been with them 2 years or 20 years; you are expendable. I have had just as much luck getting great treatment from institutions I had just recently become a customer of as I have had bad luck with institutions I had been a customer of for ages.

 

Even then, some institutions manage their deposit accounts and credit tradelines as separate businesses. For example, Capital One Bank, N.A. is part of Capital One Credit only in name. Having a deposit account with them has no bearing on you being given special consideration for their credit products. The normal customer service representatives don't even have a way of knowing you are a "mutual customer" to both businesses unless you tell them. This might be different if you have one of the (discontinued) Hibernia Tower Gold deposit/investment products with them, which can be equated to one of the J. P. Morgan products, but again, to have these would be to have serious money in the bank.

Message 9 of 9
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