Question about the bragging about having multiple cards open

[Anonymous]

@Themanwhocan,

OP (Surferboy1014 ) does not care about a good credit score.  He'd rather have a $10 million and a big house per original post.

[Anonymous]

No I was joking about the million dollars....Im in the Marines and have been for 7 years.  Alot of my debt comes from divorce and also stupid spending on my part.  I want to be debt free is my goal.  Can I get more info on this pay pal debt card with cash back and how to use it and why that would help me???

[elim]

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@Anonymous wrote:

OK so right now my credit score is a 668 according to Navyfed.

I have a best buy card - 3000 CL just paid off over 2800 recently

I have a Navyfed Mastercard Platinum - 17,500 CL - Maxed out because I used it to pay off a star card, personal loan, and best buy card

I have a security services credit union Mastercard Gold Card - 5000 CL - Maxed out

I have a BOA Alaska Airlines Signature card - 5000 CL - Maxed out

I have a military star card - 4200 CL - Nearly Maxed out

I dont think Im doing this right lol.  Most of my cards only get big payments or paid off around tax time.  Some of them have had 4000 plus balances for years....

But my credit had always been like 660 - 675 for the last 6 years.

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  it's only debt and not the end of the world. if you're contemplating BK i wouldn't do it but that's just my opinion  (i'm down to 10k in tax debt and chipping away every week)

  it takes some changes in spending to get out of it and there are a lot of people here that have and can give you some advice on the best ways to knock it out. 

  there is great support here and threads like The GREAT CC Payoff Challenge!​!

  best of luck whichever path you take

[PandiferBear]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Im reading through these forums and I see alot of people posting and at the bottom of whatever there posting about they have all the different credit cards they have opened and the there credit limits for those cards.  Does it help your credit or something to just apply for every credit card you can think of and just and keep them open and don't spend on them?  Or are people opening up 20 different cards and using all of them.  Are you just charging them all up and filing bankruptcy?  Im a little confused....

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First off, thank you for your service. We really appreciate you. I really cannot add to the Paypal thing, but welcome to the forums. This place is amazing and can help you get back on your feet. Lots of knowledge here. We have all made our mistakes, and you will recover.

[Imperfectfuture]

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@Anonymous wrote:

No I was joking about the million dollars....Im in the Marines and have been for 7 years.  Alot of my debt comes from divorce and also stupid spending on my part.  I want to be debt free is my goal.  Can I get more info on this pay pal debt card with cash back and how to use it and why that would help me???

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Are you stateside now?  The PayPal card gets you used to rewards, and keeps you on your budget.  While paying down the debt, you need to not use the cards at all, until you change your habits.  Living on cash is the equivalent of paying with the debit card, but if you use this card for cash back, you get some reward.  A little extra than a regular savings account.  I would fund the account when you get paid, and part of your budget should be set aside for future purchases like clothing, auto maintenance, electronics, etc.  You can watch your cash build up (don't use back up funding) while keeping to your budget, use spreadsheet if necessary,  use the debt pay down from your bank to pay off the cards.  In the meantime, cut the cards up (or freeze them), occasionally out a small bill on the paid off ones every three months to keep them active, and keep paying on the debt.

[Burned2manybridgesB4]

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@Anonymous wrote:

No I was joking about the million dollars....Im in the Marines and have been for 7 years.  Alot of my debt comes from divorce and also stupid spending on my part.  I want to be debt free is my goal.  Can I get more info on this pay pal debt card with cash back and how to use it and why that would help me???

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Dependapotamus got ya.... Ouch.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Different folks have different needs. Nixon just likes to look at all the fancy new designs they come up with. Some people work for sign up bonuses. Some have multiple businesses and use different cards for each. And for some it shows how hard the have worked to get back from bad or horrible credit and life situations. For some it may be a reminder not to go back to tthose places. And for everybody else you may find a card from a particular lender that you didnt even know about that may serve your personal needs well. 

Ive finally gotten to the point where I have choices. Actual good choices of respectable lenders that actually want me. As I am sort of a simple fella Im working on a plan to add useful cards, get rid of my subprime crap (lookin at you cap1) and minimize the clutter in my wallet and safe. Utilization is a big factor in your score, so having a bit (a lot for some people) more than you need or would ever consider using is a factor. There are certainly lines you can cross having too much (you will find a small but loud number of horror stories) credit. Where that line is is very different from person to person. 

Find a number of cards and amount of credit that works for you. We all have different lives and lifestyles, so the perfect card for me may not be the same for you. And many of us have lenders and banks that we love/hate and that love/hate us. Im a credit union nerd. Some are  (not so) secretly in a polygamous relationship with chase. I could take chase or leave em. others love discover, many love amex and some even love cap1

. 

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Well said!

[Anonymous]

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@ecxpa wrote:

To the OP.  Credit is a valuable and volatile asset.   Use it wisely and you will have a better life.  You get better deals, can negotiate better deals, and enjoy better deals.  Use it recklessly and you can end up with  catastrophe.   Everybody has their reason(s) for the cards they have and many times they don't make sense to anyone but them.  Sometimes it doesn't even make sense to the cardholders.   As for me I am a simple man that has been blessed and despite some bad decisions and events have managed to get my credit in pretty fair shape.  I like to have a diversity in my card portfolio like my invesments as the more cards you get the more vulnerable you are to AA from CCC.  In other words don't put all your eggs in one basket no matter how big the basket is.  Pay your CC bills and use the cards and most of the time your credit will grow.  A great number of the folks her PIF and I generally do,  but not always; rewards can be lucrative if you get the right card(s) and use them correctly.  I like accumulating points on various cards and getting cash back but it is not a priority for me.  Before coming to this board my credit and credit lines were in the pits; invaluable info abounds here and a lot of good advice on credit building and repair.  I had never heard of doing a recon prior to coming here and didn't know the difference between a CSR and a credit analyst or underwriting department.  My credit is not perfect by any means; I can't seem to get a Citibank revolver nor an Amex revolver even though I have some of their products.  At this point I am not going to try again anytime soon for these cards; not sure I would even take a pre-approval from them.   I seem to learn something here everyday and ask questions frequently; so I am not an expert by any means.  

As for bragging, I have seen very little if any overt bragging here.  All the cards you see in posters' signatures are more a sign of pride rather than bragging points.  People who have recovered or are recovering from bad credit have worked hard that's all.   Credit can give you tranquility or one of the worst nightmares you have ever had.

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Well said!

[Anonymous]

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@MaisCher wrote:

If you look closely you'll notice many of us have the credit score we started with in our signatures (graphics or text that automatically displays at the bottom of a users forum post) as well. Posting that along with my cards is my way of telling those just starting the rebuilding process that there is hope. I post my limits because I went from mismanaging and maxing out $200, $400, and $600 limit cards to rarely using and paying in full a 10K limit card. Even those posting about the $250 limit store cards are well aware that someone here has much more credit than that so no, it's not bragging. It's being proud of how far you've come, where you're trying to go, and sharing with people who understand.

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Well said! Good luck on your journey!!!

[Anonymous]

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@takeshi74 wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

Does it help your credit or something to just apply for every credit card you can think of and just and keep them open and don't spend on them?  Or are people opening up 20 different cards and using all of them.  Are you just charging them all up and filing bankruptcy?  Im a little confused....

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You're oversimplifying quite a bit.  Start by reading up on the standard factors used for credit scoring:

http://www.myfico.com/crediteducation/whatsinyourscore.aspx

Applying for every credit card isn't a good idea since each new account comes with a hit due to the hard pull (New Credit) and a reduction in AAoA (Length of Credit History).

That said, keeping utilization (Amounts Owed) low does generally help.  The generic advice is to keep utilization under 30%.  If applying and seeking every possible point then one should allow only one balance to report at 10% or less since scoring models favor fewer balances and lower utilization.

Number of cards is up to each to determine based on needs/wants/preferences/etc.  Number of cards is a very common topic so don't overlook prior threads on the matter.

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@Anonymous wrote:
Question about the bragging about having multiple cards open

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Don't just assume that signatures are bragging. Some may be bragging because they were building/rebuilding and are excited to have their current lineup but that doesn't mean that everyone is.  Keep in mind that this is a credit discussion forum and it allows people to not have to post their lineup every time they're discussing their own credit.

It does seem like bragging to me which is why I don't have a signature but at the same time I don't just assume that everyone who does is bragging.  I don't find that enough of my posts refer to the specifics of my tradelines to warrant having them in a signature either.

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@Anonymous wrote:

Or are people opening up 20 different cards and using all of them.  Are you just charging them all up and filing bankruptcy?  Im a little confused....

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People vary.  Don't assume that everyone is the same no matter what the topic.

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@Anonymous wrote:

Id rather have 10 million dollars and big house then a 700 credit score lol....

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Your call but the two aren't mutually exclusive.  You can have money and poor credit.  You can have no money and good credit.  You can have money and good credit.

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Well said!