I just checked dh's privacy guard...I went on an application spree last week and applied for a few prime cards (usaa, citi, bofa and my cu LOL - yeah I was dreaming!!). To my surprise, his pg is reporting a USAA CC!!! The limit is only $500, but I'm not complaining! Just had to share!! Thanks Cnet!!
Now the big question: Do I dare close his 1st Premier?? It's his oldest actual credit card, but his jcp (1992) and aafes (1998) are older store cards. Or do I keep it open to help w/ the utilization? It's not much ($550) but w/ cap1 not recording cl's I guess every bit helps. We are buying a truck in Sept and I don't want to jeopardize that in anyway. I'm really sick of 1st premier's stupid fees...I pay the thing off and of course it's never at 0...would love to cut that thing up in a million pieces!!
If you want it to show a zero balance for awhile, just over pay. If you $20, pay $40, it will report zero for a couple of months.
Congratulations! I would say close that damn card .. you got a replacement in USAA for almost the same limit. Even if closed, that tradeline is figured into the FICO score, so you would not lose the age benefit for the next 10 years... you can get hurt on account of utilization ratio, but hey, their fees and crappy customer service aren't worth the slight rise in FICO score ... Welcome to the prime credit world Just suggesting what *I* would do ... -- lakpr
Hi, Did not notice that truck buying part in your post ... if that's the case, hang on to the card until Sept, and then drop the card -- lakpr
Thanks LKH, I had thought about that, although I noticed when I went to pay online a few times that is says "your payment may not exceed your closing balance" so I never attempted it. I'm really trying to avoid the fees altogether, not just show a 0 balance. His account will continually show $12 a month I guess for awhile!
Thanks lakpr...everything you touched on is everything I am thinking...I just so badly want rid of that card. And LOL thanks on the welcome to prime world..think I am still on the outside looking in, but atleast we are in the vicinity!!
I pay the thing off and of course it's never at 0.. kelcol =========Wide tested======== Why isn't it at zero after you pay it off ? The END ************************* LB 59
I would pay it off and keep it open. If you want some prime cards in a few years it would be nice to have a card with some long history.
Re: Re: Holy Crap!!! There's an example of an inane post by lbrown. Not to mention all the clutter he's got there and you can't even read it.
Re: Re: Holy Crap!!! I agree it's better to keep it open. Closing an account from 1992 (especially if there isnt any others as old), may not necessarily be a good thing for your scores.
Re: Re: Re: Holy Crap!!! Thanks rackt3, just wanted to clarify...the 1st Premier has only been open since 7/2001 it is my oldest "credit card". My oldest "charge card/store card" is JCPenney it was opened in 1992. I am going to keep the crooks open for a little bit longer atleast until we do the final paperwork on the truck. Now I just have to hope my scores don't tank w/ the USAA account showing up. Right now (on my PG reports) it's only appearing on Experian. Boy they seem really quick to report things - paid off my jcp last week, already updated. TU and Eq seem to move in slo-mo.
Re: Re: Re: Re: Holy Crap!!! It has been my experience that, upto 6 open trade lines, the appearance of a new tradeline actually increases the score. What can get you hurt however, is the utilization .. if you don't do a balance transfer when you accept the card, and subsequently charge less than 15% of the credit limit, you will see that your scores actually jump. Sometimes not by much, sometimes significant. Beyond 6 open credit cards, the score starts to dip; this is only a personal observation. I had 5 credit cards on my own, and I had been added as an AU on a couple of my wife's cards; I noticed that the scores dipped on the addition of the last card. Once I disputed these as "not mine" with CRAs and had them deleted, my scores went back up. This is strictly a personal observation based on my own experience. Best of luck -- lakpr
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Holy Crap!!! Stupid question here - do you count store cards in your credit card mix?? This is my collection (with their opening dates) - JCP (1992), Aafes (1998), 1st Premier (2001), Cap 1 (2001), Cap 1 (2002), and now USAA (2003)....
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Holy Crap!!! The short answer is: YES. Whatever store cards I had, were ones I applied for to take advantage of their invitation offers -- offering 10%-15% off of the day's purchases. Once I got my statement and I paid them off, I immediately cancel such cards. So I don't have any store cards currently open. FICO does not really distinguish between a store card or a regular credit card ... it's all "Revolving Accounts" for it. That said, if these are the only cards you are carrying, you are right at the cusp where addition of one more card might tip you downwards. All the more reason for you to cancel First Premier asap. -- lakpr
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Holy Crap!!! Congrats! Still waiting for my first prime card. When you DO buy your truck...go through USAA. They are awesome!!!!! We have both our vehicles through them and interest rate kicks butt! Nikki
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Holy Crap!!! Thanks Nikki - and I really mean it!! I believe it was reading some of your post about them that I decided to try!! Anyway, I'm really torn about who to finance the truck through. We got the pre-approval to order it through BofA and they pull TU and its very much dh's best report. They gave us their prime rate for that day 7.2% w/ .25% off for banking w/ them. LOL BofA will finance us a 30k truck but turned him down flat for a CC (b/c of 96 BK on his report - I pfb'd on 4/1 and haven't heard a word yet) USAA pulled equifax for the CC and that is by far his worst report. I'm in the process of disputing w/ them now. I also was thinking of trying Ford Credit to try for the low rates, but have heard AWFUL things about their credit department. USAA pulled experian the last time we tried to finance w/ them 2 years ago, and that report is almost as clean as TU (only an incl in bk account and the bk still listed) I don't know, I think if BofA doesn't change their mind about the cc they can kiss my 30k good-bye!! Again, thanks Nikki
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Holy Crap!!! Actually, FICO does consider store cards to be different from "national CC's" and prefers that you have a couple of each. http://www.creditinfocenter.com/creditreports/scoring/scoringinfluences.shtml http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/creditscoring/present/sld001.htm 0
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Holy Crap!!! We had crappy rates everywhere...huge downpayment, etc. USAA offered us 6.5% on our refi, saving us 150 per month on the payment...same terms. They financed 17k. The next month, for $hits and giggles, we applied to see what else we would qualify for. They approved 39k...no downpayment and 6.5% financing. It was soooo awesome. Hubby's score was only like 619 and mine was 640-ish. I had a bk, but 2 years solid history. All coll items were paid. Good luck in your truck buying experience! We love our Dodge!! (BIIIG TWUCK!)
