Unused credt cards after bankruptcy?

[PaKettle]

I have 3 unused active cards - one never used at all, 2 used only years ago and then paid off.

What happens with these accounts after bankruptcy?

Will I be able to use them the day after I am discharged? And if I use them can they still notify me they are closing the account once they find out I did file bankruptcy? Are they likely to close them even if I use them right after discharged?

Since they are not listed in the bankruptcy, how would they even know I filed?

(Note: I am not even looking to keep all 3. I only want to keep 2 cards, one to use regularly to establish credit, and one for back-up like on vacations where they don't accept one but may accept the other (Visa vs. Master Card).)

[thewife]

I would be SCARED to have any credit cards. Thats what got me in the situation that I am in now. Just be careful!

[familyof7]

I have a new cc but we pay in full every month no more min pmt I for example pay my electric bill with the cc and mail the cash (money order) to the cc company and pay in full so no interest fees and I am building my credit at the same time

[Boscoe]

I have 3 unused active cards - one never used at all, 2 used only years ago and then paid off.

What happens with these accounts after bankruptcy?

Will I be able to use them the day after I am discharged? And if I use them can they still notify me they are closing the account once they find out I did file bankruptcy? Are they likely to close them even if I use them right after discharged?


Pa - Who issued them? Any of the big 5 (AMEX, Citi, Chase, Bank of America, Capital One) will most likely close anything you have, regardless of whether it is in the bk. I got lucky and have 4 smaller bankcards, well, Discover and 3 others, that did NOT cancel my cards.

Anyone you include in your bk definitely will close them.

But, yes, you will be able to use right after discharge. If they don't close them in the first 45 days after you file, you probably will be ok. No guarantees though.

[ARO96]

I would be SCARED to have any credit cards. Thats what got me in the situation that I am in now. Just be careful!

Unfortunately, having a credit card is the best way to rebuild your credit after BK, especially if you ever plan on buying a house or car later on.

For us, our problem wasn't the credit cards, just a reduction in income that made it difficult paying back loans we had before the reduction in income.

My attorney told me to get two cards after we are discharged with low balances like 200. Each month he said to charge about $20 on each of them and pay that the following month. By doing this, it will help our credit score go up after we are discharged. He said the key was to only charge a few dollars that way you can easily pay it off the next month.

[wellspring]

I had two cards that I never used, and I checked yesterday at work because we have a cc machine and both were declined.

[Misha707]

I had no bank credit cards that had zero balances, but I had two store cards, Old Navy & Brylane that were at $0. Old Navy closed my account very quickly, even though they had just raised my limit in April from 200 to 500, and I hadn't used it in almost a year. Brylane is open, so far, but it ain't over yet.

Credit cards weren't what caused my bankruptcy, either, it was going from being a SAHM with a DH who had a great paying job, to a 38 yo single mom going back to work with only an associates degree, trying to raise kids after DH lost his job because of his drinking, and deciding to take it out on us. I went from $90 thousand a year to about $20 thousand in one month.

[keepmine]

All creditors do accounts reviews-many quarterly. Once the bk hits your reports, many will cancel the cards.

[SinkingFast]

It's really gonna depend on who the Creditors are.

We had 3 zero balance accts going into BK.

SAM's, backed by GEMB. We were always good with that acct. Hardly ever carried a balance. Always paid in full right away, or within a month or 2. GEMB is supposed to be BK Friendly. GEMB closed our SAM's acct.

We had one small BoA CC with $0 balance on it. We BK'd against several BoA accts. BoA closed the last man standing after BK.

Kohl's, backed by Citi or Chase. Can't remember which. We BK'd against both so that part doesn't matter. Kohl's reduced our Credit Limit, but has left the acct open and active. I used it once when we got some of those "Customer Coupons" in the mail and a really good Sale is going on. One of those "Use your Kohl's Charge and Save" type sales.

It's really gonna depend on who's in charge of making the decision on your $0 balance accts.

[PaKettle]

As to which ones I have that are at 0 balance, I have a Chase, a local credit union, and a GM card, a Macy's dept. store card, and a VIctoria's Secret card that my wife used one time.
I wonder if any of these will allow me to keep it?
So I can try using them the day after I am discharged, huh? Thanks.

I had over $17k left on these 3 bank cards with zero balances, so if anyone cries "Fraud!" I will be able to say, "Well, then why didn't I cash in these 3 cards???" I certainly could have if I knew I was going to file bankruptcy 6 months ago!

[Boscoe]

Pa - unfortunately, just need to wait and hope for the best on this one. What ARO96 said is true too.

Once you get credit cards after the bk is discharged (and you need to have at least 1), try to only charge 10% or less of the credit limit. This will have the most beneficial effect on your credit score.

[magyar123]

You will probably be able to keep your 0 balanced cards, but your interest rate will skyrocket to loanshark levels, even though earlier this year Congress read banks/creditors the riot act regarding universal default.

[JRScott]

It depends on the card issuer.

They usually check your credit report near the time for renewal. It is possible they will close the accounts if they find out you have had a bankruptcy. Some do close them, some do not.

Its hard to say you'll have to wait and see.

[demismom]

I had an AMEX card that had a zero balance when we filed and had gotten new ones after the file date. I called and explained I'd just filed bankruptcy and didn't want to pay the $145 annual fee to renew the account if they were just going to close it and the lady said they would have just closed it during the next audit. So, I canceled the account.

[PaKettle]

I had an AMEX card that had a zero balance when we filed and had gotten new ones after the file date. I called and explained I'd just filed bankruptcy and didn't want to pay the $145 annual fee to renew the account if they were just going to close it and the lady said they would have just closed it during the next audit. So, I canceled the account.

Amex will never ever give you another card, even after the 10 years. At least this was my experience, since I filed way back in the early 80's when things were quite different.

They sent me an app. several years ago and I applied and they turned me down. I asked them why and they said because I had filed bk back in the early 80's. Even though it was not on my credit report, they had it in their files!

However, my wife got one, and then I got on her account! (-;
But no point paying Amex down to zero before filing, they'll still close your account, pronto.