I have been reading a lot on this board and would like to know how many cards should I have if I am re-establishing my credit. I have approximately 9 letters out to creditors , C.R.A.'s, and collections companies (for the purpose of cleaning up). I am going at my repair from all angles. In addition, I just got a providian card. I already have a cap one( 2years), target(1 year 2 mos., good student loan, unsecured orchard(1yr. 2mos.), gym membership (paid off), closed dept. store. I have 6 or 8 good entries on my reports, depending on which report. And depending on which report I have between 4 and 10 bad marks. Experian has 10 and Trans Union has 4. Should I just apply for credit which uses Trans??? Should I get more secured credit cards??? I don't need or want a new car. How can I increase my good credit marks. As I said before I am disputing the bad ones already. I know the more cards you have the lower your score is. So what should I do to improve the good marks??? Any suggestions?? And how bad is it to have this many bad marks?? I know a year and a half ago I tried to rent an apartment but they wouldn't because the report they used (at the time) said 9 out of 13 were bad. Luckily, I had someone who was willing to co-sign for me. And I applied for the chevron card and was denied ( credit builders card also). My income is 27k and I am a 3/4 time student. Any suggestions would be helpful.
The idea that the more cards you have the worse you are is only partially true. On the flip side you do need credit with both length and depth. I would keep all of your accounts open, and paid until these items start either dropping off, or getting much older! When you do start closing them close about 1 every 3 months, but try and replace it with a better card.
