Just got a new credit card that I dont need... what the heck do I do with it?

[GoingUp]

I opened up an account at Bank One and they gave me an additional credit card. What the heck should I do with it? Just put it away and never use it? It also happens to be the card with the highest limit.

Long story short they more than doubled my available credit line. I had 1 card with $4000 and one with $1300. The new card is for $6000. Should I just cancel the card? Just let it sit open and not use it? Should I make a couple minor purchases with it every now and then? I want to buy a house in a year or so and I want to make sure my debt/credit ratio is good. I'm not quite sure how it all works though.

 

[DainBramaged]

YGPM with my address.

 

[tfinch2]

Let it sit, don't cancel it. You might want to make a big purchase and not have your cash available that very moment. You'll be glad you had it.

 

[MaverickBP]

activity on open accts, paying more then the min, and early payments do wonders to build ur credit. but if u aready got accts open it would be best to cancel it if u dont plan on keeping activity on it

 

[MaverickBP]

Originally posted by: tfinch2
Let it sit, don't cancel it. You might want to make a big purchase and not have your cash available that very moment. You'll be glad you had it.

exactly what gets people into debt. now if something arose like an operation and/or a family crisis then its good. but keep the card active like i mentioned above.

 

[Juno]

Paypal me!

 

[edro]

Post the number on here and watch the online statement to see all the funny charges.

 

[GoingUp]

Originally posted by: MaverickBP
activity on open accts, paying more then the min, and early payments do wonders to build ur credit. but if u aready got accts open it would be best to cancel it if u dont plan on keeping activity on it

I've never carried a balance

 

[dullard]

Its a mixed bag for any potential person in your position:
[*]Having more available credit will lower your average monthly bill to available credit ratio. This will possibly help your credit score.
[*]Having a brand new card will lower your average length of time you've had open accounts. This will possibly hurt your credit score.

From what I've read about you, I bet neither one of those applies (they only apply in the more extreme cases). They probably will have no effect on you. So my vote is to do nothing.

 

[psiu]

Eh, keep it.

Just use it once a month for gas or something.

Will lower your balance/limit ratio.

It shouldn't change your credit so much as to effect your mortgage in a year.

 

[MaverickBP]

Originally posted by: Gobadgrs

Originally posted by: MaverickBP
activity on open accts, paying more then the min, and early payments do wonders to build ur credit. but if u aready got accts open it would be best to cancel it if u dont plan on keeping activity on it

I've never carried a balance

theres a difference between a balance and a revolving balance. lets say if u pay ur electricity with ur cc...wait for it to hit ur acct then pay it off(which u were gonna do anyways) shows activity, more than minimum payment, and early payment. keeping it on there and accuring interest isnt what i meant.

 

[SP33Demon]

Originally posted by: edro13
Post the number on here and watch the online statement to see all the funny charges.

 

[jdini76]

Having credit cards with zero balance is very good for your credit rateing. Keep it and DON'T use it.

 

[whistleclient]

Originally posted by: jdini76
Having credit cards with zero balance is very good for your credit rateing. Keep it and DON'T use it.

side note: i had a spare credit card i put in a drawer. just got a "we canceled your account due to inactivity" notice. you may want to use it every six months for a minor purchase.

 

Originally posted by: Gobadgrs
I opened up an account at Bank One and they gave me an additional credit card. What the heck should I do with it? Just put it away and never use it? It also happens to be the card with the highest limit.

Long story short they more than doubled my available credit line. I had 1 card with $4000 and one with $1300. The new card is for $6000. Should I just cancel the card? Just let it sit open and not use it? Should I make a couple minor purchases with it every now and then? I want to buy a house in a year or so and I want to make sure my debt/credit ratio is good. I'm not quite sure how it all works though.

Why the heck did you accept an offer that you didn't know what to do with? :roll: You know, they don't shove credit cards down your throat. You have to say yes before it's official.

That being said, I do have a credit card with Bank One too, but I haven't used it nor closed it for years now. It used to be a Wachovia credit account, and I used it often during that time. However, they haven't sent me a new credit card and their rates and rewards aren't so good anyway, so I just let it sit there. I will call them one of these days so that I could get a card to make an occasional purchase. Don't feel any need or pressure to always use the card. Susie, the finance wiz, says you shouldn't close the accounts either. She said people often think that it hurts them to have many accounts with some inactive opened, but they are wrong. It rather hurts their score to close them. Her advice was with consideration of intent to buy a home. Just use the credit card sparingly if you can.

Edit: Oops, typos corrected!

 

[StageLeft]

How many cards do you have? Sorry, BTW, on MSN, I have no consistent time at home, going on and off computer all the time!

 

[GoingUp]

Originally posted by: Skoorb
How many cards do you have? Sorry, BTW, on MSN, I have no consistent time at home, going on and off computer all the time!

just 3

edit: and no skoorbie makes baby gobies cry

 

[GoingUp]

Originally posted by: MaverickBP

Originally posted by: Gobadgrs

Originally posted by: MaverickBP
activity on open accts, paying more then the min, and early payments do wonders to build ur credit. but if u aready got accts open it would be best to cancel it if u dont plan on keeping activity on it

I've never carried a balance

theres a difference between a balance and a revolving balance. lets say if u pay ur electricity with ur cc...wait for it to hit ur acct then pay it off(which u were gonna do anyways) shows activity, more than minimum payment, and early payment. keeping it on there and accuring interest isnt what i meant.

what I also meant is that i treat my credit card like a debit card. I dont use it to buy things unless I have enough money in the bank to pay them off. for example on my primary card I charged $3900 last month due to moving expenses but I paid it all off 2 weeks early after I got my statement. What I was trying to say is that Ive never ever paid finance charges because I always pay my bill in full every month.

Looks like I will just use the new card occasionally for groceries and such so that there is some activity.

 

[tfinch2]

Originally posted by: MaverickBP

Originally posted by: tfinch2
Let it sit, don't cancel it. You might want to make a big purchase and not have your cash available that very moment. You'll be glad you had it.

exactly what gets people into debt. now if something arose like an operation and/or a family crisis then its good. but keep the card active like i mentioned above.

How does that get you into debt? There have been plenty of times I've needed a large sum of $$ on a Saturday or Sunday, and guess what? THE BANK IS CLOSED. So what do I do? Pull out the trusty credit card with a large limit and pay for it, then pay the cc off at the end of the month. Maybe that's how you got into debt. You better cancel all of your cc's because they have potential to get you into debt then.

 

Originally posted by: Gobadgrs
I opened up an account at Bank One and they gave me an additional credit card. What the heck should I do with it? Just put it away and never use it? It also happens to be the card with the highest limit.

Long story short they more than doubled my available credit line. I had 1 card with $4000 and one with $1300. The new card is for $6000. Should I just cancel the card? Just let it sit open and not use it? Should I make a couple minor purchases with it every now and then? I want to buy a house in a year or so and I want to make sure my debt/credit ratio is good. I'm not quite sure how it all works though.

Yay! I just got a card from Bank One, which saved me from having to call them. I thought their service was subpar anyway. Apparently, they're no longer Bank One. Bank One merged with Chase. The new name is Chase. Chase offered me credit cards in the past, but I always declined. So it's a pleasure to finally get to experience their service.

 

[GoingUp]

Originally posted by: DearQT

Originally posted by: Gobadgrs
I opened up an account at Bank One and they gave me an additional credit card. What the heck should I do with it? Just put it away and never use it? It also happens to be the card with the highest limit.

Long story short they more than doubled my available credit line. I had 1 card with $4000 and one with $1300. The new card is for $6000. Should I just cancel the card? Just let it sit open and not use it? Should I make a couple minor purchases with it every now and then? I want to buy a house in a year or so and I want to make sure my debt/credit ratio is good. I'm not quite sure how it all works though.

Yay! I just got a card from Bank One, which saved me from having to call them. I thought their service was subpar anyway. Apparently, they're no longer Bank One. Bank One merged with Chase. The new name is Chase. Chase offered me credit cards in the past, but I always declined. So it's a pleasure to finally get to experience their service.

Why did you feel the need to bump this old thread? Oh well... as long as you have the card... buy me something nice!

 

[StageLeft]

Buy plane ticket and visit!

 

[StageLeft]

TTT

 

[GoingUp]

Originally posted by: Skoorb
Buy plane ticket and visit!

We already talked about this! If all goes according to plan I'll see you in August

 

[Evadman]

Originally posted by: Gobadgrs

Originally posted by: Skoorb
Buy plane ticket and visit!

We already talked about this! If all goes according to plan I'll see you in August

Want me to ship the S&M stuff to Skoorb then?