TOTALLY GEEKED!

Southern_Belle · Nothing's Impossible

Credit cards

burns07 · Guru

as long as you have a zero balance it will have no effect on your credit whatsoever

Fort Worth Mom · Mod/Penguin lover/Princess!

SB, my understanding is, as long as you don't carry large balances on your other credit cards from month to month...closing that Target card should have little, to no effect on your credit score. smile

There are lots of articles on the subject. I googled, "will closing a credit card hurt my credit score", and a bunch of articles came up.

Divine Geek · Guru

The big thing about closing credit cards that can lower your credit score is it reduces your available credit. That's a ratio they look at when determining your score, your used vs available credit. However, these store cards usually have low limits, so it would probably have little effect. And if you don't carry balances on other cards, would have less of an impact.

burns07 · Guru

well, it depends on the lender but in most cases " store " or " vendor " cards aren't considered " available credit "--not the same as major accounts AMEX/Discover/VISA/CarteBlanche, etc.--major cards ARE considered " available " credit and the amount " open " or owing on the cards is a factor in your debt/income ratio--more importantly than the amount " open " is how the account has performed or specifically how it is " rated "

several major cards have no limit so your " available " credit cannot be known precisely--what you have " open " is a known figure and can be used to compute your debt/income ratio

in this country we have three types of credit: revolving(credit cards), auto credit and real property(mortgages)

lilyofcourse · My spirit animal is a pink flamingo.

I can't help you.

I haven't had a cc in over 20 years.

Had one for 6 months, ex run up the bill to the limit and took off.

I paid on that thing for 3 years, finally called them, told them what happened, provided proof of my divorce, and they settled.

I had paid over the principal in interest .

Never could get it paid down.

I'll never have another cc.

I have zero credit.

I just pay cash for what I get.

I know what to do_sometimes · Frozen Sucks!

lilyofcourse wrote:
I can't help you.

I haven't had a cc in over 20 years.

Had one for 6 months, ex run up the bill to the limit and took off.

I paid on that thing for 3 years, finally called them, told them what happened, provided proof of my divorce, and they settled.

I had paid over the principal in interest .

Never could get it paid down.

I'll never have another cc.

I have zero credit.
I just pay cash for what I get.

Credit cards are a necessity for most. You just have to have self control. You can't buy an airline ticket, rent a car, or shop on line without one.

lilyofcourse · My spirit animal is a pink flamingo.

I can. With my debit card.

I can book a hotel room, order from any place, and use it any where.

Look.

I am in no way knocking cc.

I'll just never have another.

I hate being in debt.

I'd rather do without than owe a balance.

Lawyerlady · On the bright side...... Christmas is coming! (Mod)

Closing a credit account lowers your available credit. It is better to have credit open you don't use. You want to have large credit limits and small balances.

Is it a Target only card or a Target Visa? I'd use the card - you don't even have to go to the store, you get free shipping with it on Target.com. Use it once, pay it off, and put it back in the drawer, leaving the credit line open.

Domestic Engineer · Guru

If it were me, I'd close it. Why have a card laying around and have to be concerned someone could hack the account.

It is possible to still have great credit without having several credit cards, because we do.

Lawyerlady · On the bright side...... Christmas is coming! (Mod)

lilyofcourse wrote:
I can. With my debit card.

I can book a hotel room, order from any place, and use it any where.

Look.

I am in no way knocking cc.

I'll just never have another.

I hate being in debt.

I'd rather do without than owe a balance.

And if someone steals your debit card number when you do that, they can wipe out your bank account. Yes, you'll eventually get it back if you can prove it was fraudulent - but in the meantime?

If a credit card gets stolen - at least it hasn't wiped your account.

lilyofcourse · My spirit animal is a pink flamingo.

My account is so limited it really doesn't matter.

I refuse to have a cc ever again.

lilyofcourse · My spirit animal is a pink flamingo.

The one time that did happen, my bank caught it the same day it happened.

I had my money back in less than 24 hours.

I have a great bank.

Tignanello · My dog name is, Sasha!

I can't use my debit card for anything online. The cc is necessary for that. Even uploading my transit card requires a cc

Tignanello · My dog name is, Sasha!

That said, except for things like parking in a public lot, I put the money on the cc before I spend it.

lilyofcourse · My spirit animal is a pink flamingo.

Mine is held by VISA. So I can use it as credit or debit.

No interest, no service fees.

I know what to do_sometimes · Frozen Sucks!

lilyofcourse wrote:
Mine is held by VISA. So I can use it as credit or debit.

No interest, no service fees.

And so is considered a CC which is why you can book hotel rooms, etc on it.

lilyofcourse · My spirit animal is a pink flamingo.

Yes.

But without the interest or other trappings of a cc.

Only works if the money is in the bank.

Vette · Owl drink to that!

When I paid off a balance on a credit card I closed it right away and was all excited thinking my credit would go up but no, it actually went down

Mellow Momma · Sniff...sniff, sniff. Yay! A Bum!

One thing I haven't seen mentioned is the length of time you have had the card. If you have had it the longest and you close it, it will hurt your credit. One of the factors in your credit score is the length of time you have had your oldest account.

Southern_Belle · Nothing's Impossible

Mellow Momma wrote:
One thing I haven't seen mentioned is the length of time you have had the card. If you have had it the longest and you close it, it will hurt your credit. One of the factors in your credit score is the length of time you have had your oldest account.

Maybe a little over 18 months. It's for target only but has a pretty high credit limit. Any time I used it (you get 5% off at the register) I just paid it off a few days later. I usually just charge something for the discount or points. Then I pay it off.

jlbear71 · Guru

I have several major credit cards. One is a work card (MasterCard). One is for gas that Bossman pays (Visa). DH and I each have a Discover Card. And I have another Visa that I have had forever as it was my first cc. Oh, and I have an Amazon Visa too. Aside from the work one, we use them all for different purposes. And they get paid off twice a month when we pay bills. Have not carried a balance since we put DSS's college tuition on it one year.

Oh, and we have excellent credit, well up in the 800s. I just wish they would quit trying to raise the limits.

Southern_Belle · Nothing's Impossible

jlbear71 wrote:
I have several major credit cards. One is a work card (MasterCard). One is for gas that Bossman pays (Visa). DH and I each have a Discover Card. And I have another Visa that I have had forever as it was my first cc. Oh, and I have an Amazon Visa too. Aside from the work one, we use them all for different purposes. And they get paid off twice a month when we pay bills. Have not carried a balance since we put DSS's college tuition on it one year.

Oh, and we have excellent credit, well up in the 800s. I just wish they would quit trying to raise the limits.

I'm in the 800's too. Makes me feel powerful, lol.

Tignanello · My dog name is, Sasha!

I have a capitol one card. Luckily it has a super low limit on it. the interest rates are high, but it was the only card I could get when I came back to Canada. I was paying it off pretty regularly but then had some drama and ended up with making only minimums, but now I do whatever I can to pay over for the principle as well.

Lawyerlady · On the bright side...... Christmas is coming! (Mod)

I would never make the mistake of closing one again. Just put it in the safe.

Tangerine · Guru

We weren't able to refinance our house a couple years ago (not at the good rate we were interested in,anyway) because Husband closed all his unused credit cards and it negatively affected his credit.
I would say it really depends on the limit you have with target and how many other credit lines you have.

I know what to do_sometimes · Frozen Sucks!

Tangerine wrote:
We weren't able to refinance our house a couple years ago (not at the good rate we were interested in,anyway) because Husband closed all his unused credit cards and it negatively affected his credit.
I would say it really depends on the limit you have with target and how many other credit lines you have.

If you have a lot of CC's you don't use, just close them one at a time slowly.