[Sara]

WAIT! We've skipped over a question I had about how much of a credit card to use minimum! Someone answer this please.

[NYCGP]

Originally Posted by Sara504

VISA MC and who else? AMEX?

Yep.

[Freakazoid]

Originally Posted by NYCGP

First off.. I was obviously kidding. I wouldn't seriously believe that owning a specific type of credit line would lead to a loss of confidence by the credit bureaus.

There are the big three... and then there is Discover. Not trying to get into a dispute about credit card companies.. the 5% discover offers for cash back is the best deal out there. Problem is, it isn't excepted in enough places.

haha sorry mate, sarcasm has been going over my head recently. (wasn't referencing the credit bureau, more referencing why would you own one ).

Hands down discover is the best credit card out there...if you can get it accepted. Between as you mentioned, the 5% cash backs, and their general support... they're by far, far, FARRRR my favorite.
Again though, as you said, they're really not accepted enough places, so obviously you need other cards. My general recommendation is getting a credit line from all 4, except for AMEX. Cause I hate AMEX and they're a piece of shit and can die in hell

[Blake]

Originally Posted by Sara504

VISA MC and who else? AMEX?

amex is a charge card. different story.

[Blake]

Originally Posted by Sara504

WAIT! We've skipped over a question I had about how much of a credit card to use minimum! Someone answer this please.

leave around 10% of available balance on all cards. that looks responsible when looking for a bigger loan. i wouldn't go more than 3 revolving credit cards max.

[NYCGP]

Originally Posted by Blake

amex is a charge card. different story.

You're right. But without getting into specifics, it is similar enough to be grouped.

[Sara]

Originally Posted by Blake

amex is a charge card. different story.

explain.

[Freakazoid]

Originally Posted by Sara504

WAIT! We've skipped over a question I had about how much of a credit card to use minimum! Someone answer this please.

I thought you asked the question, but couldn't find the post, so I figured I was losing it.

Number I've heard is ~20%. It's a very very fine line. You want to be under 25% to get the highest score, but you don't want to be much lower than 10-15% as then its stagnating. I've also been told you want to carry over a very small balance every month, you don't want too 100% pay it off in full. This last part is 100% hearsae though I have no idea if its true, personally not sold.


This is all hearsae though

[Freakazoid]

Originally Posted by NYCGP

You're right. But without getting into specifics, it is similar enough to be grouped.

they're also a sack of bloody shit

[Sara]

Originally Posted by Blake

leave around 10% of available balance on all cards. that looks responsible when looking for a bigger loan. i wouldn't go more than 3 revolving credit cards max.

No no, that still doesnt answer it.. Lets say I have a store card. That I hardly ever use, and when I do I charge no more than $50 on it. Is that too little to be charging?? Because I can certainly be buying more from there.

[Blake]

Originally Posted by Freakazoid

haha sorry mate, sarcasm has been going over my head recently. (wasn't referencing the credit bureau, more referencing why would you own one ).

Hands down discover is the best credit card out there...if you can get it accepted. Between as you mentioned, the 5% cash backs, and their general support... they're by far, far, FARRRR my favorite.
Again though, as you said, they're really not accepted enough places, so obviously you need other cards. My general recommendation is getting a credit line from all 4, except for AMEX. Cause I hate AMEX and they're a piece of shit and can die in hell

i tend to disagree. while discover might have the best 'rewards', it's accepted almost nowhere and doesn't give nearly the level of service AMEX does. it's my personal belief that AMEX plat and up is just about the best card you can have. the benefits are solid and it shows a lot of responsibility to maintain an AMEX without overspending, seeing as it's a charge card.

[jlspeed29]

Originally Posted by CollinsE90

I hear having good credit gets you laid

+1 Im trying to break 800!

[Freakazoid]

Originally Posted by Blake

leave around 10% of available balance on all cards. that looks responsible when looking for a bigger loan.

blake I trust your words, but I don't know if I believe this. I've NEVER heard any debt/loan/etc consultants or anyone in the industry saying you should be using 90% of your credit, 100% of the opposite, where if you're using 10-20% of your credit that looks much better.

[bosstones]

Originally Posted by Sara504

Lower interest rates maybe?

Not for car loans. Usually anything above 740 (previously 720) gets you the lowest rate.

Going back to your original post, IMO, you don't need that many credit cards to have/maintain a good credit score. In my case, I have 1 (barring corporate card) yet have 'excellent' credit. While seems to be a little black magic to credit scores sometimes, paying stuff on time is obviously a major factor as is the # of inquiries and your income/debt ratio. Keep those in check and you should be fine.

Regarding MediaArtist's comment, what is wrong with someone being satisfied with having a high credit score? That by itself does not mean the person will always use it to take on debt 'just because' they can.

[Blake]

Originally Posted by Sara504

No no, that still doesnt answer it.. Lets say I have a store card. That I hardly ever use, and when I do I charge no more than $50 on it. Is that too little to be charging?? Because I can certainly be buying more from there.

instant credit often have high rates and are only accepted at the specific retailer. why would you want that? you would be served much better by getting a couple low interest rate visa/mc CC's, keeping the balance low, and consistently paying them off below 30% of their total line of credit. >30% is what creditors deem as 'responsible'. never late pay, never over limit. those will kill you.

[Freakazoid]

Originally Posted by Blake

i tend to disagree. while discover might have the best 'rewards', it's accepted almost nowhere and doesn't give nearly the level of service AMEX does. it's my personal belief that AMEX plat and up is just about the best card you can have. the benefits are solid and it shows a lot of responsibility to maintain an AMEX without overspending, seeing as it's a charge card.

Good points Blake, I'm glad you came into this conversation. You're right. i know people who work with the AMEX black customers, and I know the top tier. AMEX top tier is freaking awesome....much better than Discover.

Unfortunately I'm not to that point, so I hate them

So it might be better for me to say, AMEX or the average (or slightly above average) schmoe is a piece of shit . If you have a great credit line, spend a shit load on cards, and get the AMEX top tier, they're pretty damn amazing.

[Blake]

Originally Posted by Freakazoid

blake I trust your words, but I don't know if I believe this. I've NEVER heard any debt/loan/etc consultants or anyone in the industry saying you should be using 90% of your credit, 100% of the opposite, where if you're using 10-20% of your credit that looks much better.

no no i meant 10% of the total line. enough to not have a zero balance, but not getting charged a ton of interest.

[Sara]

Originally Posted by Blake

instant credit often have high rates and are only accepted at the specific retailer. why would you want that? you would be served much better by getting a couple low interest rate visa/mc CC's, keeping the balance low, and consistently paying them off below 30% of their total line of credit. >30% is what creditors deem as 'responsible'. never late pay, never over limit. those will kill you.

It was my first credit card. I opened it when I was 19. Im not going to close it. Ive had it almost 4 years now. I hardly use it, but I think I should be using it more. Ive put $10.77 on it in the last 3 months lol... Im thinking thats tooo little. Am I right?

[jlspeed29]

Originally Posted by Sara504

No no, that still doesnt answer it.. Lets say I have a store card. That I hardly ever use, and when I do I charge no more than $50 on it. Is that too little to be charging?? Because I can certainly be buying more from there.

hey sara...no theres no such thing (to my knowledge) as "charging too little"
its all about ratios as far as creditors are concerned.

If you charge 50, then pay it off when the bill comes...if you must carry a balance, make sure you pay more than the minimum always
and using less than 30% of Available credit is preferred

[Freakazoid]

Originally Posted by Sara504

No no, that still doesnt answer it.. Lets say I have a store card. That I hardly ever use, and when I do I charge no more than $50 on it. Is that too little to be charging?? Because I can certainly be buying more from there.

the amount that's charged is irrelevant, the balance at the end of the month is the number I'm referring to. so if you stopped at $50 a month, then yes that would be far too little.

[Sara]

Someone explain the AMEX charge thing to me.. We skipped that question too. Please and thanks

[NYCGP]

Originally Posted by Freakazoid

blake I trust your words, but I don't know if I believe this. I've NEVER heard any debt/loan/etc consultants or anyone in the industry saying you should be using 90% of your credit, 100% of the opposite, where if you're using 10-20% of your credit that looks much better.

I am using around 20% of my credit. All my scores are over 800. I don't have a mortgage though. I have always been extremely careful with my credit and never missed a payment. I have had at least 1 credit card in my name since I was 17.

For my business we use the Amex to pay for dumping, diesel, and other expenses that can be put on it. At the end of the month, it gets paid. Let's just say, Amex appreciates my patronage and I am at a point where other card companies can't match what Amex has to offer.