I need some advice on my Credit Card line-up. Should I keep all of these? Which ones should I get rid of? Should I combine my CITI's? Because of this board I have been able to open all these accounts since September. It has taken a toll on my scores(EX and TU). I have a 10 year old mortgage, 2 auto leases (2 yrs each) and a home equity (2 years 3 mo's) in addition to the cards below. No lates on these accounts. BP/Oil (CITI) $1,000 limit , 0 bal. open 10/01 Best Buy $2,000 CL, 1700 bal, open 9/01 CITI Plat select $5500 CL, 1500 bal, 9.99% 0%BT thru 8/02, opened 10/01 CITI Plat Sony $5500 CCL, 1400Bal, 12.4% 0% bt thru 12/02, opened 10/01 Target $2,000cl, $300 bal, 15.9% open 11/01 State Farm Plat. $5,000 cl, $50 bal, 11.94%, 3.9% BT thru 4/02, opened 12/01 GM card.. $1,000 CL, 0 bal, 16.9%, 2.9% for 6 months, opened 12/01 Scores before/after CC onslaught..(after scores as of 2/02) TU...656before, 535 after EX....702 before, 665 after EQ...636 before, 680 after No late pays or new derogs showing on 2/2. Added credit cards are the only changes except for normal reduction of existing balances on auto and home loans. Biggest surprise is my EQ went up and the other 2 went down. Isn't the EQ the one that's closest to the real deal? What would you recommend? Close a few or leave everything alone and age the accounts. Thanks!
I wouldn't close any of those accounts until they reach the 1 yr. mark. Supposedly, score-wise, the one year mark is a magic #.
