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I'm in Heaven

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mrlimo
Regular Contributor

Re: I'm in Heaven


@Anonymous wrote:

....I just need advice on what to do next. I now have 5 cards..

BofA..13 mos open..$2500 high...0 balance
Orch..11mos open..$300 high.....0 balance
WaMu 4 mos open..$3500 high...$700 balance...0% till jan
CapOne..4 mos open...$1000 high...0 balance...0% till Dec
AND THE GRAND DAM....Discover...high not given on pre-approved site...0% till Mar 2009

My questionsare numerous but the big one is can anyone guess what my credit limit will be? I make about 100k a year, been on my job for 10 years. Also can anyone give me direction on what I should do next? I had decided not to apply for any more cards since we'll be buying a home within a year but the discover card was too hard to ignore. I need your help .



 The one thing that stands out to me as I look at the list of credit cards accumulating is CREDIT MIX
 
Do you have any good standing paid or even open instalment at the current moment?
 
Also Store cards such as Sears, Home Depot, Macy's etc. The list is for all 5 being Bank cards. I am not sure of the exact formula here on percentage of bank to store cards one should carry I just know for ultimate fico score credit mix weighs in. I would have suggested it earilier but I thought that you were not trying to app for any new cards. In the long run the new account with the inquirery and bringing down the average age again will weight heavier on the negative then the store cards will do on the positive side. For the future I would keep it simmering on the back burner that at some point maybe after you close on your new house to APP for a Home Depot or Lowes card 1 it gives you the credit mix and 2 Owning a new house you will visit both regularly (BAHAHA)
 
Glad to here your still plugging away for your ultimate dream though.
 
Message 51 of 74
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: I'm in Heaven

Thanks haulingthescoreup and mrlimo. I didn't want to add another card but the Discover offer was too much to let pass. I will not be applying for any more cards at this time but I do have a question. My wife is pregnant and we will buy a minivan soon, probably in Jan or Feb. and adding about $300 a month to my debt will be no problem with my income. How do you guys feel this will affect my score? I know short term it will take a hit but after six or seven months of on time payments will this help me short term? I know it will help my mix but it can also seem like I'm trying to aquire too much credit too fast. Seems I always need something more....lol
Message 52 of 74
haulingthescoreup
Moderator Emerita

Re: I'm in Heaven

It should help you, quite possibly within a few months, by adding an installment account to your mix. The first month you'll probably take a hit, with the loan still at 100%, but the next month, your scores should bounce back.

Try going to the EQ and TU sims and do the "get an auto loan" option.

Congrats on the exciting news!
* Credit is a wonderful servant, but a terrible master. * Who's the boss --you or your credit?
FICO's: EQ 781 - TU 793 - EX 779 (from PSECU) - Done credit hunting; having fun with credit gardening. - EQ 590 on 5/14/2007
Message 53 of 74
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: I'm in Heaven

   Well another update on my journey. I called Cap One for a cli and the girl basically told me no. When I told her that i would be closing my account in the near future she closed it anyway without my permission. I asked for her supervisor and she told me there was nothing she could do...It was closed. I was so angry that I asked them to remove me from there mailing list and never contact me again. I only had the account 4 months paid perfectly and left with a 0 balance, so it will still help me. Nedless to say I won't be missing Crap one.This also got me thinking about Orchard and closing that account also since the limit is only $300 on a sceured card and I have 3 pretty good other unsecured cards, BofA, Discover, and WaMu. What do you think I should do? Will closing the Orchard bank hurt me? I've had it for about 10 months. Also it shouldn't have an effect on my average since it will still report for 10 years.
Message 54 of 74
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: I'm in Heaven

b-u-m-p
Message 55 of 74
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: I'm in Heaven

bump
Message 56 of 74
haulingthescoreup
Moderator Emerita

Re: I'm in Heaven


@Anonymous wrote:

Well another update on my journey. I called Cap One for a cli and the girl basically told me no. When I told her that i would be closing my account in the near future she closed it anyway without my permission. I asked for her supervisor and she told me there was nothing she could do...It was closed. I was so angry that I asked them to remove me from there mailing list and never contact me again. I only had the account 4 months paid perfectly and left with a 0 balance, so it will still help me. Nedless to say I won't be missing Crap one.

This also got me thinking about Orchard and closing that account also since the limit is only $300 on a sceured card and I have 3 pretty good other unsecured cards, BofA, Discover, and WaMu. What do you think I should do? Will closing the Orchard bank hurt me? I've had it for about 10 months. Also it shouldn't have an effect on my average since it will still report for 10 years.


Have you read fused's thread on closing credit cards? It's linked in my siggy below.

Generally, you think about closing a card IF it has an annual fee, and you have enough other available credit to cover the missing credit limit, so that your util isn't hurt. You're right, it should report for 10 years, although closed accounts sometimes fall off early, especially on EQ, and there is no law saying that they must remain. Smiley Mad

It can also be reasonable to close an account, simply because its presence irritates you every time you see it. But since this means making a decision based on emotion rather than on reason, you should carefully work out any long-term implications first. For instance, if you had opened that Orchard card 5 years before any other card, it could do some serious hurt on your longest account history when it fell off. (And don't forget, you also lose average age when an account falls off.)

In general, if you don't have many open tradelines (credit accounts of all types: loans, CC's, etc.), and if there isn't a fee, or not a huge one, you should keep it open. If you are overcoming bad credit in the past, having new clean accounts reporting "dilutes" the negative effect of the derogs. Every month that goes by with every open account paid on time diminishes baddies.

So if you don't have a lot of other open accounts, I'd put up with Orchard. You can retire it after the better cards have been up and running for at least a year or so. (I picked that time out of the air; nothing magic about it.) HTH
* Credit is a wonderful servant, but a terrible master. * Who's the boss --you or your credit?
FICO's: EQ 781 - TU 793 - EX 779 (from PSECU) - Done credit hunting; having fun with credit gardening. - EQ 590 on 5/14/2007
Message 57 of 74
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: I'm in Heaven

    I have 3 other cards now, BofA, Discover, and WaMu. The Orchard card is a secured and has been open about 10 or 11 months and has a $300 limit and will charge a fee soon. In your opinion should i just close it and move on with the better cards?I would keep it if I thought it would graduate but after reading posts here I don't think they will even after never being late. What is your experiences with Orchard graduating?
Message 58 of 74
haulingthescoreup
Moderator Emerita

Re: I'm in Heaven

I don't think that I've seen many reports saying that they do. One, maybe. Smiley Happy

But I still think that you should keep it open for now. (Sorry if I was unclear above.) It's not a very glamorous tradeline, but it's clean, and it's active. Every month that it reports good behavior on your report, that makes you look better and better.

If you had 10 other open accounts all reporting every month, I'd say let it go. But with only 3 others, and if you can afford the fee, I'd keep it open one more year anyway.

One way to look at it: divide the fee by 12, and that's like an amount you're paying per month to help your credit. Not a whole lot different from those jewelry store accounts where you buy some bling that everyone seems to think is pretty junky, but the accounts are positive tradelines.

Yes, if it's closed, it's contributing to history, but it's not increasing your number of months of clean reporting. (because it's no longer reporting)

Just my opinion, anyway.
* Credit is a wonderful servant, but a terrible master. * Who's the boss --you or your credit?
FICO's: EQ 781 - TU 793 - EX 779 (from PSECU) - Done credit hunting; having fun with credit gardening. - EQ 590 on 5/14/2007
Message 59 of 74
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: I'm in Heaven

So it will have a better affect on my scoring if I keep it open as opposed to closing it. What affect would it have if I keep it open and never use it?
Message 60 of 74
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