I have 2 credit cards with no balance now?

[stopthebleeding]

they have not closed my accounts evn though my other credit cards are 6 months past due. Once the bankruptcy is over if they don't close them. Can I keep them for rebuilding credit or do you think they will be closed? Is it possible to get through a bankruptcy and still have some of your old credit cards?

[B12]

I am sure someone knowledgeable here will chime in about preferential payments.

[lrprn]

they have not closed my accounts evn though my other credit cards are 6 months past due. Once the bankruptcy is over if they don't close them. Can I keep them for rebuilding credit or do you think they will be closed? Is it possible to get through a bankruptcy and still have some of your old credit cards?

Being late and filing bk are two different things to creditors. Sometimes zero balance cards do sneak through - the smaller cards (gas, local stores, etc) have a higher chance of surviving bk and not being cancelled. I wouldn't count on your cards surviving if they are from the "big boys" MasterCard, AmEx, and Visa.

[HeatherB]

If I remember my chapter 13 correctly, I had to list all debts (whether paid in full or not). I think the few that I had a $0 balance on states that they were "closed by credit grantor". I'm not positive, but I think this means that they seen I had filed and decided to no longer extend me the credit. (which was fine by me) Most CC offers state somewhere that if they see you no longer qualify for the card, they can cancel it at their discretion.

[demismom]

Depends on the creditor. AMEX told me that during the next audit they would have closed mine, so I opted not to renew and closed the account myself. It had a zero balance as well.

[magyar123]

Don't think that non affected (by your bankruptcy) credit cards will actually close them once they get wind of your filing, but they will definitely up your interest rates to crooked, loanshark levels - and don't EVER be late with your payments.

[LoserBoy]

if you have a card with a small balance, can you reaffirm and continue to make payments?

[magyar123]

I suppose so, but I think the card uutfits with the high balances will start to ***** and holler that you reaffirmed one but not them.
My advise: Keep your zero balanced cards at zero, and don't use them until after your 341 hearing

[dscurlock]

I suppose so, but I think the card uutfits with the high balances will start to ***** and holler that you reaffirmed one but not them.
My advise: Keep your zero balanced cards at zero, and don't use them until after your 341 hearing

I have a couple new cards, they are not late, low payments, it would make sense to keep them, but i also have debt several years old that i know that I can never catch up that surely would need to go into BK.

[MajorMike]

I have a couple new cards, they are not late, low payments, it would make sense to keep them, but i also have debt several years old that i know that I can never catch up that surely would need to go into BK.

You can't KEEP cards with balances. They HAVE to be included!

[Bandit]

I suppose so, but I think the card uutfits with the high balances will start to ***** and holler that you reaffirmed one but not them.
My advise: Keep your zero balanced cards at zero, and don't use them until after your 341 hearing

Um, I dont see how you can be using credit cards after the 341. Are you sure about all that?

[lrprn]

if you have a card with a small balance, can you reaffirm and continue to make payments?

No, you cannot reaffirm non-secured debt.

If the balance on your cc is small (under $600) and you pay it off in full before filing so you don't have to include it on your creditor list, it may slip past the lender's radar and survive your bankruptcy still activated. However, the chances of the cc company keeping the card active after you file is very small. The cc companies place collections and bankruptcy information in a shared database so all the big cc creditors know you filed and cancel the card as soon as they find out even if they aren't notified directly.

And as for using a still active cc card after your 341, I wouldn't recommend it. You are taking on new debt before the old is even discharged.

If you can't live on what you make for six months after filing without using a credit card, then the reality is you can't live within what you make. You either need to make more income, cut your expenses, or off-load a secured asset to remove the monthly payment. Sorry to be so blunt. This is one of the toughest lessons bankruptcy has to teach us.

[demismom]

I had an AMEX that would have been canceled even though I'd always paid it faithfully and on time.