Use Your Credit Card Or Lose It
- Thread starter punjabigyrl
- Start date
migtig
aka Mrs. Giant
Great. I'm carrying three cards with zero balance. One I use occassionally when I'm out and about and one is my "OMG I have an emergency" card and the other one, well I just didn't want to cancel and hurt my credit score. 
So now it looks like I need to start shopping? Weird.
So now it looks like I need to start shopping? Weird.
desertrat
0_0
Great. I'm carrying three cards with zero balance. One I use occassionally when I'm out and about and one is my "OMG I have an emergency" card and the other one, well I just didn't want to cancel and hurt my credit score.
No biggy, just use it once a month for something you needed anyway and then pay it off.
I also suspect that these banks are covering against the possibility of someone losing their job and running up a bunch of charges they don't intend to pay back.
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Crewdawg141
IYAMYAS!!!!!
It is a bunch of garbage! No matter how hard an individual works to improve their life or credit if the government does not take things away from you the "trusted" financial institutions will!
W
Wenchy
Guest
Nope. As DR said above it makes good business sense. Personally, if I found myself in dire straits, then I have many credit cards I could live on, and never pay them off.
In the past, I kept them for a sense of security (never used but one, paid off the balance each month, but kept the rest and they kept raising the limits...stupid on their part) I will still keep them until they take them away.
terbear1225
Well-Known Member
I have no problem with them closing accounts but it shouldn't damage your credit if someone else closes the account without prior warning.
GWguy
*
And I've mentioned this before: Having more and more credit available on multiple cards with high limits actually counts against you, it is a personal liability. If you were to max out those cards, you might not be able to pay it back. Credit companies realize this and take that into account to calculate your credit rating whether you use the cards or not.
migtig
aka Mrs. Giant
Yea, it's the last part of your sentence that's the clincher. I don't have a problem canceling one of my cards since I never use it, but whether I do it or they do it, it damages my credit.
Larry Gude
Strung Out
There's that and when a company has a card issued to DR and it has a credit limit of $20,000, then that credit limit is on their balance sheet as a liability.
If they take 1,000,000 credit cards and close accounts or reduce limits, it makes their balance sheets look better which is important to them right now.
Larry Gude
Strung Out
That's right. When you are being considered for a loan, they don't like to see that you have 10 or 15 credit cards regardless of the balance.
TotalEclipse31
New Member
The only thing closing a card would do to your credit is increase your debt/available credit percentage. The act of closing the card will not harm you credit unless you have alot of debt somewhere else that will put your percentage too high (forget at what percentage it really starts to hurt you). I just had Orchard bank close one of my cards for not using.
Larry Gude
Strung Out
Closing cards helps, right?
Vince
......
Chase called me and told me they were raising interest rates on my card. I said, "did you hear that noise?" Answer: "yes." That was your credit card going through my shredder. Done. As many solicitations for credit cards as I get in the mail, I can get another in a heart beat. Told Chase to cancel my account and send me confirmation. Now I get all kinds of mail from Chase wanting to give me another card. Eff'em.
migtig
aka Mrs. Giant
I was always told that when you cancel a card it looks bad on your credit rating. So you are saying it doesn't?
If that's the case, I'll close all but one.
TotalEclipse31
New Member
Closing a card its really going to help you, but it shouldn't hurt you either, unless like I said before, you're debt/available credit ratio gets too high. I am no credit expert or anything, just learned a little here and there working for a bank.
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Wenchy
Guest
This is something new. In the past a company has never closed an account other than on my request.
I have too many credit cards with zero balances and if they all closed on me my credit score would plunge.
As Mig mentioned...we must spend! This is the stimulus (my words)
The only one I use I pay off each month and they are sending me almost $200 cash for last year's spending. I figure they will keep me since I have been with them for over 25 years: Car insurance, homeowner's and etc.
I'm not making the banks any money but will be very upset if my perfect credit plummets.
Off to shop I go.
Maybe I'll buy a new car, some designer shoes, charge a new body/face at the best plastic surgeon available, finally get my hair cut professionally and might even get a mani/pedi.
I could be the perfect person with perfectly horrendous debt.
terbear1225
Well-Known Member
so, if you don't carry a balance on any cards, it doesn't make any difference to your credit if you close an account?
TotalEclipse31
New Member
Everything is said is really a basic rule of thumb because everybody's credit situation is different. There are so many variable's to what makes your credit score go up and down. I am just talking about basic rules of thumb. I cannot advice anyone to open/close a credit card because I do not know your situations (income, debt, age, etc...).
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Wenchy
Guest
I believe you will see different criteria put in place now that the banks have become "smart" and are starting to close inactive accounts. If you want to keep your credit...CHARGE!!!
It's "advise" just saying.
Advise.
Sorry, I'm irked right now.
We do appreciate your "advice".
TotalEclipse31
New Member
haha its all good wenchy. So ya know, my bank has platinum credit cards at 0% for 6 months, then prime plus 5.99 after that. Thats not really too bad for things the way they are right now. Chase tried to take my card from 4% fixed that I had to prime plus 18.99. I have purfect credit mind you. I laughed and closed my card.