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12-03-2008, 12:22 PM
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#1 |
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Lieutenant Commander
  Join Date: Dec 2002
Posts: 757
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Financial advice--use those unused credit cards
No, I'm not advocating going out and running up a bunch of debt.
I received a letter a couple days ago from Chase. I have been reading about credit lines being slashed left and right, and interest rates going up. I don't have a problem with that personally. To my surprise, the letter stated that because my credit card had not been used in 2 years, they had closed the account. WHOA! I go online, log in to my account, and make a polite and reasonable request for them to keep the account open. I have also read about such requests being granted. NOPE. Within 8 hours I received a short reply that said the account was already closed. Done deal, no alternatives. I have had this account for 13 years. It is 4 years older than my next oldest account, and represented about 1/3 of my total credit line. In case you're not aware, your FICO score is based on both the age of your credit lines and the total amount of credit you have. I have a credit monitoring service. In about 3 months the results of this will be reflected, and I will post an update. So keep those card accounts open. If you haven't charged anything on some in a while, make use of them, buy something small, then pay them off immediately. |
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12-03-2008, 02:24 PM
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#2 |
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Secretary of the Navy
 
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: Chillin' N Da 'Hood
Posts: 34,390
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Honestly, if you don't really need the card, why keep it? Some of them are just more of a hassle to keep track of.
For me, having 2 Credit (and 1 Debit) card is quite enough (along with the other lines of credit I have that are established...) At least with the current economic situation, I have seen a reduction in the amount of "Hey please sign up for our credit card" spam in my mailbox. 
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 DarkFury's Pimptopia - Don't Hate the Playa, Hate the Game! Home of the Original OG Pimp (accept NO imitations) 
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12-03-2008, 04:51 PM
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#3 | |
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Lieutenant Commander
Join Date: Dec 2002
Posts: 757
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Quote:
Like I told them in my request, that card *was* the 2nd card in my wallet. No, I didn't use it, but, it's good to have a back-up in case the 1st doesn't work for whatever reason. As far as other reasons for keeping it, see my 1st post. This probably won't impact me materially. My 797 credit score might drop 20 points (just guessing) which isn't any different as far as rates go. But it does matter to me. I'll probably be in a good position to purchase my move-up home within 5 years (guess who *won't* be servicing my loan). I've only heard that a lot of people were getting warnings of account closings; I expected the same courtesy. |
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12-03-2008, 04:21 PM
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#4 |
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Chief of Naval Operations
 
Join Date: May 2000
Location: LEVITTOWN< PA> USA
Posts: 13,619
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I got the same email from Chase about a week ago. If it affects my credit rating, I don't really care.
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12-03-2008, 05:08 PM
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#5 |
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Chief News Editor & Master of His Domain
 
Join Date: Aug 2000
Location: Minnesota
Posts: 7,375
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same thing happened to my wife. I've not had that issue, however.
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lpmiller Chief News Editor Nobel Prize Nominee Reverend in the Universal Life Church Once Shot A Man For Snoring Too Loud Way Too Lazy To Change His Signature "The strength to change what I can, the inability to accept what I can't, and the incapacity to tell the difference." - Calvin and Hobbes |
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12-03-2008, 08:15 PM
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#6 |
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What's Da Pho*?
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: SoCal (714)
Posts: 13,214
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Got same letter from Chase. I cut up that card when I received it so would not be able to use it.
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12-04-2008, 01:03 AM
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#7 |
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Rear Admiral Lower Half
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: With Me, Myself, and I...wondering why we can't get along!
Posts: 2,583
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797? Hey Daedalus, if you take your score place a strait line down the middle of each of those sevens and then flip it upside down, you'll have my score.
j/k....But I'm like DF, only two cards and a debit. Anymore and I might go nuts. Anyway, my score dropped good after I got my student loans! 
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12-04-2008, 09:29 AM
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#8 |
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Secretary of the Navy
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: Chillin' N Da 'Hood
Posts: 34,390
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What I do with my 2 credit cards is...
On one, I use for all my fuel, online, and misc purchaes... on the other, I use it for all my "recurring signup" expenses (like monthly membership fees, monthly hosting fees, monthly online gaming fees, etc...) That way I have an easy way to keep track of various expenses, keep both cards active, and still pay them off at the end of each month so that I don't incur any interest charges.  Last edited by DarkFury : 12-04-2008 at 09:37 AM. |
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12-04-2008, 06:25 PM
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#9 |
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Rear Admiral Upper Half
Join Date: Jul 2000
Location: Where the east meets the west.
Posts: 3,052
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Thats clever DF. I actually just got my Second card because I expense lots of stuff through work but wasn't racking up any points on my 1000's of dollars of spending. Now i'm earning miles.. haha through Chase... bastards
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"The girl is crafty like ice is cold." "I left my heart in san francisco... And my liver at Moe's Tavern." A real friend is one who listens to you as much as they talk to you. |
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Hybrid Mode
