need advice please??

Discussion in 'Credit Talk' started by SANDRA, Apr 22, 2001.

  1. SANDRA

    SANDRA Guest

    I have recently reestablished my credit..I think?
    I think that I have too many accounts and I am trying to decide which ones to get rid of. Can you guys give me opinions based on the info below?

    Capital One $1200.00 limit/ opened 11/99
    Orchard Mastercard $3300.00 limit/ opened 5/93
    Orchard Visa $2000.00 Limit/ opened 6/99
    Jcpenney $2600.00 Limit/ opened 11/95
    Macys $1000.00 limit/ opened 12/89
    Line of Credit/Credit Union $1000.00 limit/ opened 6/00
    Credit Union Visa $5000.00 limit/ opened 3/01
    Eddie Bauer Mastercard $1000.00 limit/ opened 2/01
    Associates Visa $1000.00 limit/ opened 3/01
    Mervyns $300.00 limit/ opened 3/01

    which ones should I get rid of? Tia.
     
  2. Erica

    Erica Well-Known Member

    Keep macys and Orchard MC.Keep Cap one then LOC. These are your oldest tradelines besides JC penney. JC penney takes MC, Visa, Discover, and AMEX, therefore you don't need that. All of the others, I would keep in a drawer for at least a year so they can age a little. Maybe shop at penneys for underwear (small purchase intended) and pay it off immediately. Use the other cards in a rotational fashion. Use one one month, another the next and so on to keep the accounts active.

    That is one of the things I have learned by the members of this board.

    Just my 2 cents,

    Erica
     
  3. roni

    roni Well-Known Member

    You have a great credit history. Here are my suggestions:

    1) combine the 2 Orchard Bank accounts.
    When you combine insist that the 1993 account remain open and the other is closed when the credit limits combine. I did that with capital one recently.

    2) Close the JC Penney account. Your Macy's account from 1989 puts your JC Penney account to shame.

    3) Close Associates. They gave you a low CL compared to your others cards. Plus I heard that associates is slow on reporting so if you hurry and cancel you may beat it hitting your credit report. Plus Associates doesnot have a great name anyway. AND I like the Eddie Bauer card better so if given a choice, I close Associates

    **You have 4 new accounts (Mervyns, Associates, Eddie Bauer and your CU Line of credit). You really want to reduce your lines pick one of those to close. Same as above statement.

    **If you have recent delinquencies or charge offs, your new accounts will temporarily lower your score. They will see you taking all this new credit as a risk, until the model sees how you handle it. If you have had good credit history however, with your history dating back over 10 years you will do fine no matter how many accounts you have.

    In overview, you have 10 revolving credit accounts. I propose you reduce that to 7. That would include 4 major credit cards and the 2 retail and 1 line of credit.


    roni
     
  4. creditwork

    creditwork Well-Known Member

    You don't have too many accounts by my standards, however, I don't approve of low limit cards and dept store cards. I would close the Penneys, Macys and Mervyns cards. Exercise the other cards and if they do not increase your limits or lower rates, close them.

    http://www.creditsense.com
     
  5. sam

    sam Well-Known Member

    Keep the cards with no annual fee. Ditch the rest.
     
  6. Bill Bauer

    Bill Bauer Guest

    Close some of them?

    Looks like you have just about the right amount there.
    Why would you want to close them?

    Looks to me like you got about 6 Mc/Visa cards, and that's about right. It'w what you need to make money with.
    You probably need a few major or minor gasoline cards yet too. Minor gas cards are usually a bit better than the majors because the minors sell gas at cheaper prices than the majors do, and saving money is the name of the game.

    What you should do is either work to be sure that the credit cards are all paid off in full each and every month so you don't get interest charges added on to the account. Pay them off in full exactly on the due date.

    Use each card exactly 1 week out of each month, no more.
    Use them to buy everything you possibly can and pay all your utility bills that you possibly can with the credit card for that week. Pay your utility bills only after you receive a cut-off notice or you fear that the service might get cut off. Utilities won't report you to the credit bureaus for that. Have your credit cards arranged and use them in the rotational order that the due date falls on. Always use the card with the due date that is the furtherest into the future.

    Put all of your paycheck money in a savings account.or a checking account that pays good interest. Pay your credit cards first and you will make money on the interest you get from the bank. Stop and think about it. Let's say that you make $20,000 per year. You are going to be drawing interest for evey penny that stays in your account and you will be getting paid interest on the money you already spent.

    That's the way to use credit cards.

    Bill Bauer
     
  7. Jugnoo

    Jugnoo Well-Known Member

    I believe the ideal FICO mix is "4 revolving + 1 T&E + 1 Charge". I believe you will have the optimum mix if you:

    1. Combine the Orchard account as Roni says.
    2. Keep both JCP and Macy's as they will help maintain the "average age" of the revolving accounts.
    3. Close Mervyn's, Associates, EB.
    4. A year or two from now, close JCP and get an Amex or Diners Club
     
  8. Jim

    Jim Well-Known Member

    Keep them all!

    If you are reestablishing credit, use them all for another 2 years. Then look into reducing accounts.
     
  9. Mom

    Mom Guest

    Re: Keep them all!

    What are your balances on these cards?? If you ratios are relatively low then closing some woun't hurt however if your ratios are high, closing some will raise more and that's not good.

    If your ratios are good, I would ax JcPenney, Macy's has longer history and also I would close the associates and Mervyn's as well one retail is the best .
     
  10. ShyGuy

    ShyGuy Well-Known Member

    keep the store cards

    I'd keep both store cards -- especially if you shop at those stores. There's no annual fee, often stores offer special discount sales for their credit-card holders, and it's easier to return merchandise you buy on a store card. Plus they are both older lines, and Penney has a $2,600 limit, which will help your debt-to-limit ratio.

    With no annual fee, it doesn't hurt you to keep them. It baffles me sometimes the way people here will come down on store cards and treat other cards like they're the holy grail.

    Treat your store cards like charge cards (i.e., Amex green), not credit cards. Buy products you'd pay cash for, and pay your bill in full every month. (I use my Penney card to buy Huggies at Eckerd.)
     

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