Score's on the rise.

[Anonymous]

Hey, I pulled my yearly FICO scores and was pleased. i been watching them with True Credit, but was unsure exactly where they were.

14 April 2007 - TU 548 / EX 558 / EQ 567

14 April 2008 - TU 680 / EX 662 / EQ 677

Roughly a 100 point increase across the board.

Thanks to all the Senior members here on the board.

I am still working on a few baddies from past Student loans and a $5000 Medical collection that should fall off in a couple months.

I am going to call USAA and talk to them about a American Express card, see if i can get rid of these annual fee starter cards.  They have only been open a year, so shouldn't be too big of a hit if I close them.

Anyway, thanks again.

[llecs]

Congrats! I bet you'll have a 100 point gain this time next year too!

[Anonymous]

Update-

Just got off the phone with a USAA representative, and I now have a American Express Blue - Cash credit card with a $10,000 limit at prime + 5.9% APR (11.9% right now). Wooohoooo, I am stoked.

Now the question is, do i close my other ones. I dont need them anymore, but I do have a year of history with them.

Credit One - opened February 2007 / $400 limit  / $5 balance

Household Bank - opened February 2007 / $500 limit / $0 balance

Orchard Bank - opened January 2007 / $500 limit / $0 balance

Would it be stupid to close these accounts? i already paid the annual fee in Jan, so should I let it go until Dec next year then close? I know these sub-prime cards are known for not waiving the annual fees, so not sure of the benifits of keeping/closing. I would think closing them now would be best, as its only a year, but I do plan on buying a house in 4-5 months, so should I wait until I have the mortgage to close it so my scores don't take the small hit until after I sign the paperwork?

Thanks again to all.

[Anonymous]

If you close these accounts will the new CC be your only revolving credit account?

Closing them will decrease your total CL. If you carry balances this would increase your util.

Personally, I wouldn't make any uncertain changes until AFTER I got the house. That way if you do take a hit, you don't have to rebound right away, you already have your mortgage.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Update-

Now the question is, do i close my other ones. I dont need them anymore, but I do have a year of history with them.

Credit One - opened February 2007 / $400 limit  / $5 balance

Household Bank - opened February 2007 / $500 limit / $0 balance

Orchard Bank - opened January 2007 / $500 limit / $0 balance

Would it be stupid to close these accounts? i already paid the annual fee in Jan, so should I let it go until Dec next year then close?

Yes it would be stupid.
No just kidding. Don't close the cards. Get the to $0 balance (if not already). Cut them up if you want but don't close the account.

Closing account will do three things:
1) Reduce # of credit lines. Having only 1 CC hurts your FICO. Remember it doesn't make sense but you need to play by the rules of the game.
2) Reduces your credit history & average credit length.
3) If/when you have balance on USAA (great card & company BTW) it will raise your util %. Hypthetically if you put $1K on your $10K card that's 10% enough to hold your FICO back. Same $1K on your $10K card plus $1.4K in unused cards is 8.6% which is below the 9% "magic number".

Keep all 3 cards until the annual fee is due (or at least until you have closed on your home). Try calling Credit One they likely will give you a CLI and remove the annual fee (they did for me). After the home (don't try to get any more credit between now & closing) try getting another 2 cards (either CC or store cards) to compensate for closing the older accounts. Remember FICO likes a mix of accounts not just one account (even w/ high limit) paid on time.

Message Edited by CreditMizer on 04-19-2008 01:52 PM

[Anonymous]

OrchardBank can be a little stingy with CLIs, in my experience, but those other bansk you mentioned will give you better terms. Hang onto those cards, and by the time your next fee payment rolls around, you'll have probably gained another 30 to 40 FICO points.

Don't hesitate to play hardball when you negotiate. Be nice, and ask politely at the start, but if they hem and haw about it, tell them your FICO is up well over a hundred points since you got their cards, and if they aren't willing to offer you better terms, there's plenty of other CCCs that will.

[Anonymous]

Thanks guys. I won't close them just yet. they are at $0 balance and dont see me using them for a long time.

I owe $15,000 on my car, but am planing to pay it off in the next couple months. (Just got a $19k re-enlistment bonus) and then need to get a loan for a $10,000 SUV in June. My payments will go from $540 a month to about $200 a month, so much better on monthly budget. I am looking at a VA loan for my home, so should get pretty good rates. Is a new loan for the car going to affect me a lot, since I already have one and am just paying it off and replacing it with a lower balance auto loan?

The debt I owe -

2004 Nissan 350Z - $15,243.00

Subsidized Student Loans - $4,717.00

Un-Subsidized Student Loans - $3,250.00

Student loans are on deferment while I am in the army and/or in school.

Collections - Medical $5,238 (falls of in September 2008)

That is all my balances. What is my best course of action? I need to get a SUV when I return from Iraq so i have a car to haul the family in as a 2 seater is not that family friendly. I may wait untild December/January to buy a house and rent at my new duty staion until then.

[haulingthescoreup]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Update-

Just got off the phone with a USAA representative, and I now have a American Express Blue - Cash credit card with a $10,000 limit at prime + 5.9% APR (11.9% right now). Wooohoooo, I am stoked.

---

Congratulations! But are you sure that this is what you received?

To my knowledge, the Blue Cash only comes from American Express. USAA has an American Express card, and you can choose to receive cash or points. It currently offers double points for the first year. But I have never heard of anyone other than AmEx, whether USAA, Citi, Bank or America, or anyone else, that can offer the Blue Cash or any other specifically named AmEx product.

BTW, I have both the MC and AmEx from USAA, and I love them both!

[Anonymous]

Maybe it's not the Blue, I thought thats what they said. I do know its  American Express with the Cash rewards system. I haven't recieved my cards yet, but either way, its a $10,000 limit, no annual fee card, much better than my $500 ones with an annual fee.

I know I was looking at my credit card offers on myfico with my new kit, and maybe I got the AmEx blue swapped into the thinking it was with USAA.

Darrell

[haulingthescoreup]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Maybe it's not the Blue, I thought thats what they said. I do know its American Express with the Cash rewards system. I haven't recieved my cards yet, but either way, its a $10,000 limit, no annual fee card, much better than my $500 ones with an annual fee.

I know I was looking at my credit card offers on myfico with my new kit, and maybe I got the AmEx blue swapped into the thinking it was with USAA.

Darrell

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It's a great card --like you said, no AF, but all the consumer protection benefits that regular AmEx cards have. Just no access to the real American Express rewards. If you ever switch from cash to points, I've been reasonably happy with the USAA Total Rewards site. I got some help booking a flight for one of my daughters and used points for it.

I've had a couple of people ask me if it was a Centurion card, since it's black. (We don't see a lot of real Centurion cards around where I live.) Great fun!