Credit Card Question

[Nate]

I signed up for a Gordon's Jewlers card, and got approved, but I only signed up to get an extra 15% off my purchase, and as soon as I signed up for it, I paid it off in the store, now if I close that account right now is that a bad thing for my credit? or should I wait a little?

Thanks,
Nate

[_Chris_]

I signed up for a Gordon's Jewlers card, and got approved, but I only signed up to get an extra 15% off my purchase, and as soon as I signed up for it, I paid it off in the store, now if I close that account right now is that a bad thing for my credit? or should I wait a little?

Thanks,
Nate

when you open something, then immediately close it, it will have a negative effect.

[Charles]

If he has a fairly lengthy credit history it shouldn't really make a huge difference one way or another..too many factors tie into it but it's nothing that will drop or raise him 20 points one way or another. You did the right thing, any retailer offering 10-15% off a major purchase is worth it even if you just close it back out.

[Steve B]

the biggest obstacle i have encountered is my total revolving debt vs my total available credit, ive paid about 8g's in credit card debt over the last 1.5 years and my score has only increased 50 points. i was closing accounts left and right, my fico says that this is negatively effecting my credit. they show it as a percentage... if i left the accounts open this number would be closer to 40% than 84%, i dont deal with credit every day,so i am no expert on the subject, however it is good food for thought.

[John]

generally speaking (and without going to extremes), its better to have your CR show the account open with the available credit being high than to have the account closed. In most situations it's better to have the account on there, with a decent sized credit limit unused, than to have none on there at all

[_Charles_]

Something to consider:
Store credit cards DO NOT help your credit nearly as much as mainstream credit cards (such as Visa/MC, etc). They hold close to no value anymore because FAIR ISSACS believes that stores will issue credit to anybody with a pulse, so they are scored as such.

Credit scores is a game. They say, never apply for credit you don't need, and stuff like that, but you need credit to get credit. Go figure.

Here are some standards that I have noticing:
How many CC's (or revolving loans) should I have? The magic number seems to be 6. While some may have up to 40-50 lines of revolving credit, 6 is considered to be the target
How much 'balance' should I carry? 30-40% is considered IDEAL for raising your score.

Charles