Rebuilding Credit! CC Help!

[crimsondiva26]

Hi All!

I am a 25 year old teacher and for the past year I have been attempting to rebuild my credit! When I was in college, I did some foolish things and got behind on a First Premier Bank card (insert groan)! My credit score was at about 614 towards the end of 2013 and it is currently at 653. I have been working really hard to pay off any balances that I owe on my CC's. I make okay money (about $44,500 a year), so I am trying to pay off any baddies that I have on my credit. 

I currently have a Credit One Bank card with a CL of $750.00, a Capital One Platinum with a CL of $750.00, and a department store CC with a CL of $650.00. I recently got approved for an American Express Green Card with NPSL. I don't want to have so many CC's open, so I was wondering should I close 1 or 2 out and which ones should I close out? OR should I just keep all of them open with a balance of 0 and primarily use my AMEX.

I am interested in buying a house around this time next year, so I am trying to make the best decisions that will help my credit score go up!

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! 

Thanks!

[DevotionToU]

If they have no AF's, there's really no reason to close them.  Just sock drawer them and let them keep showing a good payment history (use them every once in a while).

[parakleet]

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@DevotionToU wrote:

If they have no AF's, there's really no reason to close them.  Just sock drawer them and let them keep showing a good payment history (use them every once in a while).

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There are two different schools of thought on closing cards that you don't need@. Some prefer to do what @DevotionToU recommends and others prefer to close out cards that you have no need for since closing them will not adversely affect your AAOA for 10 years. Closing them may have a negative impact on utlization so it might be a good idea to get cards that you really will use to replace the ones you don't find as useful. Of course, there's absolutely no need to keep sub-prime cards with AF.

[PrimeRate]

Not sure how long ago you apped for the Green NPSL, but maybe you want to try calling the backdoor credit analyst # and see if they can use the same hard pull for a revolver(2-for-1 is common AMEX practice). If you get approved for a decent CL on the revolver, then maybe consider closing those "Rebuilding Cards" or just SD them as others have said(as long as they don't have annual fees).

[gdale6]

I would not be closing anything, you actually want to have better revolving bankcards than the ones you have (Credit 1 & Cap1). You need to sit down and decide what you want in a card and then go after the ones that will match your spending. You need to have 3 open revolving bankcards to help maximize your score, you have 2 so I would be thinking about what your next one will be. Do not rush into anything if you are going to buy a home next year, you dont want new accounts opened 6 months  prior to the mortgage app. Good luck and welcome to the board

[aubie1kenobie2]

I would not close the cards without AFs for now, use it once in a while and pay in full everytime. Once your score gets better and you qualify for better cards, then maybe you can think about closing them if you don't have a need for them anymore. Congrats on raising your score and good luck on your journey!

[Creditaddict]

I would not close any cards right now when you have so few.

I would see about Product Changing the Cap1 Platinum to Quicksilver.

[crimsondiva26]

Hi All!

I recently applied for a Capital One Quicksilver CC and got approved with a $1000 CL. I currently have a Credit One CC with $750 CL, a Capital One Platnium CC with $750, a Torrid CC (store in the mall) with a $650 CL, and an AMEX Green Card with NPSL. Two of those cards are credit repair cards. Since I was approved to get the Quicksilver, I wanted to see should I cancel out one of my credit repair CC's, preferably the Capital One Platinum OR just keep it and never use it!

Trying to raise my credit score so that I can buy a house this time next year! Any advice would help!!!

Thanks!

[09Lexie]

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@crimsondiva26 wrote:

Hi All!

I recently applied for a Capital One Quicksilver CC and got approved with a $1000 CL. I currently have a Credit One CC with $750 CL, a Capital One Platnium CC with $750, a Torrid CC (store in the mall) with a $650 CL, and an AMEX Green Card with NPSL. Two of those cards are credit repair cards. Since I was approved to get the Quicksilver, I wanted to see should I cancel out one of my credit repair CC's, preferably the Capital One Platinum OR just keep it and never use it!

Trying to raise my credit score so that I can buy a house this time next year! Any advice would help!!!

Thanks!

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OP,

I merged your threads together.  In the future, refrain from posting duplicative posts.

thank you!

Lexie, myFICO Moderator

[takeshi74]

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@crimsondiva26 wrote:

I don't want to have so many CC's open, so I was wondering should I close 1 or 2 out and which ones should I close out? OR should I just keep all of them open with a balance of 0 and primarily use my AMEX.

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Make sure you read and understand this sticky to help you make an educated decision.

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Cards/Closing-Credit-Cards/m-p/347190?jump=true

Also consider this:

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

Don't just consider number of cards but consider your utilization (the 30% slice of the pie in the link above) as well.