Originally Posted by GUWonder
I have a question about the following scenario:
A person has 4 credit cards:
Card 1. Max credit 40,000; 0 revolving balance; used and paid each month.
Card 2. Max credit 75,000; 0 revolving balance; used and paid each month.
Card 3. Max credit 10,000; 0 revolving balance; used and paid each month.
Card 4. Max credit 3,800; 0 revolving balance; used and paid each month.
A. If they close the Card 3 account and open 1 new account, will there be any dent on the credit score?
B. If they close Card 1 and open 3 new accounts, how extensive will the dent on the credit score be for a high FICO score individual?
hmmm, your example person looks a lot like me (only with smaller max credit limits) when spinning those good olde Charter One gift cards a while back. I mean, even if I did carry a bal in some areas at times, I paid off what was due each month on paper and so it never mattered anyway--and I always had $0 owed at the end of each statement! I earned uber mileage to boot!
As for inclome, mine is lower than I'd like it and there are bills due, and yet I am being approved left and right for home loans in case we buy. Got a preapproval letter just the other day in fact, and it should not have been that high as far as I could tell! BUT they wanna loan you money these days, I guess. Who knows how the credit wheel spins? Sometimes I think even they don't.
As for getting credit when you are new (or when you may have just moved here from another country) I found that some banks let you set up a CD to which you make payments each month, and in this process, you gain a credit history. After just 8 months of paying about $90/mo, my friend from Europe was able to get the Amex Starwood card and a United Visa! Granted, their savings helped, and a marraige status to a US citizen may have also helped, but other than where they reside (towns matter to creditors) and some job history stuff with an OK income, I cannot figure out how that all works.
MM