I asked for people's opinions about the Mobil/Exxon card last week because I got a preapproval from them in the mail. I'm pretty sure I'd get the card if I sent it back in because Monogram also sent me a solicitation for the Walmart card in April that I did send back in and I got the card. I'm wondering if I should take this card or not, and I just can't decide. Here's my situation. The active accounts I have are: Providian Visa - 36 months old Providian MC - 12 months old Cap One MC - 14 months old Household MC - 16 months old Orchard MC - 14 months old Shell - 2 months old (doesn't report) Walmart - 2 months old Nextcard - 3 months old I know the Walmart card and the Nextcard are in the period where they're still hurting me. I don't really need the Mobil card and the only reason I would consider taking it would be for another positive on my reports. I took the Shell card a couple of months ago not because I needed it but because I was hoping it would lead to an offer from Associates for an MC or Visa. That it doesn't report made the decision easy. What should I do? Since I already have two new accounts, should I go ahead and take this since it really won't hurt me for any longer than my other new accounts already will? Do I have too many active accounts now, therefore I shouldn't add another? I've pretty much never gotten any bad advice here, and I'm going to make a decision on Monday to either send in the envelope or rip it up.
It's hard to see how you gain anything by going for this card. You have a good mix of credit with your MCs and Visas + Walmart. Adding a gas card is not going to enhance your credit profile assuming the card even reports and I'm not sure about that. You probably don't want to carry a balance on a high APR gas card anyway and it might not look good to creditors if you did. If you are in the Nextcard rewards program, you could charge gas on that card and get something back for it.
I have to go with what Dave told you. Gas cards can be nice to have on a trip sometimes because you can run into small gas stations in out of the way places that only accept company cards. That's rare, but it does happen in small towns and so having gas company cards can be nice, but that's about all. I personally don't have any at all, but I do have just about all of them issued to my company. That's because I use them for aviation fuel. Smaller airports often send out the fuel truck which only accepts the company card they do business with and maybe Amex or sometimes Discover or Diners. Only the main office accepts the rest, and in many instances, late at night the offices are closed and the only service available is from the fuel truck. So I either have to have cash or the right credit card and when you are talking about maybe 500 or 1000 gals or more to fill up at the price of fuel, that's a lot of money to be carrying around. If the plane's capacity is only maybe 25 to 50 gallons, then I don't carry all those cards because it don't take that much cash. I'd say you might want a couple more of the Visa or MC cards if you only use a card for a week then switch as I do. That's a good idea with the Cap One or Providian type cards because then you are not so likely to get slapped with over limit fees and some of the other nasty tricks the card companies love to hit you with. It also lets you have a tad bit more room for those emergencies and you can even earn a bit of interest on their money if you play your cards right. All in all, Dave is right. Don't go for it.
That's a tough decision. I would say if you don't need it, no don't go for it. Mobil was taken over by Monogram in January. They are now reported to the CRA's. You also probably won't get much of a credit line. In fact there are a couple of us here that have had this card for a long time and our C/L's were reduced after Monogram took over. I have had my Mobil since 1990 and use it a lot, so for me it is worth having. So the choice is yours. If you need another positive tradeline that reports, then go for it. If you are not going to use it, it may not be worth having an open line that reports.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In fact there are a couple of us here that have had this card for a long time and our C/L's were reduced after Monogram took over. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HOW CAN THEY GET AWAY WITH THAT WITH-OUT CAUSE??? IF ANY OF MY CREDIT CARDS DID THAT, I WOULD CLOSE THE ACCOUNT IMMEDIATELY!!! BUT...THEY GOT ME TO GET RID OF MY FIRST USA CARD BY RAISING MY INTEREST RATE TO 22.49% WITH-OUT CAUSE!!!
Well, everyone... I did something today that I've never done before. I threw away a preapproval. Thanks for all of your advice!
Some posters here seem to be confused about what credit "mix" means for score purposes. A "mix" refers to having credit of different kinds, i.e. revolving credit cards, installment loans, charge cards (like Amex green or other pay-in-full products), mortgages and car loans. Having several credit cards, some of which are Visa and the others - MC, does NOT constitute a credit mix, since they all belong to the same type of credit (revolving accounts). The fact that one's revolving account cards were issued by different companies has no positive effect on one's "credit mix" score factor. Saar
Saar: That's a great and useful post you just put up. It explains something most of us never stop to think of in at least two different ways. Seldom does a post do that. We tend to set a goal and then fixate on it to the exclusion of all else. Now then, that's not really as accusatory or degrading as it might seem. It's a trait that's necessary for without it we would seldom complete very much. Where we sometimes fall down is failure to look at the overall picture. So we start out wanting to build our credit so we can accomplish some major goal such as buy a new home or a new car or whatever and run into the "payments" for our past indiscretions. So we vow to do something about it. Since we often don't have the funds to pay off all our past indiscretions, we pretty muchly have to do it for free. Soon we are off deep of credit repair and building new credit. Since the fastest road towards good credit leads to credit cards, we want the most and the best we can get, we tend to forget about other types of credit until we go to work one day with our pocket full of plastic and the pistons in our car decide it's time to swap holes with each other. If not that, some other emergency arises where good credit becomes a necessity. So we set out to buy a replacement for our poor ole tin Lizzie. Naturally, we tend to think that since Lizzie gave up the ghost, we might as well replace her with something brand new and all shiney, so we mosey over to the Cadillac dealer with visions of something called "Catera" in our heads simply because we see it on tv and remember some of the great features from the commercials talking about ONSTAR and it's 32 volt system. Or was that 32 valves? Never mind, 32 something or other. But when we get there with our pockets full of plastic, the dealer checks out our great credit references and leads us out to the used car lot and starts telling us about this great car he has out there for us. Not new, he says, but it's a 99 model, don't have any stars ON or off it, only has 32 dents and has only been around the world 8 times in 2 years. (25,000 times 8 equals 200,000 miles). BBBBBBBBBUUUUUTTTTTT I wanted one of those new Cateras with ONSTAR and 32 volts! Well Sir, those are pretty expensive, and they require excellent credit to purchase. Well, I got good credit, one says, pulling out his fist full of cards and proudly fanning them out like a poker hand for the dealer and all the world to see. Yes Sir, I realize that. but it's all just plastic credit and the kind you see on TV every night. I'm saying that what you need is something more stable, like a previous history of paying off a fairly good sized car loan over a reasonably long period of time, a good record of house payments, substantial things like that. You know, a good mix of credit. I'm afraid that with substandard credit, this one is about the best we can do for you. Yep, Sarr, you just brought out a great point that should be deeply appreciated by many here on the board. Great point.
