ideal number of credit cards to have?

[angelaohio]

hi everyone!

well, got my scores up to 617,627, and 654. right after my bk was discharged in jan 06 they were 520-550. i have disputed, corrected and deleted everything i could from my reports that had errors.

i have 2 cc's. one secured from orchard, and that $250 first premier.

what is the ideal number of cards to have for scoring purposes. i want to get my scores as high as possible.

i see some people have quite a number of cards. should i apply for some more? i pay my balances in full every month so i will not get into debt.

i hear alot about this WAMU. anyone have the link for that one? i tried to search on the net and had trouble finding anything.

by the way, i am scheduled to close this friday on my first house!! i want to refi when i hit the 2 year bk mark in oct. that's why i'm concerned about getting my scores as high as possible.

thanks for the help!

[NASCAR20FAN]

hi everyone!

well, got my scores up to 617,627, and 654. right after my bk was discharged in jan 06 they were 520-550. i have disputed, corrected and deleted everything i could from my reports that had errors.

i have 2 cc's. one secured from orchard, and that $250 first premier.

what is the ideal number of cards to have for scoring purposes. i want to get my scores as high as possible.

i see some people have quite a number of cards. should i apply for some more? i pay my balances in full every month so i will not get into debt.

i hear alot about this WAMU. anyone have the link for that one? i tried to search on the net and had trouble finding anything.

by the way, i am scheduled to close this friday on my first house!! i want to refi when i hit the 2 year bk mark in oct. that's why i'm concerned about getting my scores as high as possible.

thanks for the help!

Here's the thing... There really is no ideal number of cards to have when rebuilding. For me the number is 3 for now. Possibly 2 very soon

1st card (Tribute) July
$300 limit (now up to $450)

2nd card (Orchard) September
$300 limit

3rd card (Capitol One) November
$300 limit (Going up to $500 end of March)

The Tribute card will be cancelled if I cannot get the annual fee waived

So I guess you need to get the number you feel comfortable with.

Some people want nothing to do with credit once they are discharged.

Some feel that having some credit for emergencies is all they need

Some like me feel that haveing some credit and using it wisely will do alot to rebuilt thier scores.

Also keep in mind that short term new credit will hurt your scores and not help them. You have to think long term.

[HHM]

Exactly, there is no "ideal" number of credit cards, the credit score doesn't really look at it that way. What the credit score does look at is your "available credit" vs "existing balance". (balance to limit ratio)

For example, PERSON A has 7 credit cards with total available credit of $2000 (think here of all the little crappy cards most post BK debtors get), and even if the person pays them off every month, the average existing balance is $1,500, or 75% of the available credit.
That situation is BAD for your credit score. (Note, other things mitigate that, i.e. positive payment history, but on its own, that situation will negatively impact PERSON A's score).

PERSON B has 2 credit card with available credit of $35,000 and has a recurring existing balance of $6,000 (and this person makes at least his minimum payment, but does not pay off the cards every month). Thus, his balance to limit ratio is roughly 17%.

Person B's credit score would be positively impacted and they have fewer credit cards.

WAMU is Washington Mutual.

Also to, although it's not really factored into the score, when a lender or creditor subjectively evaluates your credit score, they will look for quality of credit, everyone knows that Orchard and First Premier are "last chance lenders", so it doesn't really look that great to have all these cards on your credit report. However, for some people, it is all they can get. Your goal with the junky cards is to try to get a quality card (it typically takes about 6 months before you start getting more mainstream offers), then cancel the junky last chance card.

[tay666]

I don't know about ideal.
But my idea of heaven, once we get done with BK will be to have 2 cards.
One Vixa and one MC with a total credit limit of about $5000.
I don't want to use that much credit, but it would be a nice security blanket.
I do want cards for things like online purchases and to use at the gas pump.
But I also want to pay them off completely every month.
Don't know what that would do for my credit scores, but that is what I want after all this is over.

[emoney]

Who the credit is from is also used in for the FICO score. Banks are the top tier and companies like Benefical Finance are near the bottom for revolving credit rating.
A paid off Installment Loan such as a car or home is another type that will change the score.
Current history is more important than something that happened two year ago.
The exact details of the FICO rating is a closely guarded secret of the Fair Issac Company. Some information of a general nature disclosed from their web site.
Regards,
emoney

[FilingOnMyOwn]

To rebuild credit, its recommended you carry at least 3 unsecured lines of credit. I have quite a few more than that but it isn't necessary to have more than 3 if you don't want.

Heres a link to WaMu:

https://online.wamu.com/personal/creditcards/default.htm

[NASCAR20FAN]

To rebuild credit, its recommended you carry at least 3 unsecured lines of credit. I have quite a few more than that but it isn't necessary to have more than 3 if you don't want.

Heres a link to WaMu:

https://online.wamu.com/personal/cre...ds/default.htm

I'm sorry no offense, but what is this information? I'd like to see it in black and white. I know that having unsecured credit is a good thing, but it's the use of the credit you have, not how many cards that is most important, right?
Someone please provide me with some information that specifies that "3" is the ideal number of cards.

[BassBoy]

Having 3 CC's may not be etched in stone as an ideal number of CC's, but rather it may be a a good round number based on the national average.

But regardless.....

The number of CC's is irrelevant. As HHM said, it is your "available credit" vs "existing balance" (balance to limit ratio).

I also look at your debt to income ratio. If most of your net earnings is going for paying CC's, then your less likely to get new credit, or better credit.

I would advise that you take it slow angelaohio. You have 2 CC's now and if your able to manage them without falling behind or reaching your limits, then I would stay where you are. You were just recently discharged, so you may be able to get a better CC in the future, with a higher limit and better terms. That may be worth more in the long run, rather than having 3 or more not so good CC's right now that are nearing their limits.