Reaching for a goal card

[Anonymous]

Hey guys,

I currently have 10 CC accounts. 7 of those accounts are through Synchrony.

How do I maintain my limits? Keep my creditors happy?

How often do I need to use my cards?

The other big question I had... Can I just use them every 6-12 months and pay them off before the cycle close or do I need to wait for a balance to report?

It’d be easier for me to just pay them off ASAP instead of waiting a few week(s) for a balance to report. But would that be okay?

What do you recommend to keep these accounts open and CLs where they are?

At some point I’d like to try for an AMEX. That has always been a goal card for me! Stray away from the store cards...

My credit profile as of now is...

1% utilization
Average age: 2 years and 3 months
Two baddies. One for 500 and one for 1100.
*ficos*
Transunion 679
Equifax 670
Experian 636 (report hasn’t updated yet with new balances and one old baddie still needs to fall off).
Lastly a 5,400 personal loan I’ll be paying off in February.

I was thinking in March after the dust settles and my reports are all caught up I’d try for the AMEX and then continue to garden. What do you think?

[Anonymous]

7 with Synchrony???  What was the time frame of getting all 7?  I would be very anxious that a blue envelope may hit your mailbox, especially if you got CLI-request crazy on any of those cards.

Since there's so many folks who did get the blue envelope/account closure with overexposure to Synchrony, I'd be looking carefully at the apps you do -- too many apps in a row may force Synchrony's hand when they SP you in the future.

Amex makes sense, because even if you get a $2000 SL, you can get it to $6000 after 61 days and $18,000 after another 181 days.  That would likely cover any losses in case Synchrony sends you colorful mail.

No chance for Chase without an offer if you're over 4/24.

Is your personal loan your ONLY loan reporting?  If so, paying it off will drop your score significantly.

[Anonymous]

Most of my accounts with them are 2+ years old. I think my last new CC account was a Kay card last March (which I ended up closing) Other then that no new CC accounts in 2+ years.

You make a good point about the loan... But the interest rate on that guy’s rediculous. I don’t want to give them another cent of my money.

I was thinking maybe I could try to get a new line of credit with my bank at a more reasonable interest rate and pay that sucker off while keeping a loan open?

I do have student loans, too.

Those accounts are the ones that really sting my average credit account as I get 4 new accounts a year with them. Semester 1 I get one subsidized loan and one unsubsidized and then again for the second semester. When I pull my credit I have something like 8-9 loan accounts.