quote:

Originally posted by BurtonRW:

quote:

Originally posted by nhtagmember:
pretty much getting rid of it to eliminate the fee and the volumes of junk mail every week - offers for this and that...

What makes you think the junk mail will stop?

-Rob

It won’t.

A friend had an amusing approach with the junk mail. He extracted the business reply envelope, shredded the rest, put in the envelope and mailed the shredded bits back at the sender’s expense. I couldn’t be bothered to spend the time, but it sound amusing.

Add me as an authorized user and I will load that bitch down but quick help keep it active.

I *believe* the reporting agencies look for four or more open accounts as a plus. Excessive unsecured borrowing ability may be a minus. A mortgage is a plus.

When BofA changed "forever" CC terms, a 7.9% APR fixed for life, I got pissed. When BofA discovered their system had, over 20 years, incrementally raised my unsecured line of credit high enough to buy a late model Acura TL, they got anxious. During '08 or so, their back office figured that enough CC defaults would put a crimp on their agreements with ... something legal, maybe? Some ratio between lending and borrowing and assets?

I refused to provide a financial statement. BofA told me they were cutting my limit 90%. I told them to shove it. No effect on my credit score.

A couple years later I cancelled all but two CCs and permanently lowered the limits on those to $10k. Chase and AMEX I kept, and keep a joint Citi active for another. No more automatic credit line increases. With a mortgage and a joint, it looks like four.

Score has never been higher. Not that it matters. I'm as broke as a rusting truck in a ditch with a bent chassis.

Like TXJim I will not kowtow to some bank or credit rating. I don't give a rat's ass what someone else thinks about my credit. I'll just work hard, pay my taxes, have as many cards as I want, cancel as many as I want, and do whatever I damn well please.

Here's advise from simpledollar.com: Don’t close old accounts
Remember that 15% of your credit score hinges on the length of your credit history. Once you see your credit report, it might be tempting to close those old, unused accounts, but that can actually hurt your score.
On the other hand, having the credit there — but not using it — can help you. Cut up the cards if you have to, so you don’t use them. One exception may be a credit card with a hefty annual fee — you may want to get rid of it if you no longer use it in order to avoid the fee.

My credit score just took a big hit, made one large purchase with one CC for points, then transferred it to another for 0% for 18 months netting 1% in Amazon Gift Card after the balance transfer fee. Thought I was being smart. Score went from 820-830 to 790. I'm sure it will be above 800 soon, but it's shocking to how one purchase can affect your score. The problem was the points/transfer cards were two of my lowest limit cards so it showed hight utilization. Strange because one of the other comments listed as a negative was high amount of unused credit, which I had never seen before. So I'm simultaneously getting dinged for using too much and having too much unused. Screw you unfair Isaac.

You loose some points at first but then over time the score goes back up. I dumped all my credit cards and don't give a shit what my credit score is. The most expensive thing I buy is a 10k used car. I hate the way the score is calculated. I have life lock and they list canned reasons why the scores is what it is. One says "not enough experience with revolving credit" then the other says "too much revolving debt" sooooo which is it? I heard a financial adviser state that you have to have debt to keep a high score. I said pound sand.

quote:

Originally posted by texassierra:
My score went down slightly when I paid off my house. Go figure!

As did my student loans.

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Originally posted by MikeGLI:

quote:

Originally posted by texassierra:
My score went down slightly when I paid off my house. Go figure!

As did my student loans.

And car loans.

quote:

Originally posted by muddle_mann:

I heard a financial adviser state that you have to have debt to keep a high score. I said pound sand.

Dave Ramsey says that during his financial peace course

quote:

Originally posted by Skins2881:
My credit score just took a big hit, made one large purchase with one CC for points, then transferred it to another for 0% for 18 months netting 1% in Amazon Gift Card after the balance transfer fee. Thought I was being smart. Score went from 820-830 to 790. I'm sure it will be above 800 soon, but it's shocking to how one purchase can affect your score. The problem was the points/transfer cards were two of my lowest limit cards so it showed hight utilization. Strange because one of the other comments listed as a negative was high amount of unused credit, which I had never seen before. So I'm simultaneously getting dinged for using too much and having too much unused. Screw you unfair Isaac.

The difference between 790 and 830 is meaningless to any lender on the planet. A 790 credit score would generate automatic approvals in pretty much any lender's system at the best rates offered. That would be true all the way down to 740, 720 for some lenders. You are worrying over nothing of consequence.

Prior to moving to Canada,

I applied and was approved for an AMEX Platinum as I needed a card with no foreign transaction fees. I already had an AMEX Optima Platinum (an oddball no longer offered by AMEX, but charged foreign transaction fees even though it was Platinum). I wanted to cancel the Optima even though it was my 2nd oldest card ('99), but they offered me a metric shit ton of points to keep it open. I agreed to keep the card open as long as they lowered my credit limit to $1k. In hindsight, I should've skipped the AMEX all together had I known that Costco Canada was dropping AMEX 6 weeks after I moved there (a full year before US Costco did).

I sold my house and paid off my mortgage

I applied for a Visa with no foreign transaction fees

I cancelled a Visa that was 4 or 5 years old (charged foreign transaction fees).

All of the above caused my credit rating to take a 50 point drop (830s to 780s).

When I moved back to the US, the two mortgage companies I prequalified with both said my interest rate would've been the same in the 830s and 780s.

I've been back nearly 1.5 years and my credit rating is now in the 820s.

---

Ego is the anesthesia that deadens the pain of stupidity

DISCLAIMER: These are the author's own personal views and do not represent the views of the author's employer.

quote:

Originally posted by pbslinger:
Here's advise from simpledollar.com: Don’t close old accounts
Remember that 15% of your credit score hinges on the length of your credit history. Once you see your credit report, it might be tempting to close those old, unused accounts, but that can actually hurt your score.
On the other hand, having the credit there — but not using it — can help you. Cut up the cards if you have to, so you don’t use them. One exception may be a credit card with a hefty annual fee — you may want to get rid of it if you no longer use it in order to avoid the fee.

I think that applies if you're younger than 55 years old. Theoretically, by the time you reach that age, you've likely had at least one or, multiple auto loans, home mortgage, various student debt and a handful of credit cards. If you're been financially responsible and paid them all down, all the while you're building up a respectable credit history, than the rule of not closing old accounts becomes a non-issue. As many members have posted, they've been able to close various cards and not have an adverse effect on their credit rating. The ultimate key is to pay down your debts on time and have a history of it.

I have two $19K cards and one $5K card. The $5K card was cancelled by the bank because I never use it. I've had all the cards over ten years. My score went down a little bit after it was cancelled.

Just looked at the score today. A little under 800. Major factor affecting the score: no recent history of mortgage or other installment payments. Duh. Sound the last house in ‘07 and suspect we’d paid it off sometime before. No debt on current house, any vehicles, or anything else. Use the credit cards as charge cards paying the bill in full at the due date on the statement. If that has a negative effect on my credit rating, screw them, I don’t care.