Use Your Credit Card Or Lose It

[Wenchy]

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.

My favorite (mind you, I don't carry a balance) sent out a statement that rates for preferred customers carrying balances were going from 3.99 to 7.99% If they are in trouble... Then I have to remember that I am making them little money using their charge card. The merchants pay what % for me to even use it?

In the past I used different credit cards to pay for my car, house expansion, etc. At 1.9% interest I did the balancing act for 6 months and then opened another card. They made a little bit of money, but I saved a lot.

Sad times.

 

[FromTexas]

if you close down credit cards, close the youngest cards first. Part of your credit score is made up of your average length of credit. A longer average length of credit makes a better score. So, if you have three cards they are one, three, and seven years old, close the one year or one and three year old ones.

 

[GWguy]

if you close down credit cards, close the youngest cards first. Part of your credit score is made up of your average length of credit. A longer average length of credit makes a better score. So, if you have three cards they are one, three, and seven years old, close the one year or one and three year old ones.

That's interesting info. Makes sense.

People get too bent out of shape over the percentage rate of their cards. If you pay it off every month, it doesn't matter what the percentage rate is, because you're not paying into it. For me, the card is just a convenience to purchase something without having to hand over large amounts of cash. If I don't have the money in the bank to cover a purchase, I don't buy it.

Once in a blue moon, I'll buy something large on the card and pay it off in 2 or 3 payments. For that, I'll take the small hit in the added APR.