Store Card vs Credit Card does FICO know?

[mmmlive1999]

Long story short I have not had a credit card in 6yrs, just went on a app spree and got 3 two store cards and a Cap one revolver.I don't have any of the cards yet but,

my new Walmart store card just reported on EQ FICO and gave me a 20 pt bump!!!

The way things are going I might just make 700 by June.....

My questions to the board are:

1) Does FICO know the difference between a store card and a Visa/MC/Amex...?

2) I have yet to see my Victorias Secret store card and Cap 1 platinum report, I wonder if they might bring my score down again?

3) Should I cancel the VS before it reports to save on points? 

(I never shop there, just got it on a pre app with a soft pull only before I knew I could qualify for anything else. )

Thanks all

[creditnocash]

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@mmmlive1999 wrote:

Long story short I have not had a credit card in 6yrs, just went on a app spree and got 3 two store cards and a Cap one revolver.I don't have any of the cards yet but,

my new Walmart store card just reported on EQ FICO and gave me a 20 pt bump!!!

The way things are going I might just make 700 by June.....

My questions to the board are:

1) Does FICO know the difference between a store card and a Visa/MC/Amex...?

2) I have yet to see my Victorias Secret store card and Cap 1 platinum report, I wonder if they might bring my score down again?

3) Should I cancel the VS before it reports to save on points? 

(I never shop there, just got it on a pre app with a soft pull only before I knew I could qualify for anything else. )

Thanks all

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1.fico cannot tell the difference (someone correct me if im wrong) financial institutions can though. (when i pull my reports its coded retail card vs bank card etc. )

2/3. you already took the hit for it. (no pull) but it will be a new account.  you cant just cancel it. i would use it once every 3 months for something small and pay it off to show as it being active and a positive tl. 

as for dropping more it could and it couldnt . its all ymmv.

i have been up and down for the past 6 months hopefully going up soon!

[distantarray]

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@mmmlive1999 wrote:

Long story short I have not had a credit card in 6yrs, just went on a app spree and got 3 two store cards and a Cap one revolver.I don't have any of the cards yet but,

my new Walmart store card just reported on EQ FICO and gave me a 20 pt bump!!!

The way things are going I might just make 700 by June.....

My questions to the board are:

1) Does FICO know the difference between a store card and a Visa/MC/Amex...?

No it doesn't, but Banks do. Chase from experience will NOT factor in store accounts. A friend had Discover card for 3 years perfect history, and a Marks and Morgans store card. They only gave him a $500 credit limit on a Freedom card even with a 740 score.....

2) I have yet to see my Victorias Secret store card and Cap 1 platinum report, I wonder if they might bring my score down again?

You already took a hit, you can't fix it unless you have a working flux capacitor in a delorian and hit exactly 88 mph

3) Should I cancel the VS before it reports to save on points? 

(I never shop there, just got it on a pre app with a soft pull only before I knew I could qualify for anything else. )

You already took the hit, but you can use the card at Bath and Body works.

Thanks all

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[bs6054]

That contradicts this article from Fico:http://www.bankrate.com/finance/credit-cards/closing-credit-card-dings-credit-score-3.aspx

which clearly states that part of the mix calculation in the score is bank vs store.....

Here's another misconception for you: Does it impact your score any less to close a department-store card versus a bank credit card?

No. In terms of the credit card utilization, it does not impact. My only hesitation (is) in the long run there could be a difference, and that's going back to those five areas (which make up your credit score). The credit mix (is) like 10 percent -- and that looks at the proportion of different kinds of credit. The big categories would be credit cards and mortgages and auto loans. But then within credit cards, it breaks it down into whether you have bank cards or department-store cards. If you close off all your bank cards and they get deleted from your report in a few years, and all you're left with is department-store cards, that can hurt your score a little bit. Down the road that can hurt you, but that's a very minimally weighted part of the scoring. For most people, it's not going to matter a whole lot.

[jake619]

And some good news if your flux capacitor doesn't work any longer .. they're only a few hundred bucks on eBay!

I'd keep the card anyway.

[mmmlive1999]

Y'all are silly

 It sucks that I can't go back in time!!!  I'm sure the score will get sorted out when all the app dust settles.

Thanks for the insight

[jsucool76]

Bs6054,im pretty sure that is wrong. When you pull your reports it is simply coded as a revolving account, whether it is a store card or not.

Lenders on the other hand can usually tell the difference (especially in a manual review) because cards from GECRB and WFNNB are afaik, all store cards, or store visa/mc/amex/discovers

[bs6054]

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@jsucool76 wrote:
Bs6054,im pretty sure that is wrong. When you pull your reports it is simply coded as a revolving account, whether it is a store card or not.

Lenders on the other hand can usually tell the difference (especially in a manual review) because cards from GECRB and WFNNB are afaik, all store cards, or store visa/mc/amex/discovers

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Well, the person quoted is a product manager at FICO, but, more significantly, I just looked at my credit report. Look at the "Industry" field.  All my bank cards are marked "Banks" and the store ones are different, e.g. my GAP card says "Clothing"