rebuilding credit?

Question

I have had some credit problems and been over my limit a couple of times, but I can finally pay off my credit card. My question is that i have 2 credit cards, i want to cancel one, and use the other to rebuild my credit. can you just let a credit card sit and buy nothing and your credit improve or do you have to buy something and pay it off?

Answer 1

It is a good idea to pay them off. But you never want to close an account. When you close one you lose the age of that account in the scoring formula. Best bet is to pay them off and put them away. Every so often charge a little something and carry the balance a month or two and then pay it off. It will do wonders for your score. Always keep your balance below the 50% mark on charges. Preferrebly keep them around 30%. the less you use the much better your debt to available income becomes.
the link I gave will give you some more input.

Answer 2

If your doing it for the sole purpose of rebuilding your credit, this is what I suggest. My fiance has bad credit but she does have 1 credit card so we put a balance on it and make the minimum payments ONTIME When the balance is almost zero we buy gas or what ever we need on it. Your credit report will show every month paid ontime, where as if you paid it of it will say paid ontime one month then nothing the next month then again paid on time, basicly there will be gaps. If you close it, then it will help you that one time but then you have to sign up for a new card to do it again and that will hurt you. If you have any credit cars or accounts you never paid, you should try to call them and see if they might settle for less than what you owe. Try looking at your report at www.annualcreditreport.com its free once a year or www.truecredit.com its good also

Answer 3

Secured cards don't deny anyone. not sure if you know how they work but with a secured card you pay them for them to lend you your own money and on top of that you get charged a yearly bill just for the service. It is them saying "right you couldn't manage your finances and nobody out there trusts you, now pay us up some $ up and give us your money and we'll lend it back to you, if you can do this, we will report favourably to the score agencies". RE: Which credit cards help rebuild credit? I am trying to rebuild my credit and was wondering which secured cards I could apply for that would least likely deny me?

Answer 4

Keep BOTH credit cards, part of rebuilding your credit is having active open trade-lines, even if the balance is zero (If your balance is zero you WILL NOT have interest to pay since the balance is at ZERO, scary that not everyone knows that).

Lenders want to see that you have credit and the longer you have credit the better your credit score (that's why I advise for you not to close your accounts). Also never "Max out" your cards, but if you do have a balance keep it under 2/3 the limit.

www.Bankrate.com and www.suzeorman.com have some insightful articles for you to read to help understand credit and what your credit score is based on.

Answer 5

Do NOT close any of your cards - you need both of em to show the bureaus you can handle two cards. Best thing to do is to pay the minimum payment on the one you owe less to and pay off the one you owe the most too. When you're able, then pay off the other one. Also, it'd be a good idea to get another one like Capital One Secured Card and increase the credit on it every month buying making a deposit. This will show the bureaus that you can handle having credit cards even in the midst of having high credit limits. Pay off your cards every month, never miss a payment, and within 1 year I guarentee your score will be much better

Answer 6

It is not a good idea to cancel your credit card. Just put one credit card away in your drawer and make sure you have paid it off. Make any one purchase on that card that you put away every 6-8 months and make sure you pay it off.

For the other credit card you use on a regular base, make sure you pay in full every month and do not use the card if not needed. Or on junk stuff. You know what I mean.

Paying your bills ontime and in full will help you rebuild your credit score.

Answer 7

Keep them both! Two good references are better than one! If you get out of the hole and keep it it will help you. Now if you had a bunch of credit cards having one that you don't use can hurt as it is "potential" debt but you only have two.

A card just sitting will do nothing for you. You need to use them at least once in a while. If you can have some discipline use it for everything. Then just pay it off promtly! You can link up car payments and insurance, lights, telephone etc.to be billed automatically. Then you just have one bill.

But if you are not sure about that just use them both occasionally and don't carry them around.

Answer 8

It's really good to have a zero balance credit card to rebuild your credit with the understanding that you can't buy anything with this card. Seeing that you have a credit card with a 0 balance helps the creditors see that you are ersponsible with credit and money.

Answer 9

This is what I did ----I called the credit card company and told them I wanted to cancel the card. It took a lot of convincing them this is what I wanted to do - after the persons brain started to understand I wanted to cancel it she did. I then cut up the card and returned to them writing Canceled on the envelope

After paying off the other one I did the same thing.

I have one Debt/Credit card from my bank [ this way I can't spend money if it is not in my account ]
Once you learn how to control your spending then apply for a low interest Card and only use for emergencies....
I have been debt free for two years now [nice feeling, really ]...

Answer 10

Step-by-Step Credit Repair Guide

Bad credit can frustrate your efforts at getting a credit. Hence ensure you keep your credit report clean. If there are any errors in the report, undertake credit repair to clear out any errors. This can be tiring and frustrating, but highly rewarding.