Should I close FCNB?

Discussion in 'Credit Talk' started by mel, Jan 26, 2002.

  1. mel

    mel Well-Known Member

    I am dying to close my FCNB account, but want to know what the impact will be on my scores.

    Current Scores EQX: 601/EXP: 617/TU: 610


    Creditors/CL/Date Opened

    Cap1 Gold: $1200 (12/98)
    MBNA CC: $3000 (10/98)
    Citi Div Plat: $2000 (for college students) (11/98)
    Cap1 Classic: $500 (1/02)
    Orchard: $300 (11/01)
    Household: $300 (1/02)
    FCNB: $1200 (11/01) ($800 security deposit)
    Discover: $3000 (not a real account)

    *as a condition of settlement Discover agreed to report my account as open/never late/$0 balance to all 3 CRAs.

    Citi is offering a 4.9% balance trasfer for the life of the balance and I want to use the opportunity to get rid of my FCNB card which has a $300 balance. Alternatively, I could close the account and receive $500 back. Should I go for it? Any advice would be greatly appreciated...
     
  2. miles

    miles Well-Known Member

    I don't think closing the account will hurt you much. It is not very old. However, if you could wait until it is a year old, you would receive some point value for having the account. The Citi deal is a good one. I would transfer some balances to take advantage of the low rate. Good luck!!
     
  3. John Galt

    John Galt Active Member

    Why do you wish to close your FCNB account? Do you consider it negative to have an account with this company?
     
  4. mel

    mel Well-Known Member

    I don't consider FCNB to be a negative company. I have actually found them to be one of the better sub-prime lenders. But, now that I am clawing my way into prime territory, I'd rather not have my funds tied up in a security deposit account earning pitiful interest.
     
  5. Nave

    Nave Well-Known Member

    Call FCNB retention and tell them;

    1) you have removed inaccurate damaging information from your credit reports since you needed the secure card and hence better "risk" scores.

    2) even though you have not had the the card for a year, you have faithfully paid on time every time blah blah blah

    Recently you have been extended more attractive prime credit which you have been using more agressively than FCNB and you would like to have your $800 back or you will have to cancel the card. You see no reason to tie up $800 now.

    If you have updated reports, offer to fax in the updates for the consideration.

    That way you keep the positive effects.

    -Peace, Dave
     
  6. Ron

    Ron Well-Known Member


    mel,


    I didn't close my FCNB secured MC an Visa until I got Platinum Crad from Citibank and all my charge-off accounts got off my credit report. Actually FCNB helped you to rebuild credit by reporting credit history to credit bureaus monthly. FCNB didn't report your account as secured card account. FCN is not negative company. Currently I have Spiegel Charge Card and Eddie Bauer Rewards Mastercard and those are not subprime card. FCNB is not a bad company.


    Ron.
     
  7. jr

    jr Well-Known Member

    I agree with Ron that FCNB is a pretty good bank to deal with. I have had my card since november of 2001 and have been happy with them. My mastercard limit is $5500 I wish they had online payment but I am sure they will do it in the near future. Mel, if you want your deposit back I would first ask FCNB to review your account so they can unsecure the account and refund your deposit back. You can then decide to keep the account open or close it. I was told you have to wait 12 months before they can review your account for unsecured status. If you just barely opened the account I would recommend you keep it open at least a year. I don't think it will help your fico score by closing the account before 12 months.
     
  8. jr

    jr Well-Known Member

    I was also told that it is good to keep your accounts open at least 2 years so you can get higher fico scores. I wish you good luck Mel.
     
  9. Ron

    Ron Well-Known Member



    jr,

    I had secured MC and Visa for one yr and they unsecured my card. They returned my deposit and increased the credit limit for both my Visa and MC account. Right now I made my payment through Bof A Billpay and they received within a couple of days.


    Ron.
     
  10. jr

    jr Well-Known Member

    Ron, did you ask FCNB to unsecure the account or did they just do it without asking? Did you ever get them to lower the a.p.r.?
     
  11. Ron

    Ron Well-Known Member


    jr,

    I didn't ask FCNB to unsecure both my Visa and MC account. They sent me a letter that my account was unsecured because it was exellent standings and payment history with FCNB.I did request to lower APR and from 18.9% to 15.9% APR. They sent me an offer to deposit money into savings account and they will increase my limit 3 times as much as the deposit. I closed my secured account because I got Platinium Card from First USA,Citibank, People's Bank.




    Ron.
     
  12. jr

    jr Well-Known Member

    Ron, at what point did you ask for the a.p.r. reduction? After one year? After they unsecured the account? I want to know because my a.p.r. is the highest one I have 24.9% My lowest right now is with Capital One 12.9% I will only keep my FCNB card if they reduce the a.p.r. At 24.9% a.p.r I will not and never carry a balance because that is highway robbery. I just use it for groceries and gas and pay it in full when I get the statement in the mail. Hopefully they will reduce my a.p.r. in the future so I can keep them.
     
  13. Ron

    Ron Well-Known Member


    jr,


    I think they lowered APR after they unsecured my MC card. I told them I got other Platinum Card like NextCard and BofA Plat. 9.9 fixed and their rate is lower than them. They told me that the best rate for unsecured MC was 15.9% APR. I don't think that you have any problems to lower APR if you have a good payment history with them.My Eddie Bauer Rewards Mastercard is 13.90% var and it is unsecured MC.




    Ron.
     
  14. jr

    jr Well-Known Member

    I hope they reduce my a.p.r. after they unsecure my account because I would not mind keeping my fcnb mastercard. It has a high credit limit of $5,500 so I don't want to close this account. Thank's Ron for your help.
     
  15. Ron

    Ron Well-Known Member


    I asked them to reduce my APR after unsecuring MC. I told them I got a lot of low rate card from Citibank,People's Bank, BofA. In other words, I told them if they didn't lower my rate, I would close the account. Your business would be someone. I like FCNB and I still got one Spiegel Charge and Eddie Bauer MC.
    FCNB unsecured MC was $1900.
    FCNB unsecured Visa was $4800.


    Ron.
     
  16. mel

    mel Well-Known Member

    Thanks for the advice everyone. I think that I will ask FCNB to refund my deposit so I can keep the tradeline open. However, I agree that since my account has been open for only 3 months, there won't be much give in that area. It can't hurt to ask:)

    Please don't take this as a ding against FCNB; I have never had a problem with them and they are very pleasant. For me it is a simple case of getting rid of my secured cards because I am starting to get unsecured cards. (e.g., My GM Card app was approved today.)

    I don't think it will have much on an impact on my score. (I have other positive tradelines recently opened that have yet to report). I will report back when my score updates.
     

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