Hi, I have a quick question- I received a Target Visa card ($7000 credit line) in the mail yesterday. It said on the letter that this would replace my Target Guest card (issued 04/01 $700 credit limit). I did not apply for a Visa but I guess that they are converting everyone over to Visa (right, the Guest Card will no longer exist?). My question is this- I am applying for a mortgage this month and I wonder if I activate this new Target Visa will this affect my credit score- i.e. will it be seen as a new line of credit? I would LIKE to activate this cool looking card (and retain this fifth line of credit) but I do not want to do so if it will be seen as a new application for credit as opposed to a continuation of the old one with a credit line increase. Also, 18.99% APR is stiff but looking at old posts it seems as if some people got this rate lowered. Will requesting a lower rate mean that they pull my CR and then this will be seen as an inquiry? I donâ??t want to lose a single point of my FICO score as it has been a long time getting to where I am today. Any information/advice would be much appreciated .. Thanks! SF
In my experience I have had cards show on my rpt even if I haven't activated them so I don't know if you can control this.
On TU it showed that my Target retail card was closed by consumer and the Target Visa showed as a bank card with the same open date as my original retail card. The credit line would definitely effect your credit score if your retail card was less. You may consider calling them and lowering the credit line on the VISA if you do not need that much out there.
Hold on their. This is a tricky question. First lets look at the impact on your FICO score. If Target pulls a hard inquiry, that will cost about 6 points. Now if the bank card is a new account with a new account number dated to when the guest card was opened, the question becomes when was the guest card opened. If you have opened 5 or more accounts of any type in the past 36 months a new line of credit will hurt your score a bit. Now as far as open credit line goes, having a boost should help your FICO score. $8,000-12,000 is good, $25,000 is ideal. Above that more CL should not impact your sore one way or the other. Now if you carry balances on your cards, you want to keep your total utilization on your credit reports below 15%. If you have a zero balance on all you cards now, getting this new card might cost you 6 to 9 points or so this month. Now the second question relates to the mortgage. Mortgage lenders use other scoring systems which consider many additional factors one of which is open unused CL. Having a lot of unused CL, like say $40,000, will count against you. Do you know specifically what type of mortgage product you will be getting? If it were me, and I would have zero balances, I would call Target and try to stop card conversion. If they like you enough to give you the card now, they will love you in 4 months when the mortgage show up on your credit reports. If you do want the card, call they up and ask for a rate reduction before you activate the card. You should be able to get 15.90% no sweat. Good luck with the house.
Hi, I have gotten all balances on my credit cards down and now run up about $350 total on two cards each month but pay both bills in full each month. I just called Target and they told me that my Guest card IS still an open acount and that the Visa would not report to a CR unless I activated the account (which I plan to do only after I have gotten my mortgage). Thanks!
I would call quick though b/c like I said I have had cards rpt that weren't activated. These were 2 new accts from similiar type product conversions. Unrequested. The cards just arrived at my door. They reported almost immediately. I check my rpts frequently and they were there. So--if you don't want the card, get on the phone.
Sineaf The thing about card balances is that the computers at the credit card companies automatically report the balance on an account on a particular day once a month to the three CRA's. So even though you are paying the two cards off every month, it will look live you have balances on two accounts. If you can afford to do it, go ahead and pay one off immediately and use just one card until you get approved for a mortgage. It's great that you are not carrying balances month to month. Congratulations. Ideally one should pay off all credit cards about 7 weeks before applying for a mortgage, and not use the cards until you are approved.
I just opened my mail last night and found my new Target Visa ($3k CL) which was converted by them from a Guest Card ($500 CL) which I have had for exactly one year. I did not request this card, it just came. I used my Target card once a month or so for about $100-$150 in charges and paid in full most months. Thank you Target!
