Here's the story... As many of you already know, I have 5 open accounts. I'm planning to get an AMEX in several months, that means I'll have 6 of them. I've heard that 4-5 is a reasonable number, but 6 is too much, so at least one of the smaller guys will have to go. The problem is i cannot decide which one of these: -Providian Classic Visa, $1100 line, 24% APR, annual fee, no grace period, online access, one year old at the beginning of January. -Associates Classic Visa, $1000 line, 27% APR, no annual fee, 25 days grace period, no online access, one year old in February. I'm pretty sure I can get Providian to drop the annual fee and maybe put some grace period on it, in which case I think I'll keep it. Unfortunately, these are my oldest active accounts, and I understand that this matters when computing the score. What do you think about it? I'm also planning a car loan at the beginning of the next year, should I apply for AMEX first or for the loan? Best Regards Sorin
I was under the impression that AMEX generally looks for at least 24 months of payment history before granting cards. Regards, JP
Tough choice! I guess if I were in your shoes, I would get rid of the Associates for the mear fact that the APR is ludicrous and they have no on-line access! You can always get Providian to drop the annual fee and lower the APR. Plus we all know that Providian is very generous w/ credit line increases. I'm not sure about the Associates. The thing that makes me mad about Providian is that they put all those cheezy commercials on late night (to attract people with bad credit who are up late at night because they probably have no job to go to in the morning!). It specifically states that they are designed specifically to help people re-establish credit. So, when you go places and pull that card out, it's kinda embarassing...wheather it's classic, gold, or platinum! Just my opinion..... I also think you should get the Am/Ex before you get the auto loan. Like we all know, Am/Ex attracts all kinds of lenders so the chances of you getting a good auto loan with a good rate are greater if they see Am/Ex on there. This is based on the assumption that your going to apply for an Am/Ex charge card, not Optima or Blue. If you're going to do Optima or Blue, then get the auto loan first so you can show that your debt:income ration is low. Maybe someone else can shed some light in this area. I'm just speculating.
WHY CLOSE ANY??? Sorin, who told you that 6 cards is too many???? I have quite a few clients with 8-9-10 cards and are still getting great prime offers. My advise wait and close the Associates in another 6-12 months, then replace it with a good prime card like Citi, U.S.Bank, or another.
RE: WHY CLOSE ANY??? JP- I believe that the 24 month AMEX situation isn't necessarily true. While I first applied for an AMEX Blue with 2 months of credit history (I didn't know!), I reapplied again 6 months later. No, I wasn't approved, but it was because of excessive recent inquiries. Nowhere on that denial letter did AMEX mention insufficient established credit as on my first letter.
Providian Update My latest statement from Providian is online as of today... two things to learn from it: - If you don't use the card, they won't be too eager to increase your limit. Several months ago, when i used it heavily, they increased every 3 months. Now, this is the 4th month and no increase yet... - There is no finance charge for about $80 balance. Coud it be possible that they put a grace period on the card? Or the balance is too low to bother?
RE: WHY CLOSE ANY??? I'm afraid they'll say I have too many open accounts... And anyway, the space in my wallet is limited and I have plenty of credit on my other cards.... And BTW, I already have Citi ...
RE: WHY CLOSE ANY??? start worrying about too many accounts when you get over 1 dozen. I'm serious, you should be more concerened with your debt to income ratio keep it under 15% And the amount of available credit used, keep at least 50% os credit unused! Hope this helps you.
