@tcbofade wrote:...or 38
Our Home Depot card got CLD'd to a $500 credit limit.
I have a $36k NFCU Platinum credit limit.
...and 36 in between.
at least HD didnt close it
. Question Taco, how is your CA on your 36k Plat? Just wondering if its capped or just depends on your limit. Thanks.
Fyi, my $25k CR has a $7500 CA
@coreysw12 wrote:I don't like having bunches of store cards for places I never shop at or that don't offer good incentives. But there are a few I'd like to get, because they offer 5% discounts or cashback at places I regularly shop anyways:
- REI
- Lowes
- Amazon
In the 2 days since I posted that, I went ahead and got the REI and Amazon store card 
Total Loan Balance: $43k / $65k
Total SL: $78k
@jetsfan2013 wrote:A friend told me that he "outgrew" retail store cards and closed all of them (he had 4). He now exclusively has Amex and Citi (Double Cash, Gold and Hilton Aspire).
What is everyone's thoughts around saying no to store branded retail cards?
My personal preference is to avoid them. I don't like being induced to spend with a particular company.
@SouthJamaica wrote:
@jetsfan2013 wrote:A friend told me that he "outgrew" retail store cards and closed all of them (he had 4). He now exclusively has Amex and Citi (Double Cash, Gold and Hilton Aspire).
What is everyone's thoughts around saying no to store branded retail cards?
My personal preference is to avoid them. I don't like being induced to spend with a particular company.
I remember back when I worked at RadioShack (anyone remember that place?) we were required to try to get customers into a RadioShack store card (and of course, paid a commission if we succeeded). I always felt really bad because the people who were mostly applying for it were people I knew didn't need it, and in a lot of cases they didn't seem like people that would use it responsibly. I still have the opinion that one shouldn't open a store card just because the clerk hands them a pamphlet and calls you crazy if you don't get it. Probably 90% of the store cards in people's wallets are ones they never should've gotten, but got talked into. But like I said earlier, in the right hands they can be an excellent tool. Particularly if it's for a store you're already shopping at regularly anyways, or even if it's only for a 1-time very large purchase, if the incentives are worth it. They can also be a decent tool for someone getting started with credit - back when I was 18, I remember the JC Penny card was all the rage because pretty much anyone could get it, and it was a great credit builder even if the card itself was worthless.
So the bottom line is, everyone should examine their habits and needs and determine which store cards (if any) might be right for them, and don't let anyone talk you into any cards that you weren't already planning to get anyways.
In my case, I already spend ungodly sums of money at Amazon and REI anyways, and a store card with them isn't going to increase that spending any, it just rewards me for the spending I'd be doing anyways. There's no worry about needing to keep activity on it, since rarely does even a week go by where I'm not shopping at one of those two places. So those cards are great for me. But a Zales card, or a shopping mall store card, for example, would be terrible for me since I hardly ever shop either place, and definitely don't want to feel like I have to just because I have the card. But for someone who regularly shops at Zales, or Victoria's Secret, or whatever, might find good value in those cards.
