Begin closing rebuilder cards? Am I “there” yet? Need advice.

[Jeffster1]

My rebuild began just a few days after the DC of my Chapter 13 in January 2021 with a $3000 Cap One Platinum, followed quickly by a $2500 Ollo Rewards MC.

Now 1.5 years later, I feel like I’m beginning to approach a juncture. My credit lines across all cards is $50,050, with $12,050 of that in CLs on 4 subprime cards.

However. my original subprime cards and my number of open accounts might be holding me back.

Once I began getting approved for prime cards, it has been hard to look back and use them.

The wake up call came when Mercury reported my account as “DORMANT” to EX after my not using it for 6 months.

I have…

SUBPRIME CARDS

OLLO MC 3500

Merrick MC 2000

Mercury MC 3050

Upgrade Visa 4000

ODDBALL CARD

Jasper MC 5000

PRIME CARDS

BofA Customized Cash Rewards Visa 15000

TD Bank Cash Visa 1500

TD Bank Double Up Visa 2500

USBank Visa 5000

Capital One Quicksilver MC 3000

Capital One Walmart MC 2000

NFCU Amex 3500

No AF on any card

I keep the Merrick as my AZEO card with a constant small balance of around $150

Total utilization is 1%

My income is $190K

I realize that, even if I close them, the subprime cards (and the oddball) still contribute to AAoA.

The only reason I would close the Jasper is because there is no phone support or website…only an email address and an app. I will admit that their email support is very responsive.

I’m considering getting rid of at least the Mercury as I think it will be too much work to keep it open based on their deeming it “dormant” if not used in 6 months. Maybe the Merrick and Ollo too? 

I am going to garden for a while but I would love to see some CLIs from my prime cards.

Am I “there” yet where I should start looking at closing my original rebuilders?

FICO 8 is EX 709. EQ 715 and TU 695

[FireMedic1]

If any have a AF. Yeah close it. FICO looks at the revolving %'s. CL vs Uasge. The name or catagory means nothing. Its a revolving credit account. Its a personal thing. People say I got a Credit One but now I have a AMEX. Ok. FICO sees # of accounts and all the other things that make up a score. If it makes you feel better. Go for it. Its a numbers game. Not a name game.

[OmarGB9]

Whether you're "there" yet is really up to you. In my opinion, yes, you're "there". You've got prime cards, scores above 700, and good income. If I were you, yes, I'd start closing subprime cards one by one, maybe one every 3-6 months.

[TRC_WA]

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@FireMedic1 wrote:

If any have a AF. Yeah close it. FICO looks at the revolving %'s. CL vs Uasge. The name or catagory means nothing. Its a revolving credit account. Its a personal thing. People say I got a Credit One but now I have a AMEX. Ok. FICO sees # of accounts and all the other things that make up a score. If it makes you feel better. Go for it. Its a numbers game. Not a name game.

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Agree with this.  ^

My "rebuilder" cards are Mission Lane and Ollo as well as Credit One.  They are my lowest limits... $850 - $1700 but since none of them have an AF I'm keeping them open.

I don't much care what bank is behind my CC's... it's the garbage fees attached that I care about.

[Jeffster1]

Thanks everyone for the advice. 

I guess what I didn't put across as being an issue of concern...and which got me thinking in the direction of closing the rebuilders...was Mercury reporting its MC as dormant....and that it is not always possible for me to put spend on cards which I have maybe outgrown. 

I have been racking up the cash back from my other cards, and find myself begrudgingly ...putting charges only occasionally on the rebuilders.

It's not necessarily that I feel too good to appreciate the rebuilders because I will always appreciate the chance they gave me with their no AF cards, and relatively high credit lines (for them) from the beginning. I also realize that scores are agnostic when it comes to the name on the card. 

My other concern is they would hold me back from CLIs on my prime cards because the prime issuers might consider me as having sufficient credit so soon after a CH 13 DC. 

The advice on this board is always appreciated by me.

[Pway]

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@TRC_WA wrote:

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@FireMedic1 wrote:

If any have a AF. Yeah close it. FICO looks at the revolving %'s. CL vs Uasge. The name or catagory means nothing. Its a revolving credit account. Its a personal thing. People say I got a Credit One but now I have a AMEX. Ok. FICO sees # of accounts and all the other things that make up a score. If it makes you feel better. Go for it. Its a numbers game. Not a name game.

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Agree with this.  ^

My "rebuilder" cards are Mission Lane and Ollo as well as Credit One.  They are my lowest limits... $850 - $1700 but since none of them have an AF I'm keeping them open.

I don't much care what bank is behind my CC's... it's the garbage fees attached that I care about.

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I agree with this.^^^

[TRC_WA]

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@Jeffster1 wrote:

My other concern is they would hold me back from CLIs on my prime cards because the prime issuers might consider me as having sufficient credit so soon after a CH 13 DC. 

The advice on this board is always appreciated by me.

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I've got roughly the same available credit as you with half the income and I was discharged 4 months ago.  I did start acquiring new cards 2 years ago and am adding a $750 NFCU secured to start building the relationship with them because that is apparently worth more than all the other unsecured cards I have.

I think you're worrying for no reason.  No AF cards aren't really holding you back IMO... and they'll still report for 10  years if you close them so do whatever floats your boat.

I'll probably keep my ML, Ollo and C One cards open for at least another year until my Ch 13 baddies fall off.  Until then they are no AF and padding the history.

[Jeffster1]

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@TRC_WA wrote:

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@Jeffster1 wrote:

My other concern is they would hold me back from CLIs on my prime cards because the prime issuers might consider me as having sufficient credit so soon after a CH 13 DC. 

The advice on this board is always appreciated by me.

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I've got roughly the same available credit as you with half the income and I was discharged 4 months ago.  I did start acquiring new cards 2 years ago and am adding a $750 NFCU secured to start building the relationship with them because that is apparently worth more than all the other unsecured cards I have.

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I agree about NFCU. They approved me this week...the day after I joined... for a $3500 NFCU More Rewards Amex. Given their reliance on relationship, I can imagine that I will have a great one with them since they were willing to take a chance on me with no relationship at all. 

It's a shame they wouldn't approve you for an unsecured card. 

[TRC_WA]

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@Jeffster1 wrote:

I agree about NFCU. They approved me this week...the day after I joined... for a $3500 NFCU More Rewards Amex. Given their reliance on relationship, I can imagine that I will have a great one with them since they were willing to take a chance on me with no relationship at all. 
It's a shame they wouldn't approve you for an unsecured card. 

It is what it is.  I have 2 years of recent unsecured history but couldn't get approved for $500 from NFCU.   Their denial reasons were totally relationship based... "deposit account status" and "direct deposit status" LOL... never seen those denial reasons before but if I have to secure a CC for 6 months so they'll like me I guess I will.

First ever secured card and also the last... if it was anyone other than NFCU they'd be getting a middle finger like everyone else does when they offer secured cards.  😂

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[Jeffster1]

I've decided that I'm going to build on quality, prime cards with the potential growth I need, and will eventually begin culling the subprime cards. It's just too much to have to keep putting spend on these cards to keep them open when that same spend can be earning me good rewards elsewhere. We will see how that works out and which one thinks I'm not using it enough (like Mercury not wanting the card to go much longer than 6 months with no activity).

Of course, my strategy might change, for example, like if the OLLO acquisition by Ally brings something really good. The subprimes I have do give me some wiggle room due to not being the worst of the worst. I have no AF; no three digit CLs, and I managed to avoid the CreditOnes; the Mission Lanes; the Avants and the like during the journey.