They are ~15 months as of now, wait another year?
Starting Score: N/A
At first it was just a few, then it became fun in a why not apply for this kind of way.. Regardless.. Apps are done, cards were approved. Life has gone on... Now it's 15 months later and wanting to develop phase II of this project. Original post subject was edited, hopefully it will carry over the goal of me re-opening my 15 month old thread..
Home Depot was previous never used because it had a $500 limit.. What could I really want for $150 or less at home depot? Honestly nothing. Now that it's $1500, I can buy a $400 tool set and be less than 30%... The card has evolved to being useful.
Zales was never used because it had a $500 limit. My fiance liked one that was $1k. So I max the account and drop $500 cash or I try to wait to get the limit up. Now it's $1500, which putting a $1k ring on it is 66%, but I can easily pay down 500 the first payment and it under 30% and have 0% financing for awhile. Now this account has become useful.
Dell hasn't been used, because of a $1k credit limit, I would love to get a nice new laptop but maxing the card out is counter productive unless I can it to get the 0% promo then payoff 700 the first month. I might as well buy it outright. Haven't found a way to get this account increased yet.
Discover was used because it had a 0% promo for a while, but the limit is $1k. I used a balance transfer promo and it's practically paid off now. I use it for incidentals and promos only when they have something with cash back bonuses.
The target card doesn't get used much because it's got a low limit and I can't get any big ticket items, I mainly use it when I don't feel like using my target debit card to give me a longer period to keep my money and still get 5% back, but with $600 limit, spending only $180 weak unless I charge and pay, which would be the same as using my debit card which has a 2-4 day delay till it posts. I only applied for this because I used to have the Target Visa before it was dc with a $3500 CL, I didn't realize target ditched them at time of application and nuked the limits.
I've been doing what people have said "garden" the accounts for the last 15 months. Just trying to determine if I should classify some of these as weeds and set them free or just let them all ride it out.
I will eventually want better cards with better perks and just want to lay the right foundation to do so...
didnt realized until i look up on the original post day...........Post came back after 1 year 
Starting Score: 560Still haven't heard a yay or nay to go for an AMEX since it's been 15 months since all of these accounts were opened or to wait. Other than garden, no one has given any input if any should be closed...
Again we've already established what's done is done August 2011. It's now 15 months later and I'm looking more long term from here. I'm not looking to APP today, unless It's beneficial. just like I'm not looking to close an account unless it's viewed as beneficial, or do a HI for CLI unless it's beneficial.
As already mentioned the debt I have is work related expenses from helping some friends. I choose to help people in the hopes maybe someday I'll need a favor and someone will be there to help me, like I've helped others. On top of what I get paid for work, these expenses are also being covered. I get roughly $1200 a month to cover these credit card expenses alone. So they leaves 7-8 months til all accounts are PIF with $0 balance.
When all accounts are PIF or below 30%, what's the next step....
What to keep, what to close, what to app, what to CLI, etc etc...
@JP-Photo wrote:
@shane82388 wrote:you got 13 new credit cards plus however many you tried to get but were denied for in a matter of weeks? lol
Id say it would be as good a time as any to just stop applying for a good 6-12 months at least....i mean what other card is out there to even get anymore at this point? JK...but really, i dont see the point in apping for more right now...those inquiries will take 2 years to fall of your report...but at least in 1 year they wont be dragging down your credit score anymore.
I'd not be surprised if someone else besides Barclays threw up a red flag and had a problem with you getting over 20 thousand dollars in new credit in such a short period of time...
Side Note: How are you going to fit all those cards in your wallet?!
I did have a phone call from Discover and BOA before they finally approved the account, and I was questioned by both as too so many inquiries. My response was simple, that I am not rebuilding my credit but making a well planned initiative to strengthen it, because no one is just gonna do it for me. They both manually approved the apps, the other request were instant approvals in most instances, with the exception of Merrick Bank. Merrick had actually sent me a pre-approved noticed and once I completed it online they had to do a further review and still approved the app.
Do I take an additional hit if any of the other accounts decide to bail on me like Barclay?
Re: Side Note: How are you going to fit all those cards in your wallet?!
My wallet is pretty awesome, but I don't plan on carrying them all with me, the main idea of getting all of the accounts like I did was to drop my util %.
I'm pretty sure 5 cards would suffice for maximizing all of the cash back that you can get from purchases throughout the day... I always keep a few in my wallet but just store all of my other cards in a safety box to use for any one-time transactions that I make.
!. Merrick is a subprime lender, since already have more than enough better cards, can it when PIF. IMHO the account should be closed if for no other reason than to de-clutter and begin to get the unbridled app spree to make some sense in terms of spending (including how much are willing to pay to carry balances = interest. and force one to begin to fine tune the ways in which they wish to effectively utilize credit going forward) It's a miracle they didn't close it already as they are known to balk at too many new accounts and summarily close.
The only downside is this card has a higher CL than 3 other accounts, and it has the 3rd best interest rate if I do have to carry a balance. No opposed to closing it, just waiting for the others to step up what they offer, which I'm sure will happen as my score goes up.
2. pay down balances as quickly as possible, avoid using credit to help others as a general rule. of course there may be exceptions, at your discretion but it quite often doesn't end well. you seem to assert using credit to help others will, in general, gain favor when it is much more likely to lead to default, if things head south; unless are willing and able to PIF the loans extended to others on credit. Think of it this way, If you have to borrow something to loan it to someone else, how frequently would it take to place oneself in this position before something went wrong? Ask me how I know.
I've got paid every month for the last 11 months straight, so I don't see it as an issue. I literaly saved this person from bankruptcy in their business, they make a point to send me money before other bills, that are probably more important get paid.