Good credit card?

#1
jwells

jwells

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 14, 2005
Messages
4,588
Likes
808
#1
Just got a dear john letter from citibank raising my apr 7 percent after 5 years of business. no reason given, have never been late. guess they just lost a customer.

who do you all use? rates?
Posted via VolNation Mobile
 
#2
#2
I don't use a credit card. Just my debit card from my bank. If I can't pay for it, I don't buy it.
 
#3
#3
superdave1984 said:
I don't use a credit card. Just my debit card from my bank. If I can't pay for it, I don't buy it.
Click to expand...

i pay all the utilities for our apt, so i usually put those on there. plus i like cashback. i generally pay it off every month, but i've had a couple things come up that had to be paid immediately (i.e. my student loan co. screwed up my repayment plan and could only fix it after i paid them 2 months of payments)

it's nice to have for car emergencies..new tires, an alignment, and a new axle arent something i can pay out of pocket.

i just refuse to pay them the same rate i started with 5 years ago because they want to make more money. I promise that having me as a cardholder at 12 percent makes more money than not having me at 19.
Posted via VolNation Mobile
 
#5
#5
Citi is raising APR's and cutting credit lines as are all banks, hang in there.
 
#6
#6
It is good for your credit score to have multiple open lines of credit that are used on a regular/semi-regular basis. I agree with you about not buying things you can't afford, but using a CC and paying it off at the end of a cycle (month) instead of just using your debit card directly can really help your credit score... which is important if you are looking to buy a car or home in the future.

All that said, I don't have a card either. My wife has a CapitalOne account. It seems fine, but I don't know the rate or anything, and they keep sending these stupid check things...
 
#10
#10
Haven't owned one in over 10 years. Just got one from American Express because I got tired of getting hassled for renting a car and such things without one. Interest free for the first 6 months, forgot what it goes to then. I'll tell them to keep it at zero after 6 months or cancel it. They can make their choice.
 
#12
#12
rwemyss said:
It is good for your credit score to have multiple open lines of credit that are used on a regular/semi-regular basis. I agree with you about not buying things you can't afford, but using a CC and paying it off at the end of a cycle (month) instead of just using your debit card directly can really help your credit score... which is important if you are looking to buy a car or home in the future.

All that said, I don't have a card either. My wife has a CapitalOne account. It seems fine, but I don't know the rate or anything, and they keep sending these stupid check things...
Click to expand...

Speaking of credit scores, Capital One testified in front of congress that they routinely withhold high credit limits from credit reports. This deflates credit scores and they know it. It makes you look as if your credit card is maxed out. When this happens, it tanks your score. They claim to have corrected this but I have my doubts. I think that their wish is to tank the credit scores of their cardholders in order to have a captive customer base, unable to shop for better rates, etc... As a credit consultant, I advise the clients that I have to get away from Capital One.

Check out this blog that I wrote a while back.
 
#14
#14
MphsBlues said:
Speaking of credit scores, Capital One testified in front of congress that they routinely withhold high credit limits from credit reports. This deflates credit scores and they know it. It makes you look as if your credit card is maxed out. When this happens, it tanks your score. They claim to have corrected this but I have my doubts. I think that their wish is to tank the credit scores of their cardholders in order to have a captive customer base, unable to shop for better rates, etc... As a credit consultant, I advise the clients that I have to get away from Capital One.

Check out this blog that I wrote a while back.
Click to expand...

What sort of impact are we talking about, credit score-wise? 50 points? 100? I am pretty ignorant on a lot of this stuff.
 
#15
#15
IPorange said:
What sort of impact are we talking about, credit score-wise? 50 points? 100? I am pretty ignorant on a lot of this stuff.
Click to expand...

Most people are. Nothing to be ashamed of. The credit bureaus like nothing more than making it difficult for consumers to understand their scores. Your credit score is calculated with computers, of course, using a complex scoring matrix where all factors affect all other factors in coming up with your score. We know for a fact that this is the breakdown on what makes up your score:
* Payment History – 35%
* Total Amounts Owed – 30%
* Length of Credit History – 15%
* New Credit – 10%
* Type of Credit in Use – 10%

I can't tell you for sure how much a maxed out card will affect your unique credit report, but I can tell you what happened when we experimented with it. My boss, with a near perfect credit score, decided he would see what impact maxing the card out would have. He maxed out one card and his score dropped 40 points. He paid it off and got the points back eventually. He then ran the balance up to 60% of limit (60% LTV) and his score dropped 30 points. He found that as long as he kept his balances below 40% his score was unaffected. I argue with him to this day that your balances should be kept below 35% LTV but he still says 40. We agree to disagree, but we know for a fact running up your balances tanks your credit.
 
#16
#16
jwells said:
Anyone heard anything good/bad about Chase or Bank of America?
Click to expand...

I have both. No major complaints. Having the cards and using them sparingly helps your credit, but the companies themselves are pretty unscrupulous. This blog is helpful in learning about the practices of the credit card companies. We're hoping that our work with Senator Levin will help bring about reform with the credit card companies. Capitol Hill was clueless about their practices before we told them what was up.
 
#17
#17
I guess that "total amounts owed" explains why my wife scores ~790 and I only score ~750... I have a car loan that still has about $22k outstanding, but she has no outstanding balances.

Either way, both our scores are good. I imagine that CapitalOne couldn't do much to her score, because I paid the card off when we got married in April. It only had about $800 on it anyway. But I digress...
 
#18
#18
rwemyss said:
I guess that "total amounts owed" explains why my wife scores ~790 and I only score ~750... I have a car loan that still has about $22k outstanding, but she has no outstanding balances.

Either way, both our scores are good. I imagine that CapitalOne couldn't do much to her score, because I paid the card off when we got married in April. It only had about $800 on it anyway. But I digress...
Click to expand...

LTV on installment loans don't affect your score like credit card balances. They pretty much only spank you when you make a late payment. Either way, you both have excellent credit.
 
#19
#19
Citibank is based in South Dakota where they have no statutory usury law and no laws that I know of which prohibit the amounts that banks can charge for service fees and penalties, hence they can shaft you with impunity. I'd just call your bank and ask them to issue you a credit card. If your own bank declines you then you probably shouldn't have one anyway.
 
#20
#20
MphsBlues said:
LTV on installment loans don't affect your score like credit card balances. They pretty much only spank you when you make a late payment. Either way, you both have excellent credit.
Click to expand...

Oh. I see. Good to know. :) :good!:

Yeah, the mortgage brokers were licking their chops a few weeks ago when I applied for pre-approval for a home loan. I always wondered why my score was, and now I know... I've been using the government mandated free credit report to check for problems over the last 5 years, but those don't give a score.
 
#21
#21
rwemyss said:
Oh. I see. Good to know. :) :good!:

Yeah, the mortgage brokers were licking their chops a few weeks ago when I applied for pre-approval for a home loan. I always wondered why my score was, and now I know... I've been using the government mandated free credit report to check for problems over the last 5 years, but those don't give a score.
Click to expand...

Good plan :good!: It's always good to check it at least once a year. The bureaus make mistakes on 79% of all credit reports.
 
#22
#22
b of a dinged my credit report for not paying a $.50 balance due to some interest i didn't realize i even was charged. after that i ceased to do business with them. my southwest chase credit card is great. only like 18K miles for a free ticket. of course L.A. is a major hub for southwest so that makes it worthwhile for me. I also never carry a balance so that may be a factor to many of you.
 
#23
#23
rwemyss said:
It is good for your credit score to have multiple open lines of credit that are used on a regular/semi-regular basis. I agree with you about not buying things you can't afford, but using a CC and paying it off at the end of a cycle (month) instead of just using your debit card directly can really help your credit score... which is important if you are looking to buy a car or home in the future.

All that said, I don't have a card either. My wife has a CapitalOne account. It seems fine, but I don't know the rate or anything, and they keep sending these stupid check things...
Click to expand...
The bad thing about having too many credit cards is it can hurt you. Point being if you have 10 (for instance) credit cards with 10-15,000 credit line on them, it counts against you, even if there at zero balance because you could go get a new home loan and then borrow max on all cards, a liability to the mortgage holder.
 
#24
#24
jwells said:
Just got a dear john letter from citibank raising my apr 7 percent after 5 years of business. no reason given, have never been late. guess they just lost a customer.

who do you all use? rates?
Posted via VolNation Mobile
Click to expand...
The best credit card is the one you can pay off every month. Surely you can look around and find a card that will offer you a balance transfer rate at little or nothing percent can't you. Visa,MC, Discover?
 
#25
#25
utfantilidie said:
The bad thing about having too many credit cards is it can hurt you. Point being if you have 10 (for instance) credit cards with 10-15,000 credit line on them, it counts against you, even if there at zero balance because you could go get a new home loan and then borrow max on all cards, a liability to the mortgage holder.
Click to expand...

I figure that goes without saying. 1-3 is MORE than enough. 10?!?! TEN?!?! :wacko:
 
New Posts
You must log in or register to reply here.

Advertisement



Back
Top